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I blink. “Wh-what?”
“All of it,” he says. “The entire existence of Captain Blakemore and his journey from Kandala were all true. This ship, the documentation, the ring, the son who made the journey with his father—”
“None of this makes sense!”
“It makes total sense,” Rian says. “Only … I’m not Blakemore’s son. I just borrowed his identity.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “You’re diabolical.”
“You’re acting as if I’m the criminal here,” Rian says. “When you’re the one who broke into a room I wasquite clearshould remain untouched.”
“You were holding that woman prisoner.”
“I was keeping hersafe.”
“I feel like she would disagree.”
“This is complicated.”
“It’s not complicated. You killed Kilbourne.” Emotion tightensmy throat when I say the words, and I try to swallow past it. It doesn’t work, and I have to clench my eyes closed. I wait for Rian to say that it was the cost of battle, or to brush off the death as the ends justifying the means.
But he says, “I know, Tessa.” His voice is soft and low, closer, like he’s dropped to a crouch. “And I am sorry. Truly. He seemed to be a good man.”
I don’t want to hear sorrow in his voice, but Ido. I hate him for it.
“His wife was going to have a baby,” I say. I draw a shaky breath, remembering the gleam in Kilbourne’s eyes when Rocco teased him about it. He was so excited to be a father. “Kilbourne only took this assignment because they wanted a bigger—”
“Miss Tessa.”
Rocco’s voice, rough and strained, makes me snap my eyes open. I’m bound facing away from him, but as I suspected, Rian is in a crouch in front of me.
“Don’t give him that,” Rocco says.
He’s right. I clamp my mouth shut.
Rian is still offering the food. “He was a guard, Tessa. He died doing his job. The prince is alive.”
“He died because you killed him.”
For the first time, a thread of anger slips into his voice. “No onewould have died if you’d followed one simple order.”
I look away from him. “This is your fault. You’re a liar and a fraud.”
“I will not take blame for this. Did you ever consider asking me about that room yourself? I might have told you.”
A chill grips my spine. That has to be a lie, too.
“Oh, but of course you wouldn’t,” Rian says, that anger in his tone growing stronger. “Because Prince Corrick convinced you thatIwasn’t to be trusted, even though every decisionhemakes is fraught with conflict and unnecessary risk. Just look at where you are right now.”
He might as well slap me across the face.
“In truth,” Rian says, “I lied about very little. Nothing more than was necessary.”
“You lied abouteverything!”
“Eat the food, Tessa.”
I don’t want to take the food from his hand, and I can’t quite make myself spit at him the way I heard Bella do.
