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Kallie sighed. She hated talking about this, but she felt she needed to defend herself and her family. Graeson already hated the king. No point in giving him more reasons to hate him. "The king still finds it hard to speak about her. When she died, my father was distraught, heartbroken. He destroyed all of her pictures in the palace. They were too painful for him to see. This . . . this ring is the only thing I have that was once hers."
Graeson raised his brows. "I find that hard to believe."
Taken aback, Kallie scoffed. "Well, it is. Everything else is gone."
Graeson's hand fell to his side. "No, not that. I find it hard to believe that the heartbreak was too hard to talk about.”
She glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
He exhaled. "Nothing." Then looking away, he continued, "It's just that if I lost someone I cared about, I would want to talk about them. Holding it all in only lets the pain fester and build. Nothing good can come out of that."
"You talk as if you're familiar with the feeling,” Kallie said.
Graeson shrugged. "You could say loss is an old friend."
She waited for him to elaborate, but he never did. All too familiar with the pain questions often brought, Kallie didn’t press him. Nor did she care to. When she looked into his eyes, she saw something else there. Something she couldn't quite describe. But before she could identify it, it disappeared as though she had imagined it. A figment of her imagination perhaps.
She shook her head, erasing the thoughts of her mother from her mind. The thoughts were making her see things, making her pretend something was there when it wasn't.
They fell back into silence.
Tonight, Graeson was on the first watch. With their conversation done, Kallie made her way over to the makeshift bed he had made for her on the flat ground. Laying underneath the top blanket, she turned to her side.
Darkness blanketed the sky, and she could barely make out the silhouettes of the Pontians, but she knew they were there beside her. Dani had fallen asleep a while ago, Terin and Fynn shortly after. But Kallie lay wide awake.
She didn’t know how much time had passed, but eventually, she saw Graeson walk away from the horses to wake up Fynn who lay next to her. The two men slipped into the woods as they spoke in hushed tones, their words too faint to parse.
Sometime later, Graeson returned. He took Fynn's empty spot beside her, practically throwing himself against the ground with an exasperated sigh. In the near distance, she heard Fynn walking in the woods around them, watching, listening for any signs of danger.
No tracks were found that night.
Still, Kallie did not sleep.
Chapter12
Kallie somehow had managedto fall asleep during the ride the next day though. The sound of shouting startled her awake, almost causing her to fall off the horse. But unsurprisingly, Graeson had quick reflexes. His arm tightened around her waist, as she tipped. And for once, she was thankful for his proximity.
She righted herself and shrugged his arm off her. Her hand flew to her thigh on instinct, but her palm fell flat against her pants. She still didn’t have her dagger. The paranoia from the past few days had her heart pounding as she searched for the source of the shouting. Were they being attacked?
In the distance, a lanky figure waved at their group, her brows knitted together in confusion. The man was waving them over, bouncing on the balls of his feet. This was not a man planning to attack them. Unless he was a complete imbecile, that is. This must be the safe house Fynn had mentioned. But this was not what she pictured when Fynn had said they would be staying at a safe house. This man was not built for protection. Nor was this farm.
Along the eastern side of the Lucian River, a long stretch of short crops bordered the dirt road that led to the man who stood in front of a small farmhouse. The house was plain, dismissible. And the only house in sight. So perhaps, in terms of safety and privacy, it was a decent choice.
As the group approached, the man directed them to the stable adjacent to the house.
Outside the stable, Fynn hopped down from his horse. A wide grin split his face in two as he walked over to the provincial man. He slapped him on the back, pulling him in for a hug.
While everyone was distracted greeting the man, Kallie examined the stable. Various rusted farming equipment lined the walls, such as hoes, rakes, and shovels. Without her weapon, she would have to make use of what was available.
When Graeson turned around, Kallie feigned a bored expression. "Well?" she asked.
Graeson blinked up at her.
She shook her still-bounded hands at him. "Can I bother you to help a lady out?"
Graeson laughed. "Now you require my help, Princess?"
Kallie groaned. "Fine. I am perfectly capable of dismounting on my own."
