Page 101 of A Kingdom of Destruction

“I can’t stop.” Her chest constricted, making it harder to breathe. Disappointment, sorrow—all of it tangled together into a knot with no hope of unraveling. “I hate it. I hate doing this.” As soon as she acknowledged the tears, they flowed faster.

“Then cry it out, but make sure you’re in a safe spot. Come on. Let’s not embarrass you.”

“Embarrass me?” The thought of it had her cackling, but Roran refused to let her go or walk on her own. He hustled her out the doors and into a nook between the gardens, a small alcove in the stone wall providing a safe space to relax. The guards were out of sight thanks to a barked order from him, but she knew they were here somewhere.

Stone crunched under Roran’s boots before he deposited her physically on the bench.

“Talk,” he demanded.

He looked her over from head to toe, and Aven forced herself to do the same. He wore a warrior’s garb with lightweight leather and bracers. Maybe he thought her scrutiny laughable, as a suggestive smile curved his lips.

Aven rolled her eyes. “I don’t need to explain anything to you.”

He hated her.

Why would he care?

“I’m sorry to tell you, little princess, it doesn’t work that way. There is nothing you can do or say without me knowing. I’m giving you a chance to tell your story on your own terms. I’ll find out what happened one way or another.”

“I’m sure you already know, then, given your love of hiding in the shadows and stalking people.” She gave him a look thatshowed she knew exactly what he liked to do and jerked her chin. “Try not to worry about me. I’m fine.”

“You look awful. In fact, you look like you’re ready to explode. Shout at me if it will make you feel better.”

She frowned at him. “Why do you even care?”

He braced his hands on either side of her in a ballsy move that brought his smiling face much too close to hers for comfort. “I’ve given you the impression I’m a callous prick, haven’t I? And I’ve done a wonderful job of convincing you it’s true. It’s one of my many talents. However, in this case, I see a person of interest crying, and I’m not so much of a prick to ignore it.”

“A person of interest,” she repeated, her hands fisted on her lap to keep herself from reaching out to touch him. “It almost sounds like you care.”

His eyes met hers, and she knew the answer without him having to say a word. “Talk,” he said again with more care.

“There are certain things better left unshared.”

“Your father said something to upset you. Didn’t he?” Roran shook his head and slowly backed away from her. “I knew it was a bad idea to bring him here. He’d stir up nothing but trouble.”

Her thoughts, although she’d been too convinced by the blinding need for family to give much merit to her doubts. Silence enveloped them, but not the chaotic quiet she expected. Instead, it felt calming, even with the words piling up inside of her.

“He told me I don’t need to go through with the wedding. Tried to convince me I was being played, basically.” Her pulse roared in her ears. “He wanted to leave immediately. I’m not even sure why he came here.”

“You’ll get through it,” Roran said with dismissive flippancy. “You always do. You need him like you need a wasp bite right on the rear.”

“He’s my family,” she reminded them both.

“You have other people around who care about you much more than he does. Nothing else matters. He doesn’t matter anymore.”

She stared at him. “Why are you even here, Roran? I thought we were avoiding each other.” Tucking away the pain of her encounter with her father took work and effort but felt a little easier with him around.

“I don’t know. Maybe because I’m finding it too hard to stay away from you. The same way I find trouble, I find you.”

He was close enough for them to breathe the same air. Aven reached for him, and her fingers grazed over the top of his hand. Roran felt solid, cool, and tense enough to shatter. She stroked down the length of his index finger before he turned to face her fully, and awareness slammed into her.

Rather than dealing with it, she pushed off the bench and ran without another word. Reeling, she ran all the way up to her bedroom to cry things out, burying her face in her pillow.

The rest of the days passed in a hazy blur of activity. She only caught glimpses of Roran around, although for the most part, he maintained his distance. There were no more stolen moments in the garden where she felt the earth shift beneath her feet.

The closer she got to sayingI do, the more she felt?—

She was going to walk down the aisle toward the wrong prince.

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