Page 32 of When Roses Burn

When Seth leaned a little closer, our noses nearly touched. “I. Don’t. Believe. You.”

Those four words were a fresh knife to my heart and all the explanation necessary for why he’d turned into the man standing before me and why he hated me so much. How could I ever fix this?

“Now, move,” he commanded.

He pushed himself away from the wall and stalked away. I’d been so focused on him that I hadn’t realized he was still dragging the dark sorcerer behind him until the caster’s heels scuffed the ground.

I remained where I was, my heart racing and my palms flattened against the wall as I tried to understand what he’d revealed. How did she know such details of our plan?

“For what it’s worth,” Devnair said quietly from where he stood in the shadows. “I do believe you.”

“Why?”

“Elves have a way of judging the character of others.”

They probably had some ability to do so, but he wouldn’t reveal that. “I don’t know how she could have known our plans,” I breathed.

“That’s something you’ll have to figure out.”

He slipped away to follow Seth down the hallway. Since I had no other choice and couldn’t stay here, I stepped away from the wall and went after them.

I had no idea how my mother had learned such intimate details of our plan, but I would figure it out. I doubted it could salvage what was once between me and Seth, but I had to know how she’d discovered a way to destroy us.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Knox

Once free of the harem, I dragged the sorcerer up the hill to the protective barrier while Devnair and Briar followed me. She hadn’t spoken since our confrontation inside, and I was glad for it. I couldn’t stand to listen to more of her lies. She had to tell her mother; no one else could have.

Even if Briar hadn’t told Marina directly, she’d told someone who’d gone back and reported our plans to the queen, and that was still a betrayal. We’d vowed not to tell another living soul what we intended to do. We’d known that if anyone in our families ever found out, they’d do everything they could to stop us… and hers had done exactly that.

There was no other way for Marina to have known as much as she did if Briar hadn’t told her, but the look on her face when I revealed this to her had been one of shock. It had looked so real.

For one fleeting second, I’d believed she was telling the truth. Then I’d recalled what a good fucking liar she was. And she truly was the best.

As we continued up the hill, Briar spoke again. “Why did you come here today if you think I’m a monster who betrayed you?”

“Because you’re going to help us break the curse,” I told her. “Then you, and your whole kind, are going to pay for what they did to me and so many others.”

“What curse?”

“Don’t play stupid about that too. I’m not someone who will buy your lies.”

Silence greeted my words, and then Briar ran past me, got a few feet ahead, and swung around to plant herself between me and the barrier. I had to stop abruptly to keep from running her over.

“I’m not playing stupid about anything,” she stated. “If you believe I’m a liar, then that’s fine, and I can see why it doesn’t look good for me, but I have no idea what you’re talking about. What curse?”

I’d never seen Briar truly angry before, and it intrigued me to see her like this now. Her beautiful sea green eyes burned with rage as she planted her hands on her hips and glowered at me.

“I must admit, I’m intrigued about this curse too,” Devnair said.

When I shot the elf a look, he stared stoically back at me. “I’m sure you’ll learn of it when you return home,” I told him.

I started to walk around Briar; she stepped in front of me. The low growl I released caused Devnair to retreat, but Briar continued to glare at me with her arms folded over her chest.

“Is the curse what you shift into?” she asked. “Is that beast the curse? Because it’s not normal.”

I released a harsh, bitter laugh. “Oh, mea eveto, it’s about as far from normal as it can get, but the beast is my cross to bear for trusting a caster.”