Page 36 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses

Sure enough, he shifted his body, and I caught sight of a blade in his hand. He’d tucked it behind him earlier but now let it flash into sight as he took a step toward me.

“You killed it,” he said, his deep voice scraping over my skin like it had all those years ago.

Despite his accusation, pleasure rippled through me at the sound of his voice. I shoved it aside. He didn’t seem surprised to find me alive. I needed to tread carefully. “Killed what?”

His eyes narrowed. “What are you doing out here, Princess?”

I made myself shrug. “Passing through. Like you.”

He studied me. My heart hammered so loudly I was sure he could hear it from where he stood.

“The Broadlands are dangerous,” he said, and the tone made it clear which danger I should be focused on just now.

My gaze flicked to the blade he held. “I can handle myself,” I said, tightening my grip on my sword.

He snorted. “There are worse things than Obsidians in the Broadlands.”

“Things like you?” I taunted.

His brow lifted. “Did you kill the female too?”

“What?” It took me a moment to understand who he meant. Then confusion became outrage. The healer. Did he really think me capable of such a thing? “Of course not. She was an innocent.” After a beat, I demanded, “Did you?”

He snorted as if the idea were preposterous. “He thinks you’re dead, you know.”

The way he flitted from subject to subject was exhausting. Or maybe I was out of practice when it came to conversation. “Who?”

“You know who. Tell me, what’s it like to be a coward and a liar?”

Indignation rose swift and hot inside me. “Excuse me?”

“I will not excuse any of it. Nor will I be the one to explain how you’re alive and wandering around, killing Obsidians, while your broken alliance with Autumn causes their suffering.”

I stiffened. “I’m not sure what you think you know about me, but?—”

“Spare me,” he said wryly—and then in a hard voice, “I’m not the one who deserves an explanation, Princess. But don’t worry, you can tell him yourself soon enough.”

“I’ll pass,” I said flatly.

My heart raced, though. Who did he mean? Callan? The Autumn king himself? Or some other male who felt entitled to an explanation of my survival?

“Where have you been all this time?” he asked, sounding truly mystified.

For reasons I couldn’t explain, even to myself, some part of me was actually tempted to tell him the truth. The words rose to my lips, ready and almost willing, but I shoved them back down my throat and instead bit out, “Surviving.”

“And is that all you intend to do with your life, Princess? Survive?”

“What I do with my life is none of your business,” I snapped.

“That’s where you’re wrong. This choice you’re hiding from is the business of every fae in this realm. And I, for one, am tired of waiting around for you to make up your mind.” Rydian flashed his teeth—a warning, not a smile—then pushed me back a step with a burst of power. My breath whooshed out of me at the force of it.

I gasped, struggling to refill my lungs.

When I straightened, he stood in the same spot as before, but the power was gone, tucked away where I couldn’t sense it at all. Just like that night at the party.

Once, I’d thought him a simple soldier. One of my father’s warriors.

But his comments made it clear he was loyal to Callan. And that single shove had spoken volumes about what he was capable of.

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