Page 62 of The Uncrowned Prince

A threat…

Karreya?

His eyes opened.

The ceiling of the warehouse loomed above him, as if he’d simply gone to sleep and dreamed of dark secrets come to life. Every crooked, dingy board seemed to be in its usual place. The light was rather dim, and the sounds of conversation in the background were hushed.

But any conversation at all meant that there were far too many people in his space.

“I don’t remember planning any parties,” he grumbled, turning his head to peer blearily across the room. “So why is it loud in here?”

His gaze collided with Karreya’s. She knelt by the couch, her golden eyes on his, watching him with a mix of hopeful intensity and… guilt? What did she have to feel guilty about?

His mind was still foggy, still half convinced that he’d merely dreamed of his worst nightmares finally coming to pass. But memories came creeping out of the fog, images that could only be real.

Karreya had saved his life. He could recall her arm around him, her fierce insistence that helive, and her incredible skill as she’d cut their way out of the palace. After he’d learned…

No. That part had to be a dream. One he refused to remember. Instead, he focused on Karreya. She was real, and she was so close—almost touching him—and for once, he could actually read emotions on her face. Relief. Embarrassment. Worry.

She was worried about him, and for some reason that realization lightened the darkness pressing on his heart.

“You would not wake up,” she said, still watching him as if she were afraid he might break. “I thought perhaps the collar had damaged you in some way, so I sought help, and we brought you back here. Whether you are angry or not, I will not apologize.”

The collar… No.

He didn’t really even think about it, just shoved the memories away again and rolled to his side, reaching out to cradle her face in his palm. “I am not angry,” he said, and felt a brief surge of satisfaction at her utterly stunned expression. “You saved my life. Twice now, it seems. I cannot tell if that means you are responsible for me, or that I owe you, but either way, I believe it definitely means you cannot leave me.”

A light blush stained her cheeks as she stared at him, unmoving, as if unsure what to make of him. At another time, in another life, he would have said such a thing as a flirtatious joke, meant only to amuse. But this time? He was shocked to realize that every word was true. He did not want her to leave him. Did not want her to learn too much and abandon him as everyone else in his life had done.

From behind her, Vaniell heard the sound of a throat clearing, as if to remind him that they were not alone.

“It appears to me as if you are well on your way to recovery.”

Emmerick. The healer’s imposing figure appeared out of the shadows behind Karreya, looking down at Vaniell with his arms folded and no trace of a smile on his face.

“I am glad to see it, but you were very close to the edge this time. Your life force was nearly gone, and you stank of dark magic. What were you meddling in, my friend?”

He could not possibly tell Emmerick the truth. Could not revisit those memories while so many faces stared at him. Emmerick, Karreya, Senaya, and even Boden huddled in a corner.

Covering the dark, hollow ache within him with a crooked smile, Vaniell pushed to a sitting position and regarded his audience. “I apologize for my terrible manners. You came all this way and I haven’t even offered you tea.”

Emmerick shook his head. “Not this time, Niell. Try to make a joke of this if you must, but whatever you did very nearly took you past my ability to fix. Care to explain?”

He did not. He did not care to explain anything, ever again.

“It won’t happen again.” He ran shaking fingers through his hair and forced a cheeky grin. “And I’m quite all right now.”

“That is a lie,” Karreya said quietly, still kneeling by the couch. “You should know by now, Abreian, that I will not tolerate you lying to me. I do not understand why, but you are very far from all right, and trying very hard to hide it. Whatever you discovered last night…”

Last night. Vaniell shut his eyes as his head began to throb with pain. He did not want to remember. Did not want to relive that moment, but they would not let him be.

“Niell, please.” Karreya’s hand came to rest on his knee, and something about its warm weight opened the floodgates of his memory.

Pain. Guilt. Grief. Shock.

Everything he’d seen and heard and done came rushing back, swamping him in emotions until he could barely draw breath.

“Out,” he heard himself say. “Please, just leave me alone.”

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