If—when—he loved me again, he’d tell me, so I didn’t ask.
I wouldn’tneedto ask.
“Why are you sad?” he asked. “I took a long walk, but even from quite a distance, I felt you needed me.”
“I was with Madrood.”
“He told you, then.”
“Yes.” My eyes stung, and I let my tears flow. I had thefeeling holding them back would break me, and I wouldn’t be able to put myself back together again.
“I’m sorry.”
“I grew up thinking my parents abandoned me or that they were killed by dregs. If I thought too hard about it, I’d tell myself they’d cared while they had me with them. Now to discover this.” I waved my hand to the world in general. “I saw her in a vision, and I wish I could watch it again so I could feel the warmth in her eyes when she looked at me.”
“What vision?”
I looked down to keep him from reading the thoughts in my eyes, but then I realized he didn’t need to steal this from me. I’d gladly give it to him. “I went to Ivenrail’s bedroom and freed pixies from a picture. They gave me gifts, three finger bones.”
His hand that had been rubbing my back in slow circles stilled. “How did you free them?”
“You taught me the spell. You suggested I could be a beast master.”
“Hmm.”
“When I touched each finger bone, it gave me a vision. I saw the king place the collar around your neck when you were a little boy.”
He held up his hand with the missing pinky tip. “Mine.”
“Another bone showed him revealing flying dregs to a Liege.”
“Whose bone was that?”
“I don’t know. The third bone is Vera’s, and I watched as she told my mother about our betrothal. They called the child Brenna, and I didn’t realize she was me.”
“Where are these bones?”
I shifted away from him, hating to put a gap between us, but only long enough to tug the tiny pouch out of my pocket.
“Your pinky finger bone is here,” I said. “I can give it back to you.”
“I don’t want it. The pixies gave it to you.”
“But the king stole it from you. It didn’t belong to the pixies or him.”
“Keep it. You might need it.”
“For what?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s instinct, I suppose. I don’t want to see it again.”
“Fair enough.” I was going to touch each of them soon. If they contained visions I needed to see, I’d face them head on. No avoiding whatever destiny chose to show me.
I snuggled back into his embrace, in a sense, stealing his affection. I’d have to pull away soon. His caring didn’t belong to me until he wanted to give it to me with all of his heart.
“You were there when Madrood killed my mother,” I said.
“The king always made sure I was with him when he carried out his form of justice in the throne room. Burning them or trapping them within a picture. Whichever he chose as his whim of the day. He enjoyed the small twitches of horror I couldn’t quite hide. Just as much, he savored torturing them. He knew it would serve as a warning not only for his entire court but for me.”
