“Beatrix Solenhart and Otto Solenhart,” I answered without effort.
Magic brushed lightly against my mind, testing, tapping, sliding, probing. Thalen’s brow furrowed.
“Next. Do you have any siblings?”
“No.”
His magic pressed again, barely skimming the surface of my thoughts.
Thalen exhaled, bewildered.
“Interesting.”
“What?” I asked.
“You’re strong, Thea.” His voice dropped to something like awe. “I can barely scratch you enough to tell if you’re telling the truth.”
I shrugged faintly. “Maybe try asking me something you don’t know the answer to. But I must be saying the truth, right? You are the second most powerful truthfinder in Rionis after your father.”
His throat bobbed.
“All right,” he murmured.
He stepped closer. Too close. The air between us thickened, humming with his magic. “Thea,” he whispered, “who healed you the night of your attack?”
My pulse lurched.
I swallowed, forcing my expression into something bored, unimpressed.
“That’s your question?” I stalled. Not even a flicker of force tugged at my mind, nothing compelling me to speak. Same as with Jan over the past few weeks, but Thalen was stronger. “You know that answer, Thalen. A healer from town. I don’t remember her face well… as you know, I was bleeding.”
The lie slipped out clean. Effortless.
If I repeated it enough times, I could almost believe it. But it was still a lie.
He hadn’t forced me to tell the truth but had he sensed it?
If I told him the real answer, it would unleash questions I wasn’t prepared to face. Questions I didn’t want anyone to ask about Lorik Draventh and me.
Thalen’s eyes narrowed. “Then why has no one come forward? Why hasn’t this healer claimed a reward from the crown? A public rescue of a princess? That brings prestige. Wealth. Status.”
“How would I know?” I countered softly. “Not everyone wants public recognition.”
It was gentle. Too gentle. Because I wanted him to keep asking.
Because if anyone could tear into my truths, it was Thalen but he wasn’t managing it. Not yet.
“Ask me something else,” I said quietly. “Something I can actually respond to.”
His eyes softened as if he were waiting for this moment. “Did you ever love me?”
“Yes,” I responded almost effortlessly. A truth that came without force.
Simple. Clean. Past tense.
Thalen stepped closer, gently taking my hand and pressing it to his chest. His heartbeat fluttered fast beneath my palm.
“Will you ever forgive me?” he whispered.
