Page 54 of Bloodguard

Leith shrugs. “Not my fault he couldn’t hold on to his sword.”

I roll my eyes and start to respond, but Leith interrupts.

“What’s that?” he asks.

I follow his line of sight and see the small house we built for our staff. “That’s where Pasha, Musy, and Sonu live.”

“Your cooks and the gardener?” Leith asks. “You gave them their own house? Not just a servants’ quarters in your own?”

I tilt my chin. “They never had a home of their own.” His deep frown lines begin to smooth, satisfied with my response. Yet… “Your query sounded more like an accusation. Do you think royal families so incapable of being kind?”

Something like guilt softens his sea-glass eyes. “Maybe not all of them.”

There he goes again, curling my toes with his words, and that smirk twists my insides in all the best ways.

I veer us to the right, avoiding the small trail that leads deeper into the dense forest and instead following the path to where the trees thin and unveil the masterpiece of a hidden lake.

The water is never the same color, changing with the tones in the sky. Today, it’s a pale blue, as close to white as I’ve ever seen. Sun storks in tricolors of pink, turquoise, and orange flap their wings wildly as they break through the waterfall, enjoying a refreshing shower before resuming their calls.

Leith takes in everything from the soothing color and light reflecting along the gentle waves, to the rainbow that always appears beneath the fall on sunny days, to the flight of toadstool butterflies and the whoosh of birds zipping back and forth.

When Leith finally speaks, I can hear his heart breaking. He takes slow, steady breaths, his eyes closing briefly. “Will you…show me the best view of this lake?”

In the brief time we’ve known each other, we’ve experienced many things together, good and bad, hopeful and not. But I know that the most important thing we’ve shared is happening right here and now. I walk toward the left side of the lake, guiding Leith.

We step carefully over the quartz that casts its own unique sparkles along the water. In a few more steps, we’re here, where a large bed of moss and flowers awaits. It is the best and most comfortable place to nap on warm days like this, and it’s the only place where the waterfall spills pink foam.

“The boulders at the base of the fall are rose quartz,” I say before he can ask. “No matter the time of year, the sun’s rays always find them. The minerals in the water have healing properties, too. I think it’s because it’s so beautiful”—I smile—“even the Erth’s magic wants to be here.”

He opens his palm. Strands of withering dark-blond hair tied together with string shouldn’t speak such volumes. But they do.

Leith rolls the only remains of his friend between his fingers. “His name was Sullivan. I’ve been waiting for the right place to bury him,” he says.

I remain silent. Right now, Leith doesn’t need my words. He just needs my heart.

His tormented gaze meets mine. “I killed him. That day I fought the dragon. I killed my friend so I could win the match.”

I know. I saw.

I’ll never forget.

Leith’s features are perpetually stone, not so much as a stitch of vulnerability in sight. Even now…save his eyes.

My chest aches for Sullivan. For Leith. For what it cost them both. “Tell me about Sullivan,” I say, feeling how much he needs to.

The melody of birds and the soothing sounds of the falling water melt away. Leith’s silence is unbearable. When he does speak, it’s worse.

“We met when I was twenty-two and he had just turned forty. I’m not sure how we started speaking—we just did, even though gladiators guard themselves carefully.”

Each syllable that flows from Leith’s mouth holds enough emotion to fill this lake.

“There were long, cold nights when frost licked the bars where we huddled in the driest corner of the barracks we could find. There were other moments when we thought the rain wouldn’t end until it drowned us.” His expression softens. “Those were the best nights with him. We shared stories of our youth, of home. He had a biting sense of humor. Sharp as an axe. Even in those darkest days, he’d find some way to make me laugh.” He almost smiles as if remembering something. “If it wasn’t for him, I’m not sure I’d have made it through. Maeve…coming to Arrow…we just wanted a little more than what we had. We needed it.”

Leith’s body falls perfectly still. The memory is still raw. “That last match…Sullivan lost his legs and part of an arm,” he says. “He was hurt beyond healing.” He bows his head, the extent of his actions too wrong to bear. “That doesn’t make what I did right.”

Leith takes a deep breath and another. “You know what he told me? He said, ‘What are you waiting for? Do you think I’d letyoulive?’” He curses and clenches the hand holding the hair. “The thing is, I think he would have.”

I cup his face with my hands. “Leith,” I say. “The hardest lesson I’ve learned as a healer is that sometimes, all you can do is end the pain.” My bottom lip quivers. “Sometimes it’s the only grace left to give.”

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