Page 35 of To Steal the Sun

“And we just sent her back there,” he murmured under his breath. “Alone. And now it turns out she doesn’t even know the truth. Celandine has never acted as a true mother to her, and she didn’t birth her either. Gwen has no ties to her and owes her no loyalty. But Gwen is the only one who doesn’t know that.”

He blew out a breath, straightening. “I have to go to her.”

“No!” his mother cried. “It’s too risky! What if the queen sees you?”

“I don’t care,” he said, his voice granite. “I’m not abandoning her to that place for a second time. Not knowing the truth makes her vulnerable. I should have gone to her and told her the truth immediately after I found it out. I’ve spent ten years regretting that, and I’m not going to regret making the same mistake again. I have to find her and make sure she knows everything.”

He scanned the room. “If none of you will help me, at least don’t try to stop me.”

“I’ll help you,” Charlotte said quietly.

Gwen had helped her get to Henry, and now she would help Gwen’s beloved find his way to her.

GWEN

This time, Gwen didn’t return straight to her room. She couldn’t bear to be shut up in there for endless more hours, just waiting. But neither did she want to endanger the servants by seeking them out. Which left her once again alone, walking the corridors she had roamed so often.

But these weren’t just halls she had once walked alone. They were also the play spaces where she had run with Easton, and she chose to think of him as she walked instead of dwelling on the painful, solitary years. Without him and Nanny, her life would have been only one long stretch of bleak darkness. The two of them had saved her, and now she was choosing to return to the Gwen they had helped form. The Gwen she wanted to be.

When her steps finally circled back to her room, she slipped inside with a soft sigh. She couldn’t avoid the mess she’d made forever.

The chaos assaulted her vision, distracting her enough that she missed the flash of motion from one side. A hand clamped over her mouth, stifling her scream, and a strong arm circled her shoulders, pulling her firmly back against a solid chest.

She thrashed, trying to maneuver her teeth for a bite until the words in her ear permeated her brain.

“Gwen! Gwen! It’s me. It’s Easton.”

She stilled instantly. Easton? Was it possible? She had spent half the day dreaming of him, so was it possible she was dreaming this too?

But she could feel the solid warmth of him, goosebumps rising where his breath brushed behind her ear. He was real. He was there.

She slumped in the circle of his arm, her eyes welling with tears. Easton immediately dropped his arm, instead taking her shoulders and spinning her so he could see her face.

“Gwen?” His voice was rough and his face drawn. “What is it? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

She managed a tremulous smile, drinking in the sight of him. His face was somehow afraid, angry, and achingly beautiful all at the same time. She had never seen such a welcome sight.

“I’m sorry,” she managed to choke out. “I’m fine. Really. Just glad to see you.”

Easton glanced around the room, his eyes coming back to hers. “I didn’t dare wander the palace looking for you, but when I saw what had happened here…” He shuddered. “I’ve been going out of my mind waiting in this room!” He pointed at one of the walls. “Those are claw marks, Gwen! Don’t try to claim they aren’t.”

Gwen bit her lip guiltily. “That was me. In a fit of…defiance? Rejection of my past? It wasn’t exactly rage, but…” She shrugged.

Easton finally let go of her shoulders, falling back a step and laughing. “It was you? You did this?” He looked at the mess with new eyes, his lips twitching. “I approve. I just wish I’d been here to join in. I always hated this room. I hated the thought of you stuck in here all the time.”

Gwen smiled. “But it brought you to me today. You knew where to find me.” Her smile fell away as reality intruded. “But what are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here!”

Easton swallowed, the light dimming from his eyes. “I had to see you. There’s something I have to tell you.”

Gwen’s heart seized. Was he here to tell her that being king was a burden too heavy for him to accept? Was he going to say he was pulling out of the plan?

He stepped forward and took both her hands in a gentle grip. She wanted to prod him to hurry up and say what he was going to say, while at the same time she wanted to beg him not to say it.

When he hesitated, she nearly pulled her hands away, unable to bear the tension. But he gave her fingers a squeeze, and her heart calmed. Easton of all people wouldn’t desert her. Somehow they would find their way through this—whatever it was.

“Ten years ago, I made a horrible mistake,” he said. “I learned something about the queen—about you—and I went to her to confront her instead of coming to you. I’ve regretted it ever since.”

“You said that back in Ranost,” Gwen said, frowning. “Surely you don’t think I blame you for that?”

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