Page 32 of The Throne's Undoing

If she still believed Domitius cared for her, he would have to prove that he didn't.

Graeson pressed on. "He abandoned you as the temple burned. He left you to die."

"You're lying," Kalisandre spat, but her expression warred before him.

Despite the hatred she spewed, Graeson saw a flicker of doubt in her features. It was brief, and if Graeson hadn't been staring at her, he would have missed it. But it was there, and that was all that mattered.

He just needed to deepen the fissure. "Where was he when the glass shattered? When the fire started? Where was he when you fell to your knees?" he pressed.

A deep crease formed in the center of Kalisandre's forehead as she tried to recall the events.

How the ceiling came crashing down and how she was abandoned on the altar as her father fled through the tunnels and her fiancé ran toward the door to help break them open.

"He--" She shook her head, unable to finish her sentence. The answer would only prove that Graeson was right.

"When the fire started, he ran and didn't look back," Graeson said. "Dani went after him. When Terin and I followed after her with you in our possession, you know what Domitius did?"

Kalisandre remained silent, her throat bobbing as she swallowed.

"He didnothing, Kalisandre. He let us take you. He brought the ceiling down over our heads with little care for your wellbeing and ran."

Red streaked the whites of her eyes, and tears puddled at the bottom, hanging precariously on her lashes.

Still, she held to her truth, as stubborn as ever. "You're lying. He would never let you take me if he was alive."

"Do you truly believe that?" Graeson blinked at her, eyes wide. At that moment, he pitied her more than he ever had before as she lay there with blood on her face and dirt in her hair, crying for a man who did not care about her.

More than anything else, Graeson wanted to kill Domitius for causing her this much pain and forcing her to believe that he was someone she could trust.

"He's my father," Kalisandre rasped. She hung onto those three words as if they could save her, as if her very life depended upon them.

Graeson shook his head, huffing a mangled laugh void of any humor. "Believe what you want, Kalisandre, but Domitius only cares about his own survival."

"You're lying!" Kalisandre shouted as she tried to slip from his grasp.

"Then why did he let us take you? Why did he drop a tunnel on our heads while you were still in your brother's arms? If he cared about you, why did he letyougo, Kalisandre?" he challenged.

She tried to speak but struggled to utter a single word when she found no sign of deception on Graeson's face. Then, as if she could not meet his eyes any longer, Kalisandre looked away, her long eyelashes brushing her sunken cheeks.

Graeson knew they weren't the words she wanted to hear, that the man who had put her in this position--manipulated and betrayed her--had gotten away without punishment.

Nevertheless, she needed to know the truth, no matter how much pain it caused. It should have been a relief that she finally understood the truth. But when Graeson looked down at her agonized face, he only felt deep empathy for Kalisandre.

When she finally lifted her gaze, she looked over his shoulder. Her expression hardened, the last remnants of emotions disappearing. Her pupils dilated and then contracted quickly.

An alarm rang in the back of Graeson's mind, but before he could react, hands were wrapped around his throat once more.

Chapter 10

GRAESON

Kalisandre slippedfrom Graeson's grasp as he was dragged back, his legs scraping against the ground. As he reached up and tried to yank the hands from his throat, the stranger only tightened his grip.

"Restrain him," Kalisandre commanded, scrambling to her feet.

The hands around Graeson's throat vanished before quickly twisting Graeson's arms behind his back, causing his shoulders to pop. When Graeson attempted to glance over his shoulder to identify his assailant, familiar brown eyes stared back at him.

Graeson gasped. "Terin, what are you doing?"

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