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“By today, I’m assuming you mean now.”
His eyes shifted to Violeta and Vesna. “A moment…alone.”
Alone. The word straightened my spine and sent my heart racing. I did not wish to be alone with anyone but Adrian. At the same time, my chest tightened with guilt. Killian had helped me and was just as devastated by my father’s betrayal. But while I knew he was loyal to me, would he also be loyal to my husband?
“I am afraid I have no time this morning,” I said. “I must meet with Gavriel.”
Killian’s shoulders stiffened. “Why?”
The word tumbled out of his mouth unceremoniously.
“I have questions about Lara,” I said.
He was quiet for a moment, likely wishing to contain his initial reaction, but he did not need to because I knew how he felt. It was the same way I had felt any time he had minimized my concerns regarding Lara’s politics or defenses.
“Do you not trust me?” Killian asked.
“This has nothing to do with trust.”
“Then why not ask me?” he said.
“Because you are too close,” I said. “I need the truth.”
“Are you calling me a liar?” he asked.
I clenched my fist to keep from rolling my eyes. “No,” I said. “Unless you knew my father intended to kill me when he arrived here. Then I would call you a liar. Then I would call you a traitor.”
Killian paled, and when he spoke, his voice was a quiet rumble. It hinted at the pain I had caused with those few words. “You cannot think I would have let him hurt you.” When I did not speak, he continued. “If I had known his intentions, he would not have made it beyond the borders of Lara.”
There was a part of me that had expected Killian to justify my father’s decision because he had been just as upset when he’d come to Revekka and discovered that not only did the Blood King still live, I was in love with him. Instead, Killian attempted to protect me.
“I wish I had known,” he added. “I would have liked to spare you this agony.”
There was a lot to say about Killian and the complicated nature of our friendship, but perhaps his greatest attribute was his loyalty—not to crown or title but to me.
“I do not doubt you,” I said. “But it is for that reason I must speak with Gavriel. Your view of Lara was influenced by my father. How are either of us to know the truth?”
“Is that an invitation to join you?” he asked.
I studied him briefly and then said, “Only if you agree to wear my colors.”
His jaw tightened. “Which colors?”
“Red for Revekka, blue for Lara, and gray…for when I conquer Vela and free my mother’s people.”
“You wish to conquer Vela?” he asked, his brows raising.
“Iwillconquer Vela,” I said. “I will burn it to the ground.”
***
Killian waited outside my door while Violeta helped lace up my boots and clasped a blue, fur-lined cloak around my shoulders. Despite the cold, I did not wish to meet Gavriel within the castle. I did not trust its walls with their hidden passages and concealed doors—anyone might happen upon us; anyone might listen. At least in the garden, it was harder to hide. More than that, however, it was a place from which I drew comfort and strength because it was where I felt closest to my mother, though I was miles away from her gardens in Lara—the ones my father had made certain survived long after her untimely death.
Once more, I found myself at odds with my father, whose love allowed for altars dedicated to my mother’s memory but no action toward what mattered most—the freedom of her people and the life of her daughter.
I led Killian outside through the entrance of the Red Palace, following a path that cut between green hedges and a set of stone steps that descended into the extensive gardens. It had grown colder since I’d seen Adrian off this morning, and I briefly wondered where he was now, if he had any luck locating Gesalac or Julian, and when he would be home.
“Everything is still alive,” Killian said.
