Page 16 of Garlands and Gauntlets

Theo stares at me, jaw tense. I’ve never felt smaller, and that’s saying something considering he’s towered over me from the beginning.

“You were planning to rob me?” he says quietly. “You…you’re a thief. That’s why your parents don’t approve.”

I nod, wincing. “Yep. They…they would never turn me in, but they hate it. They want me out of that life.”

“And you were going to take what little I had left.

I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Yes. At first. But I didn’t.”

“And I’m supposed to be grateful for that?” he snaps. “You lied to me. You acted like you wanted to help me, but you were just…waiting for the right moment to screw me over–”

“No!” I interrupt. “It wasn’t like that. I mean, yeah, I was looking for a mark, but then I met you and we talked and–”

“And what?” His voice rises, tusks flashing in the moonlight that glints off the snow. “You realized I was just clueless enough to keep around? That you could string me along until I wasn’t useful anymore?”

“Theo, it’s not like that,” I say, the words spilling out. “I know I screwed up. I know I should’ve told you sooner, but…” I take a deep breath. “I didn’t, because I didn’t want to lose this.”

“This?” He gestures between us, movements short and sharp, angry. “What isthis, Vaelin? What do you think this is?”

I flinch. He’s right; I have no idea what this is. “I don’t know, but my feelings for you are real,” I finally say. “Way, way more than what I planned at the start. You’ve got to believe me.”

He looks at me for a long moment, molten brown eyes hard and unreadable–almost black in the snow. Finally, he lets out a sharp breath and shakes his head. “You don’t get it, do you? I trust you. I put my life in your hands. And now…” He trails off, voice cracking. “Now I feel like an idiot.”

“You’re not,” I say softly, taking a step closer. “Theo, you’re not an idiot. I’m the asshole here–”

“Don’t,” he says, stepping backward. “Just…don’t.”

For a moment neither of us speaks.

Then he shakes his head. “I think we should probably part ways.”

“What?” I watch him, eyes wide. “Theo, no. You said yourself you don’t have enough coin for another night in a tavern, and I want to help. We don’t have to do anything. Let me prove–”

“I can’t, Vaelin,” he interrupts. “I have to be careful who I trust…and I can’t trust someone who started out wanting to betray me.”

I open my mouth to say something, to argue, to talk my way out of this like I always do…but he’s already turning toward town, his massive frame silhouette against the glow of the city’s Yule lights.

He doesn’t look back.

And as I watch him walk away, the knot in my chest twists tighter, and I realize something I never thought I’d feel: regret.

Not because I just lost a mark.

Because I losthim.

Chapter nine

Theo

The cold bites harderthan it did earlier.

Or maybe it just feels that way because my chest is still aching from what Vaelin said.

I keep walking, but I don’t have a destination in mind. Hearthwynd stretches endlessly around me, the cobblestones slick with frost and lantern-lit street bustling with Yuletide cheer. Laughter echoes from a nearby tavern, and the scent of roasted nuts drifts through the air.

None of it reaches me.

Helied to me. I thought I’d finally found a friend here, someone who would watch my back…but he was planning on putting a knife in it the whole time.

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