Page 103 of The Throne's Undoing

Kallie nodded and bit down on her tongue as she faintly recalled the various dreams that Terin had called forth.

"So you know what he did then?"

"The king?"

Kallie nodded again.

His hand fell on top of hers, and Kallie stared at it. His gentle touch surprised her, but what surprised her even more was that she didn't remove her hand from beneath his.

"If you ever want to talk about it," Terin whispered, "I am here."

"Thank you," she said, though her words were barely audible as her throat grew thick from recalling the years of abuse and torment under the king's care.

She did not wish to talk about it at that moment, but perhaps eventually...when she could make sense of everything. When she could truly feel the weight of her past rather than the emptiness that currently consumed her.

As if knowing this, Terin squeezed her hand once before removing his from hers.

Kallie peered up at him, and another question slipped from her lips. "Was that truly him?"

"Fynn?" he asked, his brother's name a whisper.

Kallie nodded. A cold snout nudged her hand, and Kallie began petting Nyrri again, happy for the small distraction.

"Yes," Terin said with a long exhale. "A version of him, anyway."

Kallie released a heavy breath, her shoulders rising and falling with it. "I'm still confused as to how that is even possible," she admitted.

"It is hard to explain."

"But Dani truly doesn't know?" Kallie asked.

When Terin did not answer immediately, Kallie looked at him.

"She does now," Terin mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

"How?" she asked, eyes wide.

He weighed his words for a moment. "It's a long story."

"Has she talked to him?"

Terin shook his head. "Fynn does not want her to live in the past."

"So he has said," Kallie sighed. She turned her head toward the sky and watched as the clouds swam across the blue expanse. "Is that really either of your choices?"

"I..." Terin paused. "I am not sure it would help."

Nyrri shifted in Kallie's lap, her snout nudging her calf.

"It might not, but perhaps Dani still has things to say to him. We do not often get a second chance at speaking to those we have lost."

Terin hummed but said nothing more.

The silence that followed, while still thick, was less uncomfortable than it had been moments before. Perhaps the uncomfortable was simply becoming comfortable.

Chapter 34

GRAESON

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