Page 68 of Unbetrothed

Unsure if I should yank my hand free, scream, cry, or ride away, I swallowed a lump blocking my throat. “I didn’t want … Why did you follow me? You saved me from those unsavories, won my heart, then you broke it.” I blinked back tears, upset at myself.

“Do you trulymean that?” He tipped his head to the side, trying to get me to meet his gaze. A pleading marked his eyes.

My bottom lip quivered.

Something inside me snapped, and guttural sobs trembled out. I plunged my face into my hands. It was all I could do to hide this raw emotion.

“Beatriz, come down.” Zichri’s fingers grazed my knee.

My fingers pressed into my forehead and my thumbs into my cheeks. Slick palms remained in place. I inhaled a quavering breath.

“I’m sorry, Beatriz.” Zichri’s voice grew huskier. “I’m sorry for not being forthright. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

An ache swelled inside my chest and crushed against my rib cage. Would this pain ever go away?

“Please, put yourself in my place,” he said in earnest. “I had been doing my duty. I went with you into Valle de los Fantasmas because I believed you were called to it. I wouldn’t be here chasing after you if the last week hadn’t meant something to me. Please, come down so we can talk one last time.”

My hands dropped partway down my face. I so badly wanted to believe him. Did it even matter anymore? Zichri and I would never court, and he proved that he would never cause me physical harm. He had such a sincere expression on his face that I decided to trust him.

I brought my leg around and hopped to the ground. He gathered me into his arms, and we hugged so tight his warmth melted into mine. The heat reached deep into my soul. An invisible something sprouted out my skin, and I shivered. It was foreign, yet a familiar impression.Is this love?

“Tell me what you’d have me do?” Zichri’s chest rose and fell.

Warring emotions tugged in my chest. A strange sensation sizzled along my arms. I jerked away, confused, and looked up into his doleful gaze. “Could you stop the attack?”

He tucked a frizzy puff of hair behind my ear. “Even mentioning it could be considered treasonous. Would you have me forfeit my family?”

I wet my bottom lip, wishing I could say yes, but I said, “No. You wouldn’t ask that of me either.” I sensed his understanding just as strongly as I felt his hands pressing against my back.

Him letting me go could mean failure for his people, yet he nodded, resigned. “I guess I knew all along. I cannot hold you captive. My reasons for wanting to keep you are different now than before. Do you hate me?”

I searched his dark eyes and glanced at Laude, who spoke with Jaime. What would I have done or thought in his predicament? I felt my eyebrows crinkle and turned back toward him. “I want to hate you, but I can’t. How could I?”

He squeezed my elbows affectionately, brushing his hands along my arms before releasing me from his embrace. His touch lingered on my skin, and his inner battle tugged in my consciousness. But that was impossible. It must be the tension marked on his drawn brows giving me that impression. He ambled to his horse—no possibility of returning to each other.

“Which road should we take?” I lifted my chin out of habit, swiping my cheeks.

“Take that one, beloved.” He pointed to the path on the right. “You have little time. We have ways of getting there faster.”

That could only mean a powerful, gifted person helped them—a portal maker. I climbed on my horse’s back. We needed to speed away.

Jaime cupped Laude’s face, and her arms were around his torso. Laude whispered in his ear the last words they might ever exchange. The look in Jaime’s eyes spoke of devotion, pain, and dreams that would never come to pass. Zichri’s whistle pierced the sky, hurrying his friend. Jaime kissed her forehead, and they parted.

I positioned myself on Muck, and my heart tightened.My last words to Zichri will be a practical question. What if he goes away not knowing what I still feel for him?I called out, “Prince Zichri of Himzo.” I tightened my grip on the reins when he turned his gaze on me. “If things were different, I’d choose you.”

CHAPTER 33

THE SEA REFLECTED THElight of a thousand stars and two moons. It was usually a good omen when the second moon rose. I hoped it proved true. Laude and I galloped across the countryside. When Giddel appeared, an overwhelming feeling stirred within me. Somehow, the stone walls, twisting roads, and palace felt different than before I left.

The villagers slept in their tiny houses scattered along the hillsides, ignorant of what our enemy planned. The slopes challenged Muck, but he was willing to go on. How did I know this? A new sensation trickled into my mind, something like feeling, seeing, and hearing all at once. There was no name for the change in my body, but I tried not to overthink why this happened.

The closer we got, the more my urge to see Papá swelled. The windowless city walls grew more imposing, especially since the soldiers welcomed Laude and me with arrows pointed at our hearts. We slowed the steeds and stopped before the main gates.

The arched doorways towered over us like a giant mouth set in stone. A strange sensation emanated from the soldiers, appearing like tiny whispers in my mind.

Be still, you fool.

Who might this be?

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