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“Go pay your respects and remember, it’s something you wouldn’t have gotten to do if we sent their bodies back to Lux. Remember who actually caused their deaths and who treated them with respect,” I say in exasperation, turning away from him.
I take several steps away, needing the distance. If this doesn’t break through to him, nothing will, and everything has been a waste of time. Loma needs to find that antidote before I’m forced to send him back to Lux.
Theo walks slowly toward the graves, stopping at each one and kneeling before it, lowering his head. I let him spend as much time as he needs going from headstone to headstone. The cool breeze cuts through the trees, soothing my agitation.
After a long while, Theo turns and makes his way back to me. The anger that was blaring in his eyes is now gone.
“There are only thirteen plots. One’s missing,” he notes as he approaches me.
“There was one guard who made it out of the haunted forest. But he ran into the pool in front of The Keep, thinking the water would shield him from the shadows. The nobu promptly ate him,” I answer, fighting back how I really feel about Jonathan being eaten by the nobu.
Theo’s head turns back to the plots, going over each one carefully this time. His laugh startles me.
“Fitting end for such a vile man,” he says with a shake of his head.
When his eyes return to mine, there’s a new light in them. Hope blooms in my chest at the possibility that this finally broke through to him.
“Even after you leave here, Theo, you’re welcome anytime. And so are the families of those who were lost,” I say, and a soft smile tugs at his lips.
I turn and head back to the horses with Theo trailing behind me. Theo grabs my wrist, spinning me. He pulls me tight into his chiseled chest. I fight the urge to melt entirely into him as his muscular arms wrap around my back. My body and power flare in response, igniting the fire I’ve been fighting.
“Thanks for this. You did what was best for my men, even though they meant you harm. You treated them as your own when you didn’t have to. I have no way of repaying your kindness and respect. Just know I’m forever grateful for it,” he whispers into my hair as I tuck into the crook of his neck.
I wrap my arms around him as far as I can and squeeze him into me. He doesn’t fight it or try to pull away. Cedar engulfs me, and I breathe it in deeply, allowing it to bring me a sliver of hope. My power hums under my skin and little pricks of lightning skirt it, as if dancing at the sensation of him around me.
We part, and he gives me another soft smile, though it doesn’t warm his eyes. Giving one more glance at the burial plots, we continue our way back to the horses. Hiram sits on his brown Warlander and gives me a suggestive look. I roll my eyes but can’t hide the pink on my cheeks.
Chapter 28
Theo
We ride silently along the path, the beautiful autumn day providing a comfortable ride. Birds chirp from the forests as we make our way to the village.
I find myself constantly searching out the queen, as if some force is drawing me to her. She closes her eyes and tilts her face up to the sky, soaking in the sun’s warmth. Her long, red curls cascade down her back and bounce with each step of her massive horse.
My mind struggles to process everything from the cemetery. They didn’t have to bury my men. They could have let their bodies rot in the haunted forest and become carrion for their beasts. But they didn’t. Instead, they used their collective knowledge of Lux to give them the burial they deserved. Would King Leopold and my father have been as kind? Or was the queen right, and they would have thrown them away as if they were worthless?
Jade eyes meet mine, and I should look away. I shouldn’t let her catch me watching her, but something tells me she’d know anyway. The one corner of her lips turns up in her smirk.
I hate how much I love her smile.
I battle with myself the rest of the way to the village. Everything I’ve learned growing up is how ruthless and heartless the people of Umbra are to any outsider. Ask anyone in Lux, they will all say the same. Only the most brutal and monstrous people live in Umbra. A kingdom ruled by one evil king after another.
Being here, though, that’s not what I’ve found. While I’m certain Nyx, or Asher, would kill me at the first opportunity, everyone else has been caring and kind. How is there such a stark difference between what I’ve learned in Lux and what I am seeing here? I feel as though I can’t trust myself, or my mind.
