A Dawn of Onyx (The Sacred Stones, #1)(61)

“I don’t believe you,” I snapped.

He spun to me. “It’s like searching for a needle in a haystack. Three needles actually… Give me some time.”

I grit my teeth, about to lay into him, when an awkward grumble erupted from my stomach. I pressed my hand into my dress to quiet it, but I had been in the apothecary all day and hadn’t eaten since I had a peach that morning on my way in. My abdomen protested again, and I grimaced.

Kane raised a single, curious brow in my direction and a slight tickle of embarrassment climbed up my neck.

“What?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

But he just walked toward the apothecary door and pulled it open, sending the wooden sign swinging.

“Barney,” he called into the gallery, “Can you send for Lady Arwen’s supper to be brought to the apothecary?”

Oh, Stones.

The tickle of embarrassment had become an all-out assault.

“Of course, your majesty.” Barney’s familiar, sweet voice echoed in from the hall.

Kane made to close the door, but stopped right before it shut, swinging it open once more. “And extra cloverbread,” he said. “Two loaves. Thank you.”

When he shut the door and spun back to me, he looked very pleased with himself.

“That was not necessary,” I said, picking up the fallen herbs and throwing them in the waste bin.

“Sure it was. Someone has to take care of you, if you won’t.”

I stared daggers at him. “Is that what you think you’re doing? Taking care of me? By keeping me here against my will and threatening to murder my friends?”

His playful expression faded, replaced by something far colder. Far more frightening. I swallowed hard.

“That boy is not your friend.”

I shook my head. I didn’t want to have this conversation with him.

Not tonight.

Preferably, not ever.

He loosed a sigh and ran a beleaguered hand through his hair before turning and strolling casually around the apothecary. The sun had finally disappeared, and the room was beginning to become cloaked in a sleepy, evening darkness.

I fished through the drawer nearest to me for a match to light the room’s lanterns.

Kane tapped the glass case in front of him and my eyes flashed to him.

“What’s that?” he asked.

I flared my nostrils. “None of your business.”

“Come on, it’s so spindly. I’m fascinated.”

I sighed. “It’s a preserved jellyfish. They have healing enzymes embedded in their tissue, and the dried membrane can be used like a second skin over cuts and scrapes.”

“I love to listen to you explain medicinal practices,” he purred.

“And I’d love to listen to you fall off a cliff.”

He visibly shook, suppressing a laugh.

The man was infuriating. Coming in here, bothering me, trying to bribe me with food.

Speaking ill of Halden after everything.

Halden and his men wouldn’t have been in his vault in the first place had he not attacked the Kingdom of Amber. I rubbed my temples. All I wanted were some damn answers.

“Why did you attack Amber?” I said, stepping around the counter and closer to him. “Give me something.”

“I’ve told you,” he said, eyes still on the jellyfish. “Gareth is a weasel and doesn’t deserve to rule his own kingdom.”

“That’s not a reason to murder thousands in a war and you know it.”

His gaze hardened but still never left the glass case. “It’s all I can tell you.”

The roaring in my ears was so loud I could barely hear myself say, “Then get out of my apothecary.”

“Arwen,” he said, eyes finally meeting mine. “As charmed as I am by your fire, you’re going to have to forgive me eventually.”

I grit my teeth. “No, I really, really won’t.”

He prowled closer to me, and I could almost feel him. Touch him. Smell him. His brows knit together. “I can’t stomach you hating me forever.” His gaze was unflinching.

I couldn’t help my response. “Well, you should have thought of that before you sentenced Halden to die.”

Something predatory flickered in his eyes before he clenched his jaw and placed his hands in his pockets.

“Fine. Have it your way.”

“Is that a threat?” I couldn’t help the fear that crept into my voice.

He glared at me until finally, he sighed, resigned. “If it was, you’d know it. Have a nice evening.”





SEVENTEEN


Despite my love for the warm, fragrant evening breeze I had come to know as summer wind, it wasn’t doing much to calm my nerves. I had finally gotten Mari to share her ‘plan’, which turned out to be a complex spell she needed to get just right.

Today she was ready to give it a try.

“All right. One more time please,” I said, voice low, twisting my sweaty hands in my skirts. We were hidden behind a hedge by the dungeon stairs where we had agreed to meet.

“Calm down. I’ve practiced over and over. It’s second nature now.” Mari sounded confident, and I wanted to believe her. She had been working on the spell for weeks and was delighted when she was able to use it successfully on a squirrel. He hadn’t been able to see a walnut right in front of him for hours.