Page 59 of The Highseer's Mate

Lyzar nods as if he can read my damn mind, boosting my confidence. I suck in a deep breath, steeling myself.

“I came to speak with you.”

Kylor hangs his head and nods. He communicates something under his breath to the three males and then dismisses them with a wave of his hand. Each male carries a large sack on his back and enough leathers to make even me sweat. Treven’s crossing must be far away.

“You wished to speak with me?” Kylor asks.

Ever the calm demeanor, he lifts his chin and clasps his hands in front of him. I swallow down the lump in my throat and cut the distance between us, joining him in the center of the room.

“About Varek,” I start. “I was wondering what to expect from the trial.”

His lips press together. “The council will list all of Varek’s wrongdoings and then give his punishment.”

“Will there be others?” I ask. I’m imagining a courtroom with my friends and me sitting in the rows behind the bench as Kylor hands down a life sentence. “I mean, am I allowed to be there?”

“Do you want to be?”

I nod.

“Then you may.”

I press. “And what if I want more people there? Like an audience?”

“An audience?” he echoes, frowning back at me. “And what would be the purpose?”

To explain his innocence. To tell everyone the reason why he chose to betray his people. To ultimately reveal the true villain in the glowhollow.

Me.

“To explain,” I say, biting the inside of my cheek to keep my emotions in check. Needles prickle my throat.

Kylor goes silent, breathing through his wide nose.

“What should I—” I wait until I know I can get the question out without my voice wavering. “What should I expect?”

The Highseer in front of me opens his mouth as if to say something, then closes it again.

I think I’m going to lose my mind if he doesn’t put me out of my misery.

“Prepare to say goodbye.”

I feel like the ground rips out from under me. Kylor bows his head and steps around me, seeing himself out.

I blink, wrapping my arms around myself as a chill tears down my body. Say goodbye?

How could I?

It hasn’t even been two weeks since I met Varek and now he’s…

He’s everything.

He’s become everything.

I twist around to argue with him, beg him to give us a chance, but Kylor is gone. I’m alone and I can’t hold it back any longer.

I sink to the dirt floor. A heavy pressure crushes my rib cage and I can’t breathe. Hot tears streak down my cheeks as the first true sob falls from my lips—a mixture of an anguished cry and a painful breath mixing into a pitiful sound I don’t even recognize.

Say goodbye?

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