AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She sat on the bed, taking care not to aggravate her leg and reached for her food. Her stomach rumbled at the pleasant scent that rose to her nose. The bowl was warm and loaded with squash, potatoes, and dark poultry meat. “Why are you here?”
He looked at her, his spoonful of broth suspended in the air. “You know why.”
“To take me back.” It wasn’t a question, and anger bled out of every word, like they were dripping with poison. “Why? Wouldn’t it have been easier just to let me go? I doubt you came all the way here because of your burning, undying love for me.”
Gavin released a resigned breath, then resumed eating, his brow furrowing as he kept his focus on something other than her. “Vera accused me of being an accomplice to your escape.”
“The Crow?” Violet leaned forward, her thoughts sharpening at his words. “I didn’t throw my blade at you…but they don’t know that. I still hurt you. In what world does that mean we were working together?”
Gavin shrugged and dipped his bread in the stew, the tightness in his expression not softening when he met her gaze. “Does it have to make sense for the Society of Crows to get whatever retribution they seek?”
Violet knew full well that the answer was no. She’d aggravated the Society beyond reason by attacking one of their members during a ceremony and by escaping right under their noses. She knew they would come for her, and it was likely that her punishment would be a life of imprisonment at the hand of the Society, at the very least. At worst, the King would demand her head.
But Violet didn’t regret her escape. She would take the wrath of a kingdom over handing her future—her family over to the God of Shadows any day. She brought her hand around her neck and swallowed hard against the knot that had formed there. Guilt stirred anew in her gut, and she opened her lips to apologize. But Gavin spoke before she could say anything.
“It’s not all your fault. I should have known better.” His breath whistled between his teeth and he shook his head. “I defended your reason to escape because after they demanded to witness our… union, I was too mad to care about what might happen to me if I spoke my mind.” His voice shook with anger. Was it directed at her or the Crows? Violet couldn’t tell. Maybe both.
The archaic laws of witnessing a marriage intercourse had been abandoned decades ago, and no one cared whether the couple had sex during their wedding night. All they cared about was for a magical child to be born. The expectation of a pregnancy was high, and every person who went into a matched marriage knew this. So when Morgan had demanded to watch them that night, it was as if she was drawing pleasure from tormenting them further.
“I was thinking of escaping well before that.” She cleared her throat. Why was she being so candid with him? Maybe it was the suffocating remorse which settled in her chest when she caught sight of the scar on his chin and thought of the pain it must have caused.
After all, Gavin was as much a victim in this whole thing as she was.
He didn’t seem surprised by her admission. He set his empty dish aside, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten a bite. “I imagine that’s the case, Violet, but they have no way of proving your intentions, only of condemning you for your actions after they demanded to witness us coming together. I don’t understand why she did that. They already had what they wanted.” He rested his elbows on bent knees, propping up his chin on his knuckles and hanging his head so that the curtain of his wavy hair fell over his face, hiding his features. She could only guess at his emotions.
Every time this man mentioned them lying with one another, her insides trembled with the way his inflection changed. As if he’d thought about it constantly. She pressed her legs together, cramming the bread in her mouth, unable to enjoy its buttery flavor on her tongue. She needed to sort through these confusing feelings and move on, or else she would fall prey to her cravings for him.
“You think they care whether they can prove that I planned to escape or not? There’s no one in that city that will overrule the Society of Crows, even if I changed my mind and told them I was going to stay and obey their orders.”
“We have a judge that sees to the protection of the kingdom’s citizens and a fair king.” At her snort of laughter, he furrowed his brows, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Your innocence would be endearing if it wasn’t so likely to get you killed.”
Gavin ignored her snarky comment. “Julius vouched for my innocence, but the Society demanded that I bring you back within a month. He appealed for it to be two months. With his good standing with the Crown, I don’t doubt he will succeed.”
She huffed, and put her soup on the table next to the bed, suddenly no longer hungry. “So, what are they going to do to you if you don’t bring me in?”
“I’ll be held accountable for two sets of crimes. Deserting the land, and refusal to comply with the match.”
“That’s absurd, but I don’t doubt they’d still prosecute us for both crimes, even if you brought me in. To make an example of us. To show what happens if someone defies them.”
“Julius wouldn’t let that happen.”
“You think your precious commander cares about us? He’s the biggest snake of them all.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He raised his voice, his cheeks reddening as he got up from the floor, suddenly filling the space with his height.
“Were you in that meeting where he vouched for you, or did he just tell you that he did?”
Gavin pressed his lips together and shook his head. He stormed away from her toward the table where his healing satchel lay. “You like to think you know everything about everyone, so why should I bother answering any more of your questions?”
“Maybe I know more about your commander than you do, seeing how you seem to hold him in such high regard. Enough to throw yourself in the way of a knife intended for him.”
He headed for the door, reaching for his heavy wool coat which hung from the wall. “I’ve known him since I joined the army, far longer than you. He is a good man.”
Violet forced out another laugh. If only she could enjoy the way he frowned in response, but his naivety broke something deep within her, and the sympathy she felt for Gavin only angered her further. She had no right to care, and caring only gave him a weapon he could use to hurt her later. “Your rich boy attitude is showing, Gavin Luna. It’s clear that wealth has coddled you your entire life and protected your family. If someone like Julius treats you with enough respect that you actually like him, then I guess it’s no wonder you trust him with your life.”
“What does my family—or their wealth—have to do with anything?”
