My eyebrows rise. “What is all this?”
“Letters. They’ve been arriving at my father’s house. You know what they all have in common? They accusemeofmurdering my dad. All because of what the Shadow Queen wrote. The entire mountain thinks I’m a murderer.”
Myself included. “I’m sure that’s not true,” I say. “Icertainly don’t.”
He gives me a small smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Thank you. I wasn’t expecting this from the Shadow Queen. I’ve read every column she’s ever written. I used to admire her. I never realized how careless she is with her pen.”
He looks so forlorn and miserable, I’m almost moved.
Until I remember: Kaidren Vale is a liar. He lied about why he came to Widow’s Hall, lied about wanting to be my friend, he even went so far as to pretend he wantedmorethan friendship, all so he could manipulate me into talking about my brother.
As soon as he realized I’m Opheran, he saw me as nothing other than a means to his ends. He doesn’t deserve my sympathy.
Does that make me cruel? Maybe. But I make no apologies for it.
“I’m sorry.” I soften my voice until it’s gentle and soothing. “That sounds like a lot to deal with. Especially so soon after your father’s death. Have you thought about dropping out of the Tournament?”
He sighs. “I don’t want to quit. But thank you. You don’t have to worry about me. My father and I weren’t exactly close.”
“Even still, losing a parent is never easy.”
Kaidren studies my expression. “You sound as if you speak from personal experience.”
I hesitate. I didn’t plan on divulging anything about myself—at least, not anythingtrue—but this is what friends do, and that’s what he thinks we are. “Yes,” I say after a pause. “My mother died when I was young.”
“I’m sorry.” He looks like he means it.
“Thank you.” I sound stiff. Which isn’t the plan. I’m meant to sound warm and inviting to keep his guard lowered, but I struggle to keep calm and collected where my mother is concerned.
“What happened to her? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Idomind. I’m already sitting on the edge of tears, and thinking about what happened to Aja doesn’t help. She fought as best she could to take care of us. No matter how bad things were, she always promised me we’d survive. Toward the end, she could no longer afford to feed the both of us. Everything she had, she gave to me. All her love, all the blankets when the nights got cold, and what little food she could afford.
It was her undoing.
Food was scarce, so she stopped eating. She fed me but never herself. She didn’t complain, just slowly wasted away.
“Don’t worry about me, Mira. I’m going to be fine.”
That was Aja. A liar to the end.
“She starved.” My voice sounds as hollow as I feel. I clear my throat. I need to get us back on track—shift the conversation before I burst into tears. “It was a long time ago. And as I said, it’s never easy. Your father’s death was so sudden. Did you have any idea it was coming?”
Kaidren doesn’t pause. “No. I was just as surprised as anyone.”
Heat sweeps through me, but nothing in Kaidren’s demeanor changes. It’s almost scary how good of a liar this boy is. It’s easy to believe someone so manipulative is capable of murdering his own father. “I’m sorry for your loss,” I say.
“Thank you.” He reaches for my hands.
My heart careens into a flutter. Neither of us is wearing gloves.
I jerk to my feet. The move is sharp and sudden. To disguise it, I start to pace. “Let’s say you’re right. That the entire mountain thinks you’re a murderer. What are you going to do? And why come to me?”
My pacing halts when Kaidren steps into my path, placing his hands on my shoulders to keep me still. We’re standing close—tooclose. I am acutely aware of each of his fingers where they dig into my gown. Of the warmth of his skin radiating into my shoulders.
I stroke the tattoo on my inner wrist as I try to get my frantic pulse under control.
Intense brown eyes bore into mine. “Something sinister is afoot, and I think your family is squarely in the middle of it.” The severity softens. “You are nothing like them. You’re nothing like anyone on this damned mountain. You’ve been nothing but kind to me.”
