Page 67 of The Blood Crown

“Obviously I would have chosen a different method of arriving here.” Asher chuckled, the look on his face hard to read as his shoulders lifted in a small shrug. “But I’ve found I quite enjoy it.”

The confession shocked her, sending warm relief spreading through her chest.

A lock of his copper hair fell over one eye as he shifted his weight. It had grown out since she’d seen him last. Usually cropped close to his skull, the auburn was tousled now, a little unruly, but it seemed to suit him.

“I was beginning to feel a little trapped in my life,” he added, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Nothing like a near death experience to make you reevaluate your choices.”

She could understand that more than he knew. Or maybe he did know . . . And maybe he’d always felt the same but had been better at hiding it.

Something was different about her brother. Something more relaxed in the set of his shoulders. More at ease in the way he crinkled his eyes when he smiled here. Something less restrained when he laughed—less performative.

Her curiosity got the better of her. “Did a wealthy young widow break your heart?” She laughed, trying to lighten the heaviness that had descended in the room.

“No,” he chuckled, and she half-expected him to deflect the conversation as he’d always done when their mother hounded him about his exploits. “They simply decided that it was . . . time to move on with their life,” he admitted.

She’d always felt closer to Asher than Wellan, always felt that he understood her better than anyone else in her old life—but there was so much about him that she didn’t know. Somuch about him that she only learned through the rumors she heard—because there werealwaysrumors circulating the Capitol. Especially when they concerned the handsome son of a prominent family.

He’d never seriously courted anyone, seeming to prefer his duty as a Captain in the Blue Guard over having a personal life. He never gave his attentions for longer than a few months, and when he did, he always seemed to choose women who wouldn’t expect promises from him. Married women or young, wealthy widows.

And whether he didn’t care to find love, or if the right person hadn’t come across his path—she couldn’t be certain. But she knew he was much deeper than that, that there was much more to Asher than playing the palace rake. She’d never really believed the persona that he had crafted, but she loved him too much to confront him outright.

“It was," Asher let out a heavy sigh, dropping his hand to fidget with the buttons at the collar of his shirt. "Christian, actually.”

The air was sucked out of the room for a moment.

Her brother . . . their childhood friend?

She kept her mouth shut, realizing the gravity of what her brother was confessing and knowing that if she said the wrong thing, if she pushed him too much—he would never speak of it again.

How had she never seen it? How had she never guessed?

There was a twinge of guilt at realizing she didn’t know her brother nearly as well as she always thought she had. And selfishly, it stung a little that he’d never confided in her.

Asher blew out a breath, his eyes lifting to her face. “The night I confronted you after dinner, Christian put an end to things. Made it clear thatwhateverit was between us was over.”

Men from powerful families with titles and duties to uphold along with their family names. She understood why he had kept it a secret. It was a risk to not only them, but everyone around them as well if a scandal like that were ever found out.

The rumors of his trysts . . .

No wonder Asher had never been bothered by them—they were much less harmful for the nobility to chew on than the truth.

And he’d been hiding this part of himself his entire life . . .

Asher braced his palms wide against the windowsill as he stared out at the expanse of pines. “It seemed his intention was to pursue Councilor Veron’s lovely young widow.”

The name made her flinch.

She would have been Lady Veron had she stayed. Had she ignored what she’d known and followed through with what Bastien wanted of her.

“I’m sorry," she uttered, shaking the thought away. "You deserve love, Asher—and you deserve someone who would not hide you.”

He offered a solemn smile in return. “Christian is entitled to live his life how he chooses. I’m sure Lady Veron will make an excellent wife for a Governor."

She would at that. And at the very least, Christian would treat her well—dote on her. And Jane deserved a small sliver of happiness after everything she had been through as well. She just wished it didn’t come at the cost of her brother’s.

“So you and . . .” Asher jerked his chin toward the corridor.

She loosed a sigh, “It’s . . . complicated.”

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