“What, exactly?” I asked.
“Seth,” he said, brushing back his bangs. Without another word, he trudged on.
Keeping pace, I pursed my lips. “Don’t stop there. What about him?”
“I had a feeling he was going to slip poison in your drink andabandon you in a hole somewhere.”
“You could’ve mentioned that.”
“Why would I?” He shrugged. “It benefited me rather nicely. In fact, I was counting on it in case you escaped the manor.” He paused, looking down at me. “Which you did, if you recall.”
“Are you trying to be lighthearted now?” I raised an eyebrow. “What did you see in Seth’s thoughts?”
“Panic.” Phaedrus rubbed his neck. “He hid it remarkably well, but inside he was a kettle primed to burst. I suppose you didn’t notice the lingering gazes he threw at you every other moment?”
I hadn’t noticed any such thing. Tripping on a rock, I stumbled over myself, dragging my sandal through the sand and filling it with the little kernels of despair. Cursing, I righted myself.
I was supposed to be a con-woman. How had I not seen through him?
“Seth is not what he seems,” Phaedrus said. “He fooled everyone.”
“Eleos was polite enough not to read my mind all the time, you know.”
“Well, I’m not.”
Staring into the treeline, I resisted the urge to ask my next question. Curiosity consumed me, and I gave in. “What is Seth like, then?”
Phaedrus paused again, gazing at me with an even expression. “First Ainwir, now Seth. You think an awful lot about people you claim to hate.”
Eleos had said nearly the same damn thing. But when I hadnothing, what else was there to think about besides what I’dlost?
“I’m pathetic,” I said. “Is that what you want to hear?”
“There’s no need to say it aloud. I read it quite clearly.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but noticed a tiny half-smile on Phaedrus’ mouth. Oh, gods. The son and the father were too much alike.
“Seth is not his real name,” Phaedrus offered, turning on his heel and continuing the hike.
“I knew it,” I muttered under my breath, trailing behind him.
Staring at the sand, I forced the stupid man from my thoughts. Seth had been irritating, anyway. Cold one moment, hot the next.I had fallen for Eleos first because he’d been steady. Even.Dependable.
Seth kept too many secrets and had pulled away one too many times. And I, being stupid, had ignored all the warning signs because he waspretty.
. . . and because he’d held me so tightly while whispering so gently that he’d keep me safe.
Shaking the words from my mind, I looked up in time to see Phaedrus whirl around and grab my shoulders. Gasping, I let him propel me into the woods.
“Company,” Phaedrus whispered harshly, nodding north.
Sealing my mouth shut, I peered around his shoulders, following his gaze. From behind our concealing tree, I could hear movement in the woods: numerous boots crunching through fallen leaves and branches. Voices speaking with a foreign accent carried through the forest.
Phaedrus was probably reading my thoughts. Furrowing my brow, I thought at him. “I thought men didn’t come this way.”
“They don’t.” His voice pierced my mind. “Seraphim assured me of that.”
“Maybe something changed.”
