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Or at least, part of the truth.
She hadn't completely failed, not yet. She could recover from this.
Her shoulders folded inward and she did not meet their eyes as she spoke. "I—I didn't mean to. The soldier was so . . . young, scared. If I had told him anything useful, I did not mean to." She dragged her gaze up, focusing on her brother, and pleaded. "You have to believe me, Fynn."
He stared at her, unmoving. Then his head dipped down and his next words released the tension from her shoulders. "I believe you."
A sharp inhale to Kallie's right had her turning her attention to Dani. "Really, Fynn?"
Fynn turned to his wife. "We don't have time to argue over this. Our kingdom is burning down!”
"But—"
"Fynn is right." Graeson rubbed his temples.
Dani's mouth fell agape, then she quickly closed it. After staring Fynn down, she shook her head and turned on her heels. "Fine."
Fynn's fingers wrapped around her wrist, spinning her back around. "Where are you going?"
Dani shook off his grip. “As you said, our kingdom is in danger and we are running out of time. I need to gather my units and assess the situation."
Fynn grabbed her arm once again, halting her. "I'm not leaving you."
"Fynn," Dani's voice was tense, but her eyes had softened as she looked upon her partner.
His voice softened as Fynn caressed Dani’s cheek. "I'm not leaving you."
"No. You need to stay in the castle. You're the next in line. You can't go into this situation when we don't even know what the situation is. It's reckless," Dani said.
"I said,no."His voice turned commanding, transforming into the voice of a king.
They stared at each other, and Kallie wasn't sure who would win this battle.
Graeson turned around, not looking at Kallie, and stepped in between the couple. "There's no point in fighting about this either, as both of you have pointed out now, we don't have the time. If Fynn thinks that he might be in danger, he'll retreat. Right, Fynn?"
Fynn's gaze flicked toward Graeson, who stood waiting, staring at him. He gave a quick nod. "Right."
Dani bounced from one foot to the other, then shut her eyes in defeat. "Fine. Have it your way." She stepped up to Fynn, poking him in the chest. Though her figure was leaner than Fynn's stocky build, Dani exuded just as much strength and power. A born leader. They both had a fire that burned within them, both were knowledgeable and skilled. Both would make great rulers together one day. "But at the firstsign of trouble, when I say leave, you leave."
Fynn nodded in agreement and Dani took his hand. "Gray, take Kallie back to the palace and find the others."
Graeson nodded. "I'll be there as soon as I can."
Before they took off, Fynn looked back at Kallie and gave her a tight smile, his eyes flicking over her, sadness filling them. And seeing the disappointment on his face when he looked at her had the guilt swishing in her stomach again.
And for a moment, she wanted to take it all back. But she couldn't. It was already happening and there was no undoing what she did. So, she took a breath and shoved the feeling down as her brother and Dani ran off down the hall hand-in-hand.
Then Graeson seized Kallie by the crook of the elbow and pulled her along with him. They ran toward the music that shook the walls, and Kallie became painfully aware of how Graeson still had not looked at her.
The fantasy world that they had built and had foolishly thought that they could exist inside began to crumble with every step they took.
* * *
After circlingthe crowd twice with no luck, Graeson took a deep breath, then pushed into the crowd of dancers. Graeson's head swiveled above the crowd as he searched for Myra and Terin. Meanwhile, Kallie remained unable to see anything and was dragged along behind him like a child as she dodged drinks. She made herself as slim as possible as Graeson shoved his way through groups. He pulled her to the left with a new sense of urgency.
As the crowd parted, Kallie finally saw them. Terin was dancing with a girl in a rabbit mask while another masked man spun Myra around, one of her hands waving in the air as she held up an empty glass.
Terin locked eyes with Graeson and his face dropped once he took note of Graeson's sour expression. He whispered into the girl's ear who promptly pouted at him. He bent down and whispered again. Sighing, the girl nodded and left, practically hopping away to the beat.
