Page 93 of Tale of the Heart Queen

With a gesture for me to follow, we open a gate and step out onto a balcony. White doves sit in cages behind us, cooing softly. The vantage offers a view of Aphelion and the miles of farmland and forest beyond.

“Where are your brothers right now?” I ask.

He shakes his head as he writes on the paper. “They’re closing in on him.”

“What will you do if they find him?” Our gazes meet. I know the punishment for treason in Aphelion is execution. Is that what Gabriel has planned? I suppose he’s not technically in charge, but he does seem to be the one everyone is going to with their questions.

The look on his face tells me that he knows what I was about to say and that the same thing has been weighing on his mind.

“What are you planning to do with him, Gabriel?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know.”

He runs a hand through his hair and peers into the distance. “It was all going to come down eventually.”

“You did the right thing,” I say. “In case you were wondering.”

He squeezes his eyes shut. “I don’t know if I did. The city is in chaos.”

“Because of what Atlas did, not you.”

“Thanks,” he says, though I can tell he doesn’t really believe me.

“You deserve answers from him,” he says, and I blink. “If anyone does, you’re at the top of that long list.” He inhales and runs a hand down his face. “I know some of the reasons, Lor. Before everything went down, he shared some of them.”

“Does it have anything to do with everything we just told you?” The more I learn, the more I’m sure Cloris’s promises to Atlas are the source of Aphelion’s current strife.

“Possibly, but I’m beginning to suspect he was led astray.”

“I think I’d like to hear it from him,” I say, and Gabriel dips his chin.

“That’s fair. I hope you get that chance.”

“I wish I’d known about all this during the Trials.”

“Would it have made a difference?”

I grip the stone railing and lean back. “Maybe? For us?” I say, and that wins me a rare smile.

“I’m sorry I was such an ass,” he says. “I didn’t understand what you were doing there, and I was worried about Tyr.”

I sense something in the way he says his king’s name. I noticed it in the study, too. The way Gabriel looked at him.

“Were you two ever in love . . .” I venture, and he nods.

“A very long time ago. But that’s over. How can we ever go back after everything? He’s seen me at my worst, and though I don’t blame him for Atlas’s actions, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to see anything else. How do we ever get past that?”

I think I understand what he means.

“Nadir’s father killed my parents,” I say, and Gabriel turns to me, his brow furrowing. “I spent so much time hating Nadir for that. I pushed him so hard, and even though I knew I felt something for him, I didn’t want to.”

I lean against the wall, placing my elbows on the ledge.

“But we found a way through it.”

“You’re mates. That’s different.”

I shake my head. “Even if we weren’t, I’m sure we would have ended up here.”