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“You’ve been told? You’ve never seen him?” The air chilled slightly while the last wisps of warmth seemed to leave the earth all at once.
“Very few people get to see him.”
“He wants to be aSaintbut won’t let the people see his face?”
I heard the sneer in his words. “I don’t make the rules, sweetheart. Besides, I’ve heard King Belin of Eserene is a rather elusive man.”
“At least he isn’t murdering people for a pointless cause. And you may not make the rules, but you enforce them. That’s just as bad.”
“I do what I need to do to survive.” The statement shot through me. Shame bubbled within me at the thought of what I once did to survive.
“So you don’t believe in his cause?” I pried.
“So many questions.”
I needed to push the conversation toward what Ireallywanted to know. “And I have to marry him,why?”
Miles sighed. “Because you are the missing piece to his claim to Sainthood. He marries the Daughter of Katia, he ascends to Sainthood.”
I wasn’t worried because that wasn’t going to happen. I wasn’t worried because I wasn’t the daughter of anyone but my parents, Irabel and Sarek Gaignory.
Homesickness began to swell in my chest, for Inkwell, for my old life, for the first time marriage had seemed like a real possibility. I would have doneanythingto bring Cal back, to marry him.
“Sleep,” he ordered. “We’ve got days of walking ahead until we get to Taitha.”
I rolled over in the grass, staring at the Onyxian Mountains in the distance, and wished on every star that this wasn’t real life. I couldn’t wallow for long, though, because tonight, after Miles fell asleep, I was getting my dagger and leaving.
???
I fought the urge to sleep until I heard Miles’ breathing slow and deepen, fighting to keep my eyes open. I hadn’t realized how exhausted I was, how my body was begging me for rest. I waited a bit longer, until I knew his sleep was deep enough not to be easily disturbed.
Hopefully.
I righted myself, sitting up and feeling for the reassuring presence of the diadem among the ruffles of my dress. I couldn’t wait to get this thing off of me.
Miles had kept his belt on while he slept, his bow still slung over his shoulder. It looked uncomfortable, but I suppose it was a smart decision on his part. Not smart enough though — because he had fallen asleep on his right side, my dagger there for the taking on his left.
Gathering my ruffles as best I could, I padded over the grass, every tinycrunchsending my heart racing faster and faster. I stood over his sleeping form, the diamond on the hilt ofmydagger peeking out of the sheath, reflecting the starry sky above. What astupidman, falling asleep and leaving my blade so exposed. He deserved to have it stolen.
With a deep breath I leaned over, my hand closing over the hilt as I pulled it free. Slowly, slowly, slow–
Miles’ arm shot back, deftly swiping the dagger from my grasp without looking and pointing it straight at my throat, all without so much as turning over.FuckingSaints.
“Sleep,” he commanded flatly, neither raising his head nor opening his eyes. He fluidly sheathed the dagger at his hip once again, completely unphased by the almost-attempt to escape.
I evened my breathing as best I could, dropping my ruffles as my face heated with embarrassment. I let the lack of control stoke the heated fury within me, and I added him to my growing list of people to burn.
