Page 72 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses

Callan and his soldiers seemed to relax as we started down a narrow trail that wound around the hillside. But when I caught sight of a camp ahead, I tensed. “Someone else is already here.”

“Relax,” Callan said, noting my reaction. “I had Rydian’s men set up camp for us.”

I nodded, ignoring the butterflieserupting in my stomach as we rode toward the dozen or so tents. But I couldn’t keep from scanning the distant soldiers’ faces—looking forhim. When I didn’t spot him among the men, I told myself I was better off. Whatever it was that drew me to the second prince, it couldn’t be good. Not when I’d already promised to marry the first.

At the edge of the camp, Callan pulled his horse up short, addressing the soldiers as they rode by us in a tired procession.

“Warm yourself by the fire. Eat a hot meal. Tend to your wounds. We’ll leave at dawn.” He kept his voice low, which told me we weren’t completely out of danger yet.

The men grunted in response.

When the last of them had passed us, Callan moved slowly back onto the path. I fell in beside him again.

“That was quite the dramatic battle you were having the other day when Rydian intervened.”

I cut my gaze to his, unable to keep from glaring even as fear curled in my gut. After four days of near-silence, this was the last thing I wanted to talk about. “How do you know what kind of battle it was?”

“I saw it.”

“You saw it and didn’t come to help me?”

His brows pinched. “I was too far away.”

I snorted. “Naturally.”

He stared at me for a long moment before saying, “One of my men had a wound that was losing too much blood. I helped him wrap it to stem the bleeding until the healer arrived. When I looked up, you were trading blows with that… thing.”

I didn’t answer.

He cut me a look. “Do you have something to say to me?”

“Like what?” I asked, realizing too late that my responses were based on a memory he didn’t have.

“You seem to think I abandoned you.”

I looked away. “I only meant I didn’t see you anywhere. I thought you might’ve been dragged off by one of them.”

At that, his eyes lit with their usual flirting charm. “Were you very worried about me?”

I forced a smile. “A little.”

Flirting was safer than admitting I’d been party to altering his memories—even if I was only an accessory after the fact. But I also had to know more about the sudden change in the monsters Heliconia was making.

“Those Obsidians were different than the ones I’ve dealt with before,” I added.

“I see, and exactly how many have you dealt with before?”

His tone made it clear he wasn’t taking me seriously. But I answered honestly anyway. “A few dozen at least. I’ve lost count.”

His smile fell away, and he blinked. “You’re serious. You’ve fought that many of them and survived it?”

“If this is some dig at how horribly I handled myself the other day, I don’t want to hear it. Sonoma’s lecture is still ringing in my ears?—”

“Who’s Sonoma?”

I kicked myself for nearly outing two important pieces of information in the same five minutes. That had to be a record. To be fair, I hadn’t had a ton of practice talking to people who hadn’t shared every detail of my waking nightmare these last years.

I needed to pay closer attention from now on.

---