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Before I could reply, a short cry from Nadine sounded in the bedroom. Klaus kicked the door, rushing in at once. I was slower to follow, tripping over my own feet.
“Put that away,” Nadine scolded as Klaus drew his sword. She quickly rounded the bed to stand before her husband. “I was surprised when she opened her eyes, that’s all.”
Reilyn was awake? I pushed past Klaus, relief swelling over me as I saw Reilyn slowly pushing herself to a sitting position in the bed. Her skin was ashen, and even her hair hunglimp around her, but she was awake. I quickly moved to the bed and pulled myself onto it. Even that effort left me panting.
Klaus steadied me.
“I would like some privacy with Reilyn,” I said.
Klaus sighed but released me. “As you wish.”
“Araki,” Klaus started.
“Privacy,” I repeated sternly.
“Araki—”
I waved my hand at Klaus. Nadine quietly grabbed his hand and tugged him to the door. I didn’t need to look to see him scowling at the abrupt dismissal. He slunk from the room. Reilyn watched them go, then turned to me.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, taking in her sallow countenance and slumped shoulders. Her eyes seemed distant despite them looking at me, lost in the deep trenches of her mind.
She let out a shuddering breath and turned to the window.
“Reilyn,” I said softly.
Her silence was like a pointed arrow, pricking against the pressure building in my chest since she teleported next to me, frothing at the mouth, eyes wide and rolling. The fear that had been pushing against my heart suddenly burst.
I clenched my hands in anger, “What the hell were you thinking?”
Reilyn turned her gaze to me again, tears clinging to her lashes.
“You made a very foolish choice,” I snapped despite my chest tightening at the sight of her tears. “After everything we’ve learned, how could you still trust her? You should have known better than to go running to Opaline. You could have died, Reilyn. Do you understand that? She nearly killed you!”
Reilyn stiffened. She pulled the blankets to cover her chest despite the loose night shift showing nothing. “I knew Opaline for years. I thought of her as a mother. It wasn’t about you, Araki. It was about desperately not wanting to believe everything I knew was a lie.”
Instantly, my anger disappeared. My voice softened, “Reilyn….”
“So what you’re saying is that, rather than seek answers from the person I’ve known for years, the person I trusted with my life and who taught me everything I know… I should have thrown out all those years and blindly agreed with you?”
That brought me up short. Reilyn had known Opaline a lot longer than she had known me. Yet, she was stubborn to accept the truth that was before her.
“Why would you let me touch you if you don’t trust me?” I demanded.
“Why would you care if I died other than because it would kill you, too?” she shot back.
I leaned closer to her, a growl in my throat. “So are you saying that on Bonfyr’s night, you were using me, trying to gain my trust?”
Reilyn slumped back, glaring. “Are you saying that the freedom you gave me that whole day was part of your attempts to gain my trust, so you could seduce me?”
I closed my eyes, breathing in deeply. This wasn’t going anywhere. We couldn’t just keep accusing each other like this. One of us had to break down the walls and reveal our truth—our vulnerability. Neither of us had any real reason to trust the other. As much as I wanted to trust Reilyn, Klaus could be right. She could have run to Opaline to break the spell, so she could more easily kill me. And I could have insisted she be saved to save my own skin.
“Do you really believe I only saved you for selfish reasons?” I implored.
“Why shouldn’t I?”
“I could have performed the counter-spell at the first sign of you dying. I could have left you for dead. But I didn’t. Because I had to believe you would survive—and because I felt I could give you my strength to help you fight whatever Opaline had done to you.”
Reilyn folded her arms tightly, her hands twisting into the blanket. “And now you know I’m useless to you. Opaline was more than willing to kill me to kill you.” Her voice grew smaller and bitter. “I can’t help you root out the Nightshade. Nobody will trust me now,” she sucked in a breath, “And they’ll be coming after me as much as you because I’m a traitor and a convenient way to get at you. So it’ll be easier for you to just remove the spell and execute me.”
