Queen of Secrets

8

Six

Garon

I

opened my eyes in an unfamiliar room and immediately tensed, reaching for my sword, except it wasn’t there. Nor were my clothes, it seemed. I tried to sit up, but pain shot through my side, and I remembered the beating I’d taken and my painful run through the tunnels to find Dahlia.

Dahlia. I’d found her and given her the name of the culprot before I’d passed out. Thank the Sun and Moon.

I glanced around at my surroundings, noting the quality and firmness of the bed I was on, and the white stone walls that could only be inside the castle. Dahlia must have taken me somewhere to recover.

“Drink this,” her voice said, and I instantly relaxed at the sound.

She moved beside me, wearing a dark pink gown that matched the shade of her full lips. Her mahogany hair was twisted atop her head, revealing the graceful slope of her neck. I longed to pull her into my arms and kiss the worry off her face, but forced myself to stillness.

She lifted a spoon to my lips and I drank it down, making a face. “What is that?” I asked.

“A tonic for pain,” she said. “Queen Fellina made it and assures me it will help you.”

“Tastes like piss.”

She smiled faintly. “That it does.”

I swallowed more of the disgusting medicine and glanced around. “Where am I?”

“An empty guest room. I thought it best if no one saw you while you recovered. Our physician examined you while you were unconscious and said you would be fine after some rest, but I’m not sure I believe it. What happened to you?”

I pressed a hand against my aching rib and winced. “The Ravens don’t take kindly to people failing their assignments.”

“I see that.” She looked me over with a concerned frown.

“They locked me up, but I managed to escape. On my way out I heard their plan: to assassinate you tonight at the ball.”

“Tonight?” She sucked in a breath. “Before you collapsed, you mentioned Prince Niall. Is he involved?”

I nodded. “He’s the one who hired the Ravens. He wants it to be done at the ball tonight so your death can’t be connected to him.”

Her brow furrowed. “Why would he want to kill me? He’s the one who has been pushing for this marriage to happen for the last few years.”

“I don’t know. Perhaps now that the wedding is imminent he’s had a change of heart.” I paused and then added, “I’m sorry.”

Cold fire filled her eyes. “He’ll never get away with this.”

“No, he won’t. But we’ll have to find a way to make him confess.”

“I have an idea for that, but we’ll need to wait for Fellina to join us.”

“The Queen?” I asked skeptically.

“She’s a powerful wizard and she wants to help. She came by while you were unconscious and would be here now, except she had a dress fitting. I told her to go while I waited for you to wake up.”

The tonic must have been working, because I was able to sit up better. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you.” She pressed her hand to my cheek. “You didn’t have to do any of this, but you did.”

I covered her hand with mine. “Of course I had to. I couldn’t let anyone threaten your life.”

“But you’ve jeopardized your position in the Ravens because of me.”

“I don’t care about any of that.” I pressed a kiss to her palm. “Your safety is all that matters to me.”

She reached up and began smoothing my hair back into place. “When you collapsed in my arms I thought you were going to die. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

“Not even when I fell off the tree in the Queen’s Garden and broke my arm?” I asked, hoping for a smile.

I was rewarded with a small one. “Not even then.”

“It would take a lot more than a beating to kill me.”

“I hope so.” Her hand trailed down to idly stroke the stubble on my jaw. Resisting her touch was becoming harder with every moment we spent together. I knew I should tell her to stop before this went any further, but I couldn’t find it in me to speak the words.

“What do you plan to do?” I asked instead. “Cancel the ball?”

“Not at all. Nial would never admit his involvement if I asked him for the truth. We’ll have to lay a trap for the assassins and force him to confess.”

“How?”

“I have an idea. But I’ll need your help.” She glanced over me. “If you’re up for it, that is. If you’re too injured, I understand.”

“I’m fine,” I said, sitting up a little more. “I barely feeling anything now, thanks to that tonic.”

Her eyes were wary. “Are you sure? I don’t wish for you to be hurt again.”

“I’m not letting you face two assassins and your wretched fiancé alone. You’re going to need my help.”

“Thank you.” Her hand slid down to my bare chest. “And when this is over...”

“When this is over, you’ll no longer be engaged.” I swallowed hard. “And I’ll no longer be a Raven. But we still won’t be together.”

She rose to her feet. “I understand. It’s been three years. I can’t blame you for moving on.”

“Dahlia, you know that’s not true.” Move on? I went to bed every single night missing her touch and wishing she was beside me. No other woman had ever even crossed my mind.

“Maybe you’re right and the two of us are too different,” she continued. “Or maybe you never loved me at all.” She began turning away, her face expressionless, but I knew her better than anyone and saw the pain in her eyes.