A tough guy who thought he didn’t need to take a break. Amaris hated these types. “You’re no good if your headaches keep getting worse. A concussion is a serious head injury.”
“Good thing we have the best mystique,” he said sarcastically. “Tell me, how do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Save people who are on the edge of death.”
“Is this seriously about what happened in the river?”
“Why are you so adamant about hiding your secret?”
“It’s not a secret,” she huffed. “I… Why would I bother giving you the answers you want? Have you ever been ripped from your family and unable to get back? You kidnapped me because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and have treated me like I’m a piece of gum on the bottom of your shoe.”
His hand slipped from the hilt of his dagger.
“You all assumed I was the murderer in that clearing and didn’t botherto believe anything I said or to even look for evidence of someone else. I’m sorry if you’re all too terrified, but I have a home and people waiting for me. I don’t care about this murderer, this place, or what your father says. I want to go home.”
“You’re right,” he whispered. “I don’t think you’re a murderer.”
“Your damn rig— Wait.” Amaris’s breath ceased. “You don’t think it was me.”
He shook his head.
“Then why am I still a prisoner?”
“I hold no authority over my father or Bennet.”
“I’m stuck here until they decide otherwise?” An ache rattled in her chest. She breathed, blinking back tears.
“Is anyone looking for you?”
“I’m not a murderer,” she choked.
“Where’s your family?”
My family. Amaris didn’t know what to call what she and Derek were.Familydidn’t settle well on the tip of her tongue, but what even was a family? Viv certainly felt like a sister, but an ache stretched a hole inside her that she didn’t know who could fill anymore.
“I have no idea,” she cried, dropping her face into her hands.
“Why were you in the woods?”
Tears spilled between her fingers, salty beads of shame for what she’d done. “We had a stupid fight, and I ran.” Her legs gave beneath her, and her knees hit the floor.
“Do you think they’re looking for you?”
“They have to be,” she said through the tears. “But…I don’t think they’ll be able to find me.”
Theodoric kneeled beside her, his eyes darting around them as he leaned in and whispered, “My father will only release you when he’s satisfied or if someone comes to speak on your behalf.”
Amaris choked, attempting to pause her sobs to speak. “What happensif no one comes or he isn’t satisfied?”
He dipped his chin and rounded his shoulders. She’d learned they were the same age, but the sunken nature of his cheeks and the dark circles under his eyes added years to his face. Adelaide had said he’d changed. Did he once have a pink tinge to his cheeks? Did a smile once flourish on his lips every morning?
“Will he actually kill me?” she breathed, finally controlling her sobs.
He swallowed, and for a moment, she saw a boy kneeling before her. A young boy uncertain of the world, maybe even fearful. “I don’t know. Your skills as a mystique are valuable. I can’t see him giving that up.”
“What can I do?” Her eyes were puffy, and she wiped a bit of snot dripping from her nose.
