Chapter 1
Throbbing aches were the first sensation to reach into the deep, blanketing darkness, slicing holes through those peaceful, empty walls. Next came the warmth pulsing in my chest, as if the elusive sun were beneath my ribs. It was a pleasant feeling, but too foreign to be dismissed, cracking the walls around me further.
Had that been all, I might have slipped back into that blissful, inviting void.
But it wasn’t.
What completely shattered the embrace of sleep was the warm scent of musk and leather that could only belong tohim.It was everywhere—in the soft weight draped over me, the cushioned furs beneath my cheek, the cool air itself.
At the recognition, the heat in my chest expanded. I came awake with a gasp, flying forwards.
A heavy woolen blanket pooled at my waist. I was dressed in something thick and warm—an oversized, long-sleeved tunic that swallowed my hands. Braced behind me, my fingers curled into soft fur, set low to the ground. I wasn’t on a mattress, but a covered mat. Ivory canvas walls surrounded me, sunlight seeping through the fabric.
A tent.
I held my breath, waiting for those dreadful wailing cries.
A heartbeat passed, and none came. But other sounds did. Clanging metal, indistinguishable conversations, the occasional shout of a man’s voice. The sounds of work…and weapons?
“How do you feel?”
My attention snapped to a voice on my right.
Ruddy cheeks, a boyish face, shaggy brown hair.Stefano.A bruise marred the skin of his neck where it appeared above tan leathers.
Oh, skies.
There was no easing into awareness, now. No gentle introduction to what I’d done and what I’d learned. Instead, the events of the past days crashed upon me all at once.
The first realization I grasped was that I wasn’t in Koerlyn’s tent, but Harthon’s camp. The second was that those marks around Stefano’s neck were there because Jac had strangled him, while I watched and did nothing.
From the look in Stefano’s blue eyes, he remembered it all.
“I’m sorry,” I croaked. Not for what I’d done—Koerlyn might have had Merelda, and I could never risk her life. But I was so terribly sorry he’d been hurt as a result.
He straightened in his wooden chair. “Why would you even think it’s acceptable to apologize?”
My lips parted. “I—”
“I failed. I failedyou.I’m the one who needs to apologize.”
For a moment, I didn’t think I’d heard him correctly. “What are you talking about?”
He ran a hand through his hair, and it was then I noticed how his boyish features were unusually dull, dark circles sweeping beneath his eyes.
“It’s my job to protect you. If I’d been more alert, if I’d had my guard up, I would have been able to help you. Could’ve stopped you from going to Koerlyn.”
No matter how alert, he couldn’t have anticipated Jac’s treachery. No one could have, not when Jac had been so trusted and respected that he’d been assigned as my riding instructor. And hecertainlycouldn’t have anticipated that I’d allow Jac to deliver me to our greatest enemy.
Stefano was a victim, but he was blaming himself for what I’d been complicit in. That was unacceptable. Skies,it was worse than him being angry at me.
“I didn’t want help. I wronged you. I stood there, watching as Jac strangled you unconscious, and did nothing.” His tortured expression didn’t budge, and my voice found some strength. “Don’t youdareblame yourself for any of this, do you understand me?”
He shook his head, the apple in his throat bobbing. “Under my guard, Koerlyn got his hands on you. There’s nowhere else the blame can rest.”
How could anyone in his position think such a thing? Unless—
“Is that what you’ve been told?”
