Page 91 of Taken By the Fae King

His reaction is understandable. He is her nylluan and they are very attuned to the moods of their riders. And right now, he has correctly deduced that I am the source of her tears and sadness.

Lowering myself to the floor, I sit across from her.

As I try to find the words to begin, she does instead. “It’s my fault.”

My head jerks back. “Why do you say this?”

“I thought you could not lie.” Her voice quavers. “I heard my entire life that Fae could not lie and instead of asking you about it, I simply took it as truth. So, when we spoke that night, in the garden at Florin, I did not ask you the most important question.”

“What question was that?”

“Can I trust you?”

Her words pierce my heart. Unable to look in her eyes, I drop my gaze to the floor. “My father wanted to betroth me to Inara. To forge an alliance through marriage by marrying a second born son to a second born daughter.” I clench my jaw. “Willful as I was, I obtained a shade stone, even though they are the type of trickster magic we are taught not to use. I wanted to see Inara. To learn what sort of female my father wanted to bind me to.”

“What happened?” she asks.

A pained smile crests my lips. “I saw you instead. You were standing on the balcony of the castle, gazing out at the gardens, and I knew.” I swallow thickly. “It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck my chest, because I knew immediately what you were to me.”

“Why did you lie?”

“Our people had been enemies for so long, I was afraid that if I told you the truth of who I was you would reject me.”

“So, instead you rejected me.” A tear slips down her cheek. “You broke my heart, you know. I had never cared for anyone before then. Not… in that way.”

She bites her bottom lip to stop it from quivering as a tear slips down her cheek. “You told me that you needed to speak with me. To tell me something. You asked me to meet you.” She sniffs. “I waited all night, but you never came.”

“I was going to tell you that night, Grayce. I swear it.” I meet her gaze evenly. “I could not bear keeping my identity secret any longer. I was going to reveal who I was… I planned to ask you to run away with me if our families did not agree to allow us to be together.”

“Can you imagine?” I shake my head. “I was naïve and foolish.”

A short huff of laughter leaves her lips. “If we had left, Lukas would have tracked us down. He would have probably killed you, thinking that you’d stolen me away against my will, and sparked a war.”

“I believe you are right.” Despite my sadness, a faint smile crests my lips. “He would have done just that.”

“Why did you leave?” she asks.

“I received word that my father and brother were dying. I—” my voice breaks. “I did not want to leave you, but I had no choice.”

“I’m so sorry, Kyven.” Her expression turns sad. “I should have realized the timing… now that I know…”

“If I had told you, would you have accepted me?” I ask the question that has plagued me ever since I left her to return to Anlora.

“I… do not know,” she replies. “In truth, I probably would have believed you meant to use me to spy on my family.”

Sadness reflects behind her eyes as she studies me a moment. “What I don’t understand, is why did you not tell me? When I asked you that night in the garden, before our wedding, why not tell me then?”

“If I could, I would have,” I reply. “I wanted to tell you so many times, but I—”

“The heart tree,” she says, understanding dawning across her features. “That was what you could not share. But, why?”

“The spirit of the heart tree said it would have altered our fate… broken the prophecy.”

She lowers her gaze. “The gods are cruel, are they not?”

“I agree. I did not want to hurt you, Grayce.”

“I know that. And yet you did and I—” her voice catches. “I need time to forgive you.”

---