The more details I gave, the more likely it was for me to reveal an inconsistency in Leighton’s and my stories. Was I expected to tell Selena about my brother?
My family that I’d run away from?
Did they know who I was, and know my last name?
And then there was the matter of the bruises. I already knew Selena would require a response, and I’d have to lie. It wasn’t Ambrose’s fault he’d done it, and if I told anyone I’d stabbed him unprovoked…
“Was this before or after you received the bruises on your neck?” she asked.
I chewed my lip. “After.”
“How did the bruising happen, Kiara?”
Lie, my inner voice urged. It didn’t give me an answer on how I was supposed to make sure my lie was the same as Leighton’s. We were bonded, not telepathic.
“My brother.” The answer came to me suddenly. Selena did seem to want to protect me despite her abrasive way of doing it. If I created a story that was close to the truth, but not quite right, I might be able to work this in my favour.
Her eyebrow lifted. “Your brother?”
“My older brother, Toby.”
I almost smirked at the shortened form of his name. Hearing Leighton use it had been exciting, especially when I saw the tic in his jaw.
“Why did he try to strangle you, honey?”
“He’s never really… liked me,” I said. I pitched my voice lower, a little sad, and tried to appear dejected. It wasn’t too difficult because there was a part of me that wished he’d been on my side. My childhood would have been easier if he’d been looking out for me. “When I said I wanted to leave to be with Leighton, he was angry.”
Selena adjusted her perch on the chair and got out a notepad. “How did you get free?”
“There was a knife on the fireplace mantle. I sliced his arm with it and he let me go, and I ran back to her. We met at the park because it was close to my house.”
I was weaving this story like an expert novelist, and it was believable. Probably. Hopefully if I had any tells, like the way Leighton tapped her nails, Selena wouldn’t be able to peg them.
“Is there a reason you didn’t try to register as silver status? She could have given you a normal bond if you’d gone through the process.”
“I’m scared of him,” I whispered. “And I trust Leighton with my life. She would never use the dark bond against me, so it made sense for us to do it.”
“You’re aware that this bond should have been registered right away, correct?”
“Yes, and I apologize. Sincerely. We just wanted to wait until the bruises went away. We knew you would think the worst of her, and I…”
Tears welled up in my eyes. They were easier to conjure than I expected.
“I didn’t want her reputation to be ruined by me.”
Selena’s gaze flashed with regret, and she finally shifted to sit on the chair instead of the arm. As she continued to volley questions my way and I continued to maintain my perfect half-truth story, I wondered what she’d already done to ruin Leighton’s reputation.
She had to have done something, otherwise she wouldn’t look guilty.
And I kind of wanted to stab her for it…
But I wasn’t going to.
Geez.
I hadsomeself-control.
TWENTY-TWO
