Page 107 of The Sinner's Bargain

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

NAYA

Thoran held my hand possessively as he led me through the back of the house with Cyrus a silent shadow on my other side. It wasn’t at all the way I’d gone the day before. We took the front door and skirted along the side of the house.

“What about the side door?” I asked.

Thoran lowered his gaze to mine. “Side door?”

I nodded, gesturing to the brick wall running alongside us. “The one down the hall from the storage rooms.”

Both Cyrus and Thoran stopped and exchanged glances. I could see them trying to bring to mind the layout of the house and the door I spoke of.

It was Thoran who realized it first. His eyes widened with horror. “Is that how you got into the garden yesterday?”

I nodded. “I found it a few days ago, but it was always raining so I never bothered going out. Yesterday, the sun was out and it seemed so nice. I thought I would take my book...” crippling horror speared through me. I clapped both hands over my mouth. “Oh! Oh no!”

The two men exchanged glances.

“What? What is it?” Thoran asked.

I told myself not to be scared. This was Thoran and he wouldn’t hurt me, but what if he got angry? What if he realized what a mistake I was?

“Blue?”

But I had to tell him. He would know eventually.

“I lost the book,” I croaked, “when I fell in the lake. I’m so sorry.”

Thoran blinked. “You think I give a shit about some replaceable pile of papers when you nearly drowned?”

I didn’t see deceit in his eyes. He didn’t seem concerned by the loss at all.

He took my hand once more and tugged me along.

“How did you get inside the garden?” Cyrus asked, startling me; that might have been the first time I’d heard him speak that day.

“The archway,” I said. “Behind the vines.”

Thoran rubbed a hand over his face. “Not only did you risk your life crossing a corridor practically on the verge of collapsing, but you crawled through a tangled bush of thorny vines?”

I felt my cheeks warm. “I didn’t crawl. There was an opening, and I thought it was okay because the other person was inside.”

For the second time, both men stopped.

“What other person?” Cyrus growled.

I flinched, but answered, “There was someone already on the other side.”

“Who? What did they look like?”

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