Neither answered. The rigidity of Davin's posture as he glared gave away his hatred. Caius wasn’t sure why the man was so angry. He had never met him but knew that Nila had loved him enough to want to leave. The accident had been tragic, not something that should have happened. If he had known what he did now, he would never have allowed her to go. Caius turned his attention back to his daughter as she moved to place her hand on Davin’s arm and tried to reason with him.
“Davin, please. Can we just talk about this later? I will explain everything once we are out of these Gods forsaken tunnels. There isn’t time to discuss whatever this is.”
Davin was livid, there was no doubt, but he moved to the side of the tunnel, shouldering past Caius to stand alone.
“Hello, Alex.” Bronwynn laughed. “Still causing trouble, I see.”
Alex’s lips tipped into a sad smile. “It’s the only way.” She shrugged.
Bronwynn leaned in to hug her. “That’s the life of a Thorn kiddo.”
A growl sounded from behind Caius. Davin obviously hadn’t known about Alex’s upbringing, nor did he seem all that thrilled to find out.
Tristan stepped forward, his face a mask of bewilderment. “Alexandria? You’re a Thorn?”
Alex rounded on Tristan, her blade suddenly appearing in her hand. “Why areyoustill here?”
Caius moved quickly, placing himself between her and the prince, his hand held out toward her.
“What the fuck, Dad!” Alex exclaimed.
“You have to trust me that you can trust him, Alex,” Caius said.
“I will never trusthim.”She spat.
Caius peered down at his daughter with a look of conviction. “You must.”
Alex closed her eyes. While she was angry, he knew that she would do as he asked. He prayed to Fari that the prince was smart enough to stay out of her way.
Alex
Ellis stepped forward, placing his hand on Alex’s arm. “Alex, your father’s right. Tristan can be trusted.”
Alex shifted her anger directly to Ellis. She had thought they were friends, but he had lied to her. Hidden vital information from her. He had let her believe that Rivka had wanted Tristan, had chosen him.
“How can I trusthimwhen I can’t even trustyou?”Her eyes burned holes into his. Ellis took a step back, realizing that he was now in the line of fire.
“Alex, it wasn’t like that,” he began. “I tried to tell you, but you were always gone, and when we finally realized what was happening, it wasn’t safe to tell you.”
“I LOVED HER!” Alex’s raised voice echoed down thelong tunnel. “I would have died for her, Ellis, and you stand here and tell me that it wasn’tsafefor me?”
She was trembling. The angst in her voice stopped whatever retort Ellis was about to make. “You kept it from me. Let me believe thathehad stolen her from me. That she…that she had lied to me. She lied to me, Ellis. You both did!”
“You were never there, Alex. She sought you out in the beginning. She loved you and never wanted to hurt you.” Ellis’ eyes bore into hers, and she couldn’t stand it.
“As queen, she could've ordered me home. To explain. To tell me the truth. But instead she chose to run, to save her child, yes, but still, she ran fromme.” Alex’s voice broke on the last word. She dropped her head, letting her grief wash over her.
Ellis moved closer to her. “She loved you, Alex. She cried for you every night. You were her everything. She ran to protect her child. She lied to protect you.”
A sob ripped from Alex’s chest. She knew what Ellis said had to be true. It was just like Rivka to do something like that. To put everyone else’s safety above her own. She had even protected Tristan in the end. Ellis wrapped his arms around her. She was angry, but she loved him and needed his comfort right now as much as he needed hers. Riv was gone. They simply held onto each other; each lost in their own grief for the woman they had loved and lost.
No one dared interrupt them, waiting patiently for them to process all of what had just been said. Kaela’s wail broke through their grief. Caius pushed off the wall, clearing his throat. “Why don’t we talk as we walk? We have a ways to go before we reach the safe house.”
He held his arm out to Alex. She moved to his side, allowing him to pull her close. They began walking, but no one dared speak. There were too many emotions floating in the tight confinesof the tunnel.
Once they were back above ground, they would have to formulate a plan on where to go from here. Questions burned in the back of Alex’s mind. Her father had a lot to explain. There were holes in the story that didn’t line up.
How did he know Davin? Why did Davin seem so angry with him? And magic was real? What was she supposed to do with that? The thoughts swirled.Rivka was dead.The last thought caused grief to crash into her again–a wave that threatened to suck her under. Kaela. What would she do about her? Alex was never meant to be a mom but there was no way in hell that Tristan was taking the babe, blood or not. Anger bubbled back in, eating away the grief. Anger was good. It was easier. It fueled the fire that would keep her going.
