“How did it happen? You never said.”
“Dornar stabbed me.”
Her hands faltered, the sleeve held halfway under his arm. Gods, how had she so badly misread the man? She hated that she had listened to him, eaten with him, and all the time he’d been torturing Mathos and lying to her about it. “Dornar stabbed you? Why?”
Mathos ran a knuckle down her cheek before answering quietly. “He was planning on killing me. The idea was for me to die at your feet moments after confessing Alanna’s evil plans, I believe. Experimenting with blades was merely a side benefit.”
Lucilla swallowed. And then swallowed again, trying to get her voice to work. “Why would he do that?”
Scales flickered up Matt’s arms as he replied, his pupils rimmed with gold. “He’s the coldest man I’ve ever met. He doesn’t care about anyone or anything except himself. Never forget that he can lie with a straight face as he manipulates, cheats, and steals. Whatever happens, Lucy, you need to protect yourself from him.”
Gods.
“I know I promised,” she said quietly, “but I don’t think I can tell him that you kidnapped me.”
His huge hand stilled on her cheek. “Don’t let him catch you. Run, and keep running to the nearest Nephilim Temple.”
“And what will you do?”
“I’ll give you time to get away.”
She leaned into his hand, not replying. There was no way she would leave him like that, no matter what he said. “And if he captures us both?”
His scales flickered up his arms all the way to his neck, but his voice was calm as he replied. “There’s only one option, no matter how you might feel about it. You have to scream and cry and tell them that I’m responsible for everything.”
“And what would that mean for you?”
He didn’t look away. “It would mean that I have fulfilled my promise. That I have lived with honor, and that the only woman that I could ever—”
He didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, he let his hand drop. Then he pulled on his shirt, gestured to the path, and started walking.
She didn’t ask him what he’d been going to say; she didn’t need to. She knew that he cared for her. It had been right there in his face. But she also knew that he didn’t want to. That he wanted his life free of complications. And damn, was she a complication.
But that didn’t change the way she felt about him. And with every moment that passed, with every touch and smile, her feelings grew.
As they walked, he slowly relaxed and started showing her which berries they could eat. There were late autumn brambles still with a few blackberries, and a crab apple tree with small, round, incredibly tart fruits that made her gasp as she bit into them. He pointed out the fiery red rowan berries, and she recognized the fruit that she had been so tempted to try when she’d been on her own. Mathos snorted when she told him and assured her that she’d made a good decision; they were bitter and completely inedible unless they were cooked.
Mathos was a good teacher, and the time passed easily as he taught her woodcraft and told her stories about the Hawks. She soon felt that she would recognize them immediately from all his funny anecdotes and insightful observations. Whatever he might say, there was no doubt that they were his family.
She never heard anyone else in the woods, no sounds of dogs or horns in the distance, although Mathos never lost his vigilance, constantly checking around them and occasionally stopping to listen. He was moving more easily than he had the day before, but she could see that his shoulder still bothered him.
“How did you get away? From Dornar and the Blues?”
“Alis saw me being dragged through the village. She snuck into the shrine, through the darkness, past all the dead bodies, and let me out. She was amazing.”
His face changed as he spoke of the young girl. His eyes softened as he grinned, impressed and proud, and Lucilla couldn’t help smiling back. “She’s special.”
“Yes.” He reached out his hand to help her jump over a particularly high log. “She’s why I joined the army.”
“You know that doesn’t make any sense, right?”
He chuckled. “Not Alis personally. Girls and boys like Alis. People who should be protected. Who should be able to live their lives in safety, knowing that strong men and women are standing between them and danger.”
Lucilla felt the words pierce into her heart, and she faltered, but Mathos had moved slightly ahead of her on the path and didn’t see how deeply affected she was.
This was what he wanted from her. Why he had argued so hard that she should be queen. To stand up for the boys and girls like Alis, to protect them from the danger of men like Dornar, and the rampant destruction of more war.
She caught up to him, quietly letting the knowledge settle. She had never really felt much purpose in her life. Everything—all her thoughts, all her plans—had been focused on running away. Perhaps now, for the first time, there was something she should run toward.
