“Gage, will you take Matthias back for us? I want to show Lia something,” Jace stated as he gestured to her horse that waited in the distance.
“You got it, brother,” he answered as he offered me his hand.
“What are you up to?” Lia asked Jace as she moved to follow him.
I turned to Gage and placed my hand in his as my brows furrowed in confusion.
“Oh, Zaela, darling,” Gage joked.
“What?” she huffed.
“Lynelle is expecting me for dinner as well, but do give her my regards.” His eyes returned to me. “I have other business to attend to this evening.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks as I stood beneath his stare, and my heart was fluttering so fast I thought it would beat out of my chest.
“Yeah, yeah, you two go off and do whatever it is all you couples do. I’ll go spend time with Mother Dearest,” Zaela said as she stalked off toward the city.
She thought that Gage and I were a couple? The corners of my lips tilted slightly at the thought of it, but things hadn’t been the same since the disaster at the isles.
In front of the others, he was always kind and supportive, even occasionally flirty, but we were never alone. He never sought me out in the late evening hours or asked me to accompany him to anything in the daylight. It had been devastating, but I was in no position to say anything regarding it. I knew I was lucky they all still tolerated my presence.
Gage escorted me to Matthias, and when I went to place my foot in the stirrup, he instead effortlessly lifted me by my hips and placed me on the saddle.
I let out a nervous giggle as he then hoisted himself up and sat directly behind me, my back pressed against his chest—just as it had been on our journey through the mountain passage.
He wrapped his muscular arms around me, reaching for the reins, and ordered the horse forward.
The silence was deafening as we trotted towards the city, but when his hand wrapped around mine while it gripped the saddle’s pommel, my heart fluttered.
He gently took my hand from it and twisted it in his own, tracing his thumb over the blisters and rough skin forming on the outskirts of my palm.
“Did you ever think you would earn these?” he asked.
My cheeks flushed. “Never, honestly. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t hate them and how they looked.”
“You should be proud that you have them. You’ve been working hard—just as hard as anyone else out there.”
I pressed myself closer to his chest, enjoying not only the warmth it brought me but also the rapid beats of my heart.
Craning my neck to look back at him, I whispered, “Are you still upset with me?”
He blew out a huff through his nostrils and I felt the heat of it tickle my cheek. His stare shot down at me, but a tiny smile formed, giving me hope.
“No, my lady Avery. It takes a great deal for me to hold grudges, and I find that is especially true with you. So, I willstart this with an apology for my absence lately. It has gone on for too long.”
I released a shuddering breath at his admission, and I held back the tears of relief as they burned my eyes.
“I thought you would hate me in secret forever. I’m sure some of them do.”
“People make mistakes, Avery. We all know that you wouldn’t have brought the book with ill intentions. And you didn’t hand it over, even when demanded of it. Zaela told me you held on tight, with fear in your eyes, as magic ripped it from you.”
“Zaela?” I breathed, confused that she had defended me.
“I’ve told you many times, she means well. She’s just overprotective and stuck in her ways. Her reactions often come on too intense and quickly for her to reel them in before saying something she regrets, but she holds no grudge against you.”
When I couldn’t find the words to respond, he continued. “In truth, she may carry the burden of believing she caused you to feel the need to prove yourself as part of our circle when, in truth, you have always been a part of us, as you are a part of Lia.”
“I just wanted to do something right,” I admitted. “I wanted to be brave and smart like Lia. She always has a plan. I guess I just wanted to be more like her and less like…well, me.”
