A Dawn of Onyx (The Sacred Stones, #1)(58)

I waited for my heart to leap at his words, but it never did.

Instead, I gave him an almost-smile and hurried out, winding my way up the musty stairs and past the young guard.

“Handled?” he asked.

“What?” My mind was still reeling from my encounter with Halden. It had not been at all what I was expecting… “Oh. Oh! Yes, Martin is all healed. Thanks.”

“Martin?”

Shit. “Mathis! Oops. Too early for me, back to bed I go!” I scurried away before the suspicious look on his face could become anything else.

Halfway back to my quarters, I slowed down to catch my breath.

Halden didn’t seem the same. But hadn’t he said the same about me, too? How could I judge him? Who knew what horrors he had seen on the battlefield? My heart hurt for him. For all he had been through.

Crossing the stone courtyard, I noticed the sun peek over the castle spires. A soft, lilac-scented wind blew my hair from my face. Despite the horribleness of the past few hours, the quiet dawn brought me some strange peace.

“This is my favorite time of day,” a deep voice crooned behind me. “The sun rising over the castle feels like a fresh start. A rebirth.”

I closed my eyes. I did not have the mental energy for this man right now.

“Please,” I whispered. “Leave me alone.”

“I behaved abominably last night. I let my rage consume me. It wasn’t befitting of a king. Or a man, frankly.”

I hesitated, then turned to face Kane.

My heart almost couldn’t take the sight of him.

He looked as if he hadn’t slept all night, his hair disheveled, his eyes red.

And still he was nearly too handsome to behold.

Exhaustion lined his expression as he regarded me. “I am so sorry,” he said, his voice weary. “And for whatever it’s worth, you were incredible in the forum. As brilliant as you are beautiful.”

My traitorous heart tried to soar, but I caught it and crammed it back down. No warm feelings for the sweet-talking king today. Absolutely none. “Did you follow me this morning?”

“No.” He paused. “But I know you went to see the boy. Arwen, he’s not who you think he is.”

I was so tired of there being so much I didn’t know. “Really? Enlighten me.”

Kane’s brows creased, troubled. He weighed his words carefully before answering. “I’m not sure I can trust you, bird.”

If I rolled my eyes any harder, they would have lodged in my skull. “You can’t trust me?”

He laughed bitterly. “I’m aware of our history. But I have never lied to you.”

“What? What about the entire ‘I’m a prisoner, too’ fa?ade?”

“I didn’t mention my royal lineage, but I never lied.”

“And I haven’t lied to you, Kane.”

He stepped closer and I flinched back reflexively. His face fell.

“Last night, you arrived at the forum in Onyx colors, referred to my people as ours and this kingdom as we.”

My stomach twisted. He was right. Before Halden’s capture, I had been starting to feel like a part of this land. I had made an unexpected home here. Kane noticed the shift in my attitude and continued, outrage twisting his face.

“Then, your lover shows up at my home, kills my people, and tries to take what is mine. You fight for him, steal for him, and plot to help him escape, and tell me that isn’t lying?”

My stomach jumped into my throat. “I thought you weren’t following me.”

“I have eyes all over this castle. How could you have expected any less?”

Kane stalked past me, fury rippling off of him.

Heat lit my face. I should have known he’d never actually leave me unguarded. I clenched my teeth against the rage.

“I’m not ‘yours,’ by the way.” I wasn’t even sure why I said it. I wanted him to hurt, too.

He faced me, but his expression gave nothing away. “Of course not.”

“You just said, ‘take what is mine.’”

Kane pinned a cruel grin on me. “Well, aren’t we cocky? I wasn’t actually referring to you. Would you like me to have been?”

The words stung more than I anticipated they would.

“No, of course not,” I said, shaking my head emphatically to further prove my point. “I don’t even know you.”

The corner of his mouth quirked in a sly grin. “Well, when you’ve forgiven me for my outburst, we’ll have to remedy that.”

I was never going to forgive him for sentencing Halden to die. “So you aren’t going to kill them, even after what Griffin said?”

“Not yet.”

***

Dinner hour in the great hall was boisterous and full of life, but I could barely look up from my stew of eggplant and bell peppers. Mari watched me carefully, as she had all day, until she couldn’t take it anymore.

“All right, Arwen. Enough. What is going on with you?”

I laid my head down on the cool wood and made a guttural noise into the table.

“Sorry, I don’t speak miserable. Talk to me.”

I looked up at Mari. Her freckle-dusted face was stern, but underneath that I only felt empathy and warmth. I heaved a sigh. “It’s kind of a lot.”