Page 43 of The Blood Traitor

“Ashlyn,” Kiva said the name, her tone gentling. “I like your sister. She’s helped me a great deal in the last two days.”

Caldon said nothing, and Kiva was unsure how to proceed. But then she realized he was standing in a military base, a place he’d avoided ever since the death of his parents. Just like he’d avoided his sister. “Why are you here, Caldon?” she asked quietly. “We’re so far from Vallenia. You and Jaren... shouldn’t you be there?”

He exhaled loudly. “It’s a long story. But the brief version is, despite having the Royal Ternary, Zuleeka and Mirryn have been having trouble holding the throne. Legally, they’re the new queens of Evalon, but the people are... unhappy with the change of rulership.”

Kiva had already known as much. The Vallentis family had been beloved rulers — especially Jaren. “The People’s Prince,” they’d called him, eager for the day he would become their king.

“Aunt Ariana and Uncle Stellan were hostages in the palace,” Caldon went on. “Oriel, too. And then —” He broke off, seemed to gather himself, and said, “The turmoil was too much for Uncle Stellan. His condition — his blood illness — degenerated quickly, and he... he passed into the everworld.”

A soundless gasp left Kiva at the thought of the king — of Jaren’sfather— dying.

She knew how it felt to have her father die. She hated that Jaren had suffered through that so soon after losing everything else, that she hadn’t been there for him, that she hadn’t evenknown.

Caldon cleared his throat and went on, “Everything became more chaotic after that, and Zuleeka focused the rebels on finding us, thinking Evalon would come to heel if Jaren was seen bowing to her. It became too dangerous for us to stay in Vallenia, but it was also difficult to leave, given everything with Naari.”

Hearing his voice catch on her name, Kiva asked, her pulse stuttering, “Naari? Is she all right?” She looked around as if expecting the guard to jump out of the bushes and throttle her for what she’d done. But there was no sign of her, just as she hadn’t been in the command center earlier.

“She’s... That night...” Caldon tried again. “Your sister did something to her. It’s... hard to explain.”

Kiva’s heart froze as she recalled Naari lying on the ground, bleeding and unconscious.

“She’s here. You can... see her soon,” Caldon said. The words eased something within Kiva, even if his tone was less than reassuring.

He shuffled his feet, then continued his story. “We knew the armies were still loyal to us, so we decided to meet up with Ashlyn at our centralmilitary base — Highworth Keep — and consult with her about our next steps. It took us weeks of travel, taking the back roads and avoiding people as much as possible, all while trying to care for Naari as best as we could. But when we finally arrived, we learned that Ash was in Mirraven spying on King Navok. The last missive she’d sent claimed she planned to leave soon, so we waited for her. But when more weeks passed and she didn’t appear, we grew restless and decided to travel north, figuring she’d stop at Stoneforge on her way back into Evalon.”

He waved a hand toward the base, and said, “When we got here, no one had heard from her, so we began to worry. We gave her a little more time before determining that something needed to be done, and we started planning a rescue mission. But, well... no need for that anymore.” Caldon shrugged. “So basically, the last ten weeks have been spent either hiding, traveling, or whiling away the days in military camps.” His gaze locked on Kiva’s bruised cheek as he finished, “And yet, something tells me that as much as I’ve hated every single minute, you haven’t had the best time yourself, wherever you’ve been.”

It was a leading statement, one Kiva didn’t want to answer. “You didn’t mention Tipp. Is he...” She struggled to ask, afraid of what he might say.

“He’s here,” Caldon said, and the air left Kiva in a relieved rush. But she almost choked on her next breath when he added, “He arrived tonight with Torell and Cresta. We didn’t bind him — it was clear he didn’t want to be anywhere near them. The moment he saw Jaren, he lost it. Cried almost as much as you did and latched on to him so tight I thought he’d never let go. We had to shove a moradine tonic down his throat to calm him down. Poor kid was asleep in seconds.”

Kiva had trouble talking around the lump in her throat. “He came with Tor and Cresta? But... how? And — andwhy?”

The prince eyed her shrewdly. “Since you evidently don’t want to share your story yet, why don’t we go and find out theirs?”

Kiva sent him an apologetic look. She should have known he’d notice her deflecting every time he tried to question her. “I’m sorry, I know there’s a lot I need to tell you. It’s just...” She trailed off, unable to finish.

“What did I say about apologizing?” Caldon said, his eyes full of more understanding than she deserved. “We’ve got time. You’ll share when you’re ready.” He jerked his chin toward the base. “Now, come on, let’s go and get some answers.”

Chapter Eleven

Upon arriving back at the command center, Kiva did a stutter-step through the door when she saw that Jaren had returned. He stood with his arms crossed, his expression closed, his eyes avoiding her entirely. But he was there. And Ashlyn, too, standing at his side in a similar position, her maid’s outfit making her look considerably less intimidating.

“Took you long enough,” Ashlyn grumbled to Caldon, before turning to Kiva and asking, her voice much kinder, “Are you all right? Is your shoulder —”

“I’m fine,” Kiva said quickly.

“What’s wrong with your shoulder?” Caldon asked, peering from her left arm to her right, but her dress covered all evidence of the wound.

“Nothing,” Kiva said, sending a warning look to Ashlyn, who cocked a pale eyebrow in response but thankfully didn’t say anything else.

Jaren’s expression hadn’t changed — he’d clearly decided to ignore Kiva, and while she wanted to run into his arms and beg for forgiveness, she knew the best thing she could do was give him space. Caldon had seemed confident Jaren would warm up to her —eventually— so she just had to be patient and not push him into anything before he was ready.

But Kiva didn’t feel like being patient. Not when he was so close, after being apart for so long. She unconsciously moved a step nearer to him, but a twitch of Cresta’s head caught her attention, and Kiva looked toward the ex-quarrier only to see the warning in her hazel eyes.

Don’t, Cresta seemed to be saying.You’ll regret it.

Kiva bit her cheek hard enough to draw blood, but gave a nod of resigned understanding.

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