Page 77 of Heir of Illusion

My chest deflates. This isn’t Leona. The queen is long dead, and this is someone else. Some poor woman whose daughter is about to receive the worst news of her life.

My hands shake as he pulls them away from the woman and helps me to my feet. Embarrassment steals my breath as I notice the wary stares the soldiers send my way. Even Remy watches me with worried eyes.

“Get her out of here,” he whispers to Thorne. “I’ll handle this.”

“Her daughter,” I murmur. “Don’t let the girl see her this way.”

“We won’t,” Remy assures me.

Thorne’s hand at my back guides me toward the street. I want to fight him, but I don’t know what I’d be fighting for. Glancing over my shoulder, I catch one last glimpse of the green-eyed women before we turn the corner, and she’s gone forever.

Chapter

Twenty-One

Half an hour later, I find myself sitting on a rock by the shore.

I kept my head down as Thorne led me through the streets, my trembling fingers clasped in his gloved hand. I’m not sure how far we walked, but I can still hear the faint buzz of the marina in the distance. Thankfully, this cove appears to be deserted. The gentle waves carry a fresh citrus breeze. If I could have chosen a place to recover from the horrors of the morning, it would have been this one.

I should probably be worried about why he’s brought me all the way out here, but I’m not. Strangely, I find that I trust him. The realization hits hard, nearly knocking me off the boulder.

I trust Thorne.

I don’t know when it happened, but somewhere along the way, I began to think of him as an ally. We aren’t friends exactly, but I trust him not to slide a dagger between my shoulder blades. And in my experience, that’s rare.

He crouches by the water, dousing a faded white cloth into the waves. Before I can ask what he’s doing, he returns to my side and kneels at my feet. His hand reaches for me, and I rear back on instinct.

“It’s okay,” he whispers, holding up the handkerchief in his hand to show me it’s not a threat. “I won’t hurt you.”

I force myself to stay put as he leans forward again and wipes the blood from my cheeks, erasing the evidence of my failure. I try not to stare at his face while he works, but it proves impossible. It’s only been a few days since we were this close, but already, I note small changes. A few more freckles have appeared on his nose, no doubt a gift from the unforgiving sun we’ve been under all morning. They soften him slightly, adding a hint of boyishness to his appearance.

“I thought you didn’t want me touching you.” The idiotic words tumble out of my mouth without permission.

“You’re not touching me,” he says. “I’m touching you.”

We sit in silence for a few moments as he goes about his task. The cloth is soft against my skin. I spot a floral design embroidered into the corners of the material, and I can’t help but wonder who gave it to him? Was it from a lover? My fingers dig into the rock beneath me.

“I’m sorry for the way I snapped at you that day,” Thorne says, surprising me. “I just… I don’t like being touched.”

“You’re handing out a lot of apologies today,” I murmur.

“Only to you.” One corner of his mouth kicks up in a half smile. “It seems I’m constantly on my worst behavior whenever you’re around.”

“I’ve been told I have that effect on people.”

He chuckles, the sound rough and warm, but his humor fades quickly.

“What happened back there?” His cool eyes scan my face, searching for answers.

“Nothing.” I shift my gaze, focusing on the waves meeting the shore in a cascade of white foam.

“You kept calling her Leona.”

My eyes shut tight as the name echoes through my body. No one says it aloud anymore. Gone less than a year, and she’s already been forgotten. But not by me. She haunts every step I take. Each time I lift my blade as the Angel of Mercy, in some delusional corner of my mind, it’s her I’m saving. With each kill, I’m rewriting the story, reaching her before it’s too late. But that’s just another lie I tell myself.

No amount of pretending will change the fact that Iwastoo late.

Ididn’tsave her.

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