He eyed her, guilt and unease tangling inside him. “It was pure instinct. I didn’t make a conscious choice. I just reacted.”
She stared at him, her own emotions knotted and frayed. She remembered the cut of unease she’d felt, seeing them interact so easily together. Knowing Carver had saved a knight’s life . . . it was unsettling. But she could see the misery in her husband’s eyes, and she could not bear that. She slipped her hand into his. “Your instinct was to save a man’s life. That’s agoodthing, Carver.”
His jaw locked. “He’s a threat to you.”
“Yes. But the bloodstone lessens that threat considerably.” She squeezed his hand. “Don’t hold onto this.”
He released a slow breath, his fingers twining with hers. “How do you feel after using the bloodstone?”
“Tired. But not as tired as I would have been without the bloodstone.” Healing Carver’s injuries might have been possible without the bloodstone, but she would have definitely lost consciousness. Picking up his flicker of anxiety, she said softly, “I know you hate that I used it. And I’m sorry I broke my promise, but I had to save you.”
“I know.” He frowned, his thumb tracing a small circle on her skin. “If our positions were switched, I would have done anything to save you, too.”
He’d proven that the moment he’d used his body to shield her from a killer’s blade. Still, she said, “I’ll try not to use it again. And I’m going to try and rely on it less.” She remembered too well how she’d felt leaving Ysabel’s tent, and the warning her fellow empath had given her.
She suddenly stiffened. “Oh, Saints.”
Carver’s eyes snapped to hers. “What?”
“With everything that happened, I almost forgot.” Her lips pressed into a line. “I saw Tiras.”
Carver’s body went rigid, growing so still he might have been carved from stone. “Your brother is in Zagrev?”
She nodded, her mouth dry as she told Carver about the encounter with Tiras. He watched her with alert eyes, his focus absolute. She felt his apprehension when she described how her brother had cornered her. The spike of his fear when she told him that Ford hadn’t even noticed, because of Tiras’s empathic manipulation. Amryn shared every detail she could remember, including the fact that Tiras had taken the fan she’d purchased. It was the only thing that made the encounter truly real to her. That, and the lingering ghost of fear.
When she finished, she could feel the questions roiling inside Carver. He surprised her when he ignored all of them to say, “If Tiras ever approaches you when I’m around, promise me you’ll do whatever it takes to get my attention.”
“He didn’t hurt me,” she reminded him—and perhaps herself.
“Doesn’t matter,” Carver said. “I don’t want him near you at all, but especially not if he’s somehow blinding me. Scream. Grab me. Throw a knife at me if you have to.”
She could feel how much the scenario bothered him. The idea of her being in a potentially dangerous situation while he was nearby, but totally unaware, sickened him. “I’ll try,” she promised. “But Tiras is incredibly strong.”
Carver’s jaw worked. “He could have taken you.”
“I convinced him not to.” She shook her head. “I still have so many questions, though. I don’t know why he’s in Zagrev, or how long he plans to stay. And I don’t understand the deal he made with Rix. I always thought Tiras abandoned me, but it sounds like Rix made him promise to stay away from me. And all Tiras wanted was for Rix to keep me safe.” She shook her head. None of it made any sense to her. Especially the fact that Rix had never told her about this. “I just don’t understand,” she repeated. “It doesn’t help that I can hardly read Tiras at all. He doesn’t feel much of anything.”
Carver’s eyes sharpened. “He was at the square. Right before the attack. Do you think he was a part of it?”
She immediately wanted to sayno. But she made herself consider it. “I know it looks bad that he was there, but he admitted he’d been watching me. If he tracked me to your family’s townhome, it only makes sense that he could have found me in Market Square.” She bit her lip. “I’ve wondered if Tiras could be aligned with the Rising, but after this . . . I just don’t think it’s likely. I can’t say he wasconcernedabout me, but he definitely has an interest in my safety. Because of that, I’m quite confident he wouldn’t have told Tam about me—which is the only reason I thought he might be part of the Rising. And if he’d known about the attack today, I think he would have warned me. Or he would have simply taken me away from the danger.” She frowned. “I couldn’t sense much from him, but he seemed so solitary. Isolated, even. I can’t see him joining a rebellion and taking orders from anyone.”
Carver processed her words. She understood why he remained unsettled, even when he said, “I’ll trust your judgment. But even if Tiras isn’t with the Rising, I still don’t trust him.”
“Neither do I.” She hesitated, then spoke the one thing she hadn’t yet shared with Carver. “He told me our father is alive.”
Carver’s spine straightened. She felt his protectiveness surge as he asked, “Where is he?”
“I don’t know. Tiras didn’t say.” She swallowed. “He just confirmed that he’s alive, and he can’t hurt me.” She ducked her head. “Saints, I just . . . I haven’t known if he’s alive or dead. I think I’ve been hoping he’s gone, so now that I know he isn’t . . .”
A gentle touch beneath her chin prompted her to raise her head. Carver’s eyes burned with intensity. “I won’t let him hurt you again.”
The vice around her lungs loosened a little. “Is it wrong that I want to see him?” At Carver’s startled look, she huffed a humorless laugh. “I want to demand answers. I want to know why he did what he did. I want to know if he’s the one who told the Rising I’m an empath.” She hated the sting in her eyes. “That shouldn’t hurt. Not when he already betrayed me once.”
Carver muttered a curse. “I’m so sorry, Amryn.”
She shook her head, blinking the tears away before they could fall. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it matters.” Compassion shined in his eyes. “I understand wanting answers. But sometimes, even if we hear thewhy, we’ll never truly understand a person’s actions.”
