I inhale to answer—but there’ssomuch. Too much.
Rhen catches my arm lightly and stops walking. “At the very least, tell mesomething.” He pauses. “Grey’s message did not give me the impression that there was trouble. Is there?”
I feel like I’m about to ruin the last scraps of any trust I have with the royal family.
But because Iamloyal, and Iamtrustworthy, I square my shoulders and tell him everything.
CHAPTER 42
TYCHO
If Grey is a man of action, then Rhen is a man of deliberation. I know they were trapped in Ironrose Castle together, cursed to repeat an endless autumn for what must have felt likecenturies, though time in Emberfall didn’t move much. Maybe that time is part of what made Grey so resolute and decisive. If so, it had the opposite effect on Rhen. He’s patient while I talk, rarely interrupting. I tell him everything I can think of, from sitting sentry after learning about Lia Mara losing the baby to Grey’s worry of the news reaching the court.
He exhales heavily when I get to that part. “A terrible secret to have to keep.” He glances over. “How were they when you left?”
“Not good.”
He nods solemnly.
I backtrack, telling him about Jax’s father and everything that happened between us afterward—including Jake’s findings in the workshop, and how it implicated Jax and Callyn, and then how it complicated the conversations between me and Grey. I tell him about the tourneyand Nakiis and what little Sinna said about the woods. I tell him about Alek confronting me before Lia Mara’s court on the night that I left.
And finally, I tell him about the lateness of my departure, how I deviated from my journey to demand answers from Jax.
“And were you satisfied with his answers?” Rhen says.
We’ve wandered far from the bonfire by now. The night air is cool and quiet, heavy with darkness, only punctuated by the occasional sound of the guards’ boots when we find gravel.
“Yes,” I say. “But maybe it’s naïve to trust him.”
“He could have killed you while you slept and no one would’ve been the wiser. Not forweeks. I didn’t expect you to return so quickly.”
I wince. “I know.”
“You misunderstand. My point is that your instincts seem sound.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“We can only play the cards that fate deals.”
“Well, I keep playing them badly.” I pause. “I don’t know if Alek is plotting against Grey—or if he’s innocent and he truly does think magic is a risk to Syhl Shallow. I don’t know if I inadvertently led Nakiis to the Crystal Palace—and then put Princess Sinna in danger.” My breath catches, and I fight to steady it. “I don’t know if it’s my fault that she went … that she wentmissing, which then caused the queen to lose—”
Rhen catches my arm. “No. Donotdo that.”
His grip is tight, his voice sharp. A command. It’s steadying. Stabilizing.
I swallow past a knot in my throat. “Yes, Your Highness.”
He lets go and keeps walking. “There’s little use dwelling in self-doubt. Grey used to tell me that all the time.”
I think of the moment when the king’s breath hitched when he told me about their loss, and I wonder if he still believes that.
“I’ll talk to Alek,” Rhen says. “Perhaps I can getsomeonefrom Syhl Shallow to play cards instead of dice.”
I snort. “You think he’s going to admit to treason?”
“No, but I can convincingly share a distaste for magic and see what he says.”
“I look forward to hearing howthatgoes.”
