Page 58 of A Kingdom of Destruction

“You don’t like the music?” he asked.

“There was not a lot of time for entertainment at home,” she answered easily. “Especially when the coins were already spoken for.”

“You’re telling me your father never held balls.”

“He did, occasionally, but they were more for my siblings than they were for me. I never took part in those things unless forced.”

But she always remembered the music. The further into the garden they walked, the louder the sound of strings, and Aven allowed her eyes to drift closed and the sweet symphony of strings to fill her.

“The look on your face is rapturous. I don’t remember seeing it at the last ball we threw,” Cillian observed. They stared at each other with neither one breaking contact. Finally, he grinned, and it was so quick and genuine her gut lurched.

Aven quickly looked away. The last ball had been different. How did she explain herself?

“You and my brother are very similar creatures.”

Aven looked to Cillian at his remark, noticing the easy way he moved, the way his eyes brightened, and something similar to mischief lit them from the inside.

“If you want to insult me, then you are starting off well,” she replied. “The last thing I want is to have you compare me to Roran. Tell me where we’re going?”

Rather than answer, Cillian leaned in close and his breath tickled the whirl of her ear and whispered, “If I tell you it’s a surprise?”

She knew it. “I’d say you may have too much time on your hands if you need to keep surprising me. You already did enough by taking me to the village. And our picnic.”

He waved away her reminder and led her off, navigating down the paths by starlight.

“I only made the comparison because Roran hates balls as well, as I’m sure he told you. He no doubt complained the moment you were alone. You will rarely catch him engaging in those sorts of things, although it is very much our duty. We must play the simpering princes when our father demands it. And it’s no hassle to surprise you. In fact, I find it a pleasure. It keeps me on my toes when there are other things that weigh heavily on me.”

This time, Cillian led them to a spot in the garden she hadn’t seen before. The trees pushed back away from a wide pond, no doubt filled by one of the tributary streams she’d sat beside today.

The music flowed from a trio of stringed instruments standing at the edge of the meadow.

Cillian kept his hand on her waist as they looked out on the high grasses bordering the water. Moonlight played across the pond’s edge, and on its surface floated white swans winding their way through a maze of purple water lilies.

“You really are saving the best for last, aren’t you?” With the exception of the tree, this was one of her favorite views. Especially when fireflies began to twine their way through the air like tiny glowing ghosts.

“I’ll admit,” Cillian began, “things aren’t always what they seem here. Our dinners mean a lot to me, Aven. They give me a chance to get to know you better. And they give me a chance to be myself. As you know, war is devastating. It impacts lives in ways you can’t even begin to guess when you are so focused onwinning. These nights with you, I can set the mantle aside even if it’s just for a little bit.”

“My company is nothing special.”

“You underestimate yourself. Or maybe you’re like me as well. Maybe you are too hard on yourself and you end up shoving the essence of who you are into a box.”

She swallowed over a grin. “OrmaybeI just don’t like the way you watch me.”

His eyes were on her again as his smile turned lazy. “Everyone watches you. They find it hard to look away from you, even if you are a mortal.”

Mortal.The word clanged through her, and she forced herself to pull back from the magic presented by this night. By his presence. Cillian was nothing but stoic and charismatic grace. He knew who he was and he knew the path in front of him. From what she’d seen of him, he never balked at his duties.

And yes, they had it in common.

Shewasmortal though. Human. A small piece of this earth and as easily pushed around as a speck of dust in the wind.

Yes, shedidknow the effects of war. How it changed a territory, how it changed a body. Physically and mentally. So far she’d been looking at Cillian, and Roran for that matter, as separate from the fight. They weren’t the ones on the front lines beating their heads against a shield in an attempt to gain ground. They were the masters pulling the puppet strings from the safety of their golden palace.

Yet the way Cillian sat himself on the blanket he’d spread on the ground, only feet away from the edge of the pond, she saw his exhaustion.

She saw the weight of dark times.

“Mortal I might be, but I’m still managing to best your brother when he joins me for training.” Aven accepted the glassof water Cillian held out to her and lifted it to her lips, changing the subject to something a little more palatable.

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