There’s nothing in them. No sign that what happened last night meant anything to him.
“Disappear? How? I thought it was to stop me from leaving.” I focus on that and not how cool his voice is.
“No. The wards kept you from leaving.”
“Then why did it heat up when I tried to walk out?”
His mouth tips up on one side slightly. A ghost of the expression I saw last night, when he was savoring the way Isquirmed under his attention.
“That was nothing more than the power of suggestion. You thought it was connected, so your mind made you believe it reacted.”
My lips part. All that time I believed the collar would burn me if I tried to escape. Every time I felt the heat against my throat and backed away … and it wasn’t real?
“You imprisoned yourself with your own assumptions.” There’s something in his eyes, satisfaction maybe, or amusement, but it’s detached, distant. “The collar was there to stop mages from scrying to find you. That’s all.” He turns to Therin. “Go to the camp on the way back and tell them to prepare to move.”
And then he walks out.
I sit there, staring at the space where he stood.
That’s it? That’s all I get? One night where he took me apart piece by piece, where he shared secrets he’s held for years, where he gave me his true name … and now he’s gone.
Therin looks at me, then the door. His lips part as though he’s going to say something, then he shakes his head and stands.
“Shall we?”
He leads me out of the village on foot. The mid-morning air is clear and cool, and I don’t pay much attention to my surroundings as I walk beside him. Instead, I’m thinking about my father and the life I’m returning to.
My father probably thinks I’m dead.
What am I supposed to say to him? What lie could explain where I’ve been, what happened to me, and why I have bites on my throat? And Nella … I don’t know what she’ll say.
“You’re quiet,” Therin says as we reach the edge of the village.
“Thinking.”
“About?”
Everything.
“Vel suggested that I kill you before we reach the palace.”
I stop dead. “What? But Cairn promised to free me.”
“Free you, yes. Never said anything about you being alive when you got to the palace.” He gives me a sidelong glance. “Don’t worry. I said no.”
“Then why say anything to me?”
He shrugs. “She raised a valid argument.”
“Which was?”
“If any mages decide you might have seen anything useful, they’ll demand access to you.”
“I won’t tell them anything.”
“You might not have a choice.” His voice is flat. “There are ways to pull information from an unwilling mind.”
My lips part. I hadn’t thought about that. I’d been so focused on what lies I’d need to tell.
