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I began to follow but my steps slowed as some things began to add up. Something seems off. No one had glanced twice at him as we made our way out of the city. A city where he was on the king’s court. As I watched him walk toward the cave, I noticed his cloak was packed. Did he even put it on this morning? He should’ve been concerned with being seen, but the muscles in his back and the lazy gait of his steps showed me he wasn’t the least bit concerned. Something wasn’t right, and the scary part was, I didn’t know what it was.
“Stop, Bennett,” I said with more force, my patience thinning and my voice rising with each sentence. “You don’t get to just boss me around and treat me like a little pet. I’ve sucked up to your little commands this whole trip and I’m done with the disrespect. I let you take the lead on this assignment because you’re from here, but some things just aren’t adding up.” My hand lingered over my golden dagger. “Like how no one has recognized you walking down the street. You think I didn’t notice you forgot to put your cloak on today? We walked by plenty of people, and for someone who supposedly grew up as a prince here, you think your own people would have greeted you.”
His eyes widened and I kept going. “You’re a prince and we just stayed in a cheap, old inn when I can guarantee any of your comrades would have let us stay with them. At Jack Hacker, you could have stopped those men from attacking me if you just simply announced your name. You chose not to reveal yourself, and you can lie and say it was for the mission, but keeping your identity a secret doesn’t really matter, and at that point they all saw my face anyway. You chose not to because you knew nothing would have happened.”
I pulled the golden dagger out of my sheath as my heart began to triple in speed at the confirmation I saw in Bennett’s eyes. “I know the letters I wrote got sent to Vicinus,” I continued. “I made sure of it. I double checked, I triple checked, because I kept trying to convince myself I was sending them to the wrong place when you never wrote back. . .but my letters did come, Bennett, didn’t they? You just weren’t there to get them.”
“Rhiannon, you need to take a breath, I—”
I felt like I had shadows of my own as one hand found my dagger and the other found his throat, my blade resting under his chin before I even knew what I was doing. “What game are you playing and where are you taking me?” My tone was deadly serious, and the look alone could kill him. I could feel my craft stirring, my eyes bound to turn gold if I didn’t get it under control. “And this time, maybe you shouldn’t lie, I have no reason not to kill you. Missions go wrong all the time and soldiers die. Miles could step up to the throne and he would probably do a better job at it, too.”
He looked taken aback by my accusation. “You don’t mean that.”
“You don’t know me!” I screamed back, our faces so close to each other that our lips could brush the other with the smallest movement. My chin raised in defiance as I glared at him with every ounce of hatred I had in me. I knew the words I said were harsh, but I couldn’t stop them. I felt betrayed; I just started to think I could trust Bennett again. I believed the words he said at the inn and now I didn’t know if any of that was true. This was why I chose to not let anyone in, because every time I did they would always prove to me why I shouldn’t have.
His tone was pleading as he begged, “Rhia, listen, please. I’m sorry. I can’t say anything or else I would tell you everything, I swear!”
“How convenient,” I said bluntly, my Golden blood itching to be tapped into.
“I brought you here to test a theory of mine.” Genuity showed in his eyes.
I scoffed in disbelief. “So now I’m an experiment to you?”
“No, you’re not, but if I’m right, everything will make sense. The fact that you can see the entrance into the mountain is already a good sign that I’m right. Please, just trust me.”
“Trust you? You’ve given me no reason to!” I yelled, lowering the blade, worrying I might accidentally nick him in the rush of my emotions, but keeping my other hand wrapped around his neck, a threat to show my craft could be used against him if he tried anything.
“I was just about to!” he yelled back.
“And I’m just supposed to believe you?”
He dropped his head—which ended up resting against my forehead—and lifted his hand to gently cover the one I had wrapped around his throat.
“You can take my hand the whole way through the mountain. If you ever feel threatened or that I’ve betrayed you, feel free to use your craft on me.”
I thought about it for a moment. If Bennett was telling the truth, I could finally get the closure I needed and understand what exactly was going on here. Plus, I would have the upper hand by always having contact with him.
“Please, Rhia,” he begged.
“And why should I agree to that?”
“So I get the chance to hold your hand?” He smirked.
“That’s not funny.”
His smirk widened, his teeth showing now. “Then why are you smiling?”
I quickly dropped the grin that unknowingly appeared on my face.
“Fine, but know this—if I suspect that you’re lying to me and that this is all a set up, I will not hesitate to kill you. Even if that means I go down with you.”
He chuckled. “I don’t doubt that.”
I loosened my grip and Bennett slid his fingers through mine.
“Thank you,” he said softly, “for choosing to trust me.”
I nodded and let him lead me towards the mountain. My fingers were freezing from the cold and the nerves combined, but Bennett didn’t seem to notice or care.
