An image of being in a dank cell emerges from the farthest reaches of my mind—and with it, so does a wave of emotion. Earlier, I had felt that anger, that despair, that loss of dignity, and I had lost control.
“I was a prisoner to the Hematites,” I say after a while. “Please don’t blindfold me.”
He brushes his hand against my arm, his touch fleeting. “I have no intentions of blindfolding you anymore. I witnessed your panic. I will not do that to you again.”
So, there is some humanity left in him.
Thank you, Olah.
As we settle into our journey, I try to not think too hard. To not feel too much. It’s impossible when I’m so close to him.
He doesn’t speak. Not that I want him to.
I do wish things were different between us. A mountain divides us with steep cliffs on either side. It’s impossible to work our way down—only up, over, and across.
Desperate for space, I wiggle forward enough to create distance between my back and his chest. He doesn’t notice. Or he simply doesn’t care.
The silence that follows is worse than the ride earlier.
Hector being the Bloodstone’s chieftain fractures my heart. The life we built together. All those days. Those nights. Those intimate moments. Those kisses we shared.
All of it was merely a breath in time, a shadow, an illusion of the life I longed for but could never have.
Gabriel is dead.
HeisHector now.
ChapterEight
When the sun summits the cloudless sky, we pull our horses to a halt in a meadow with tall, dead grass. Hector dismounts first and leaves me sitting on Hale.
Maybe he wants me to stay. Or maybe he doesn’t.
I frown and slip from Hale’s back as Hector moves to where his cousins and Hero gather around Luc, who gazes down at a square piece of parchment in his hand.
The rest of Hector’s men dismount and lead all the horses to the nearby stream to drink.
Everly offers me a handful of winter berries and a thick slice of wheat bread.
“Thank you.”
She nods.
As I plop a berry in my mouth, I stare at Hector, taking in the way the sunlight adds to the sternness of his brow and how the sun highlights his blue eyes. He shouldn’t be so good-looking. I swallow and glance down at the berries in my hand. Maybe it would be easier to hate him if he weren’t so damn handsome.
Visually, I like everything about him. His midnight hair. His close-cut beard. The fullness of his mouth. His straight nose. His height. His strength.
His looks cannot heal what happened to us, though. The memory ofthatnight hasn’t faded. How he revealed he wanted the power behind my serpent mark. His words severed the bond we shared—the life we had built together.
In truth, the bond was already partially severed when I admitted that I had come to Bloodstone land to kill Roland and avenge Mother. Knowing what I do now, I realize there were only lies and a few passionate kisses between us.
After we allow the horses to drink, we remount them and continue our journey. I try to stay quiet, but the longer I keep silent, the more I need to say something. Anything.
When I can no longer bear the quiet, I speak. “How long will we travel before we reach our destination?” I cannot bring myself to say the cave of reflection.
Hector doesn’t answer.
I play with the hem of my sleeve and try again. “Will we join the rest of your army soon?”
