Page 63 of The King's Man 4

Water ripples around me again and each break over my ankles has a way of making my eyes sting. “This is why I must leave,” I say. “Why I tried to sneak away, lashed out with words that would hurt you. That kiss...”

Quin watches, waits. His eyebrow quirks but his lips are set in a firm line. Ready for whatever I’ll say.

I’m shaking now, the ripples are coming from me and slapping him. “It wasn’t an opportunity. Wasn’t for a good story.”

He’s still waiting, and I kick the water irritably. “It just happened. I couldn’t help it. Something overcame me.”

His lips twist as if he was studying me and coming to a briefly satisfying conclusion, and I swallow and shake my head. “It was just a kiss. Nothing more. A terrible thing to do when I promised your brother...”

Quin shuts his eyes.

I continue, “We must part ways. But I approached it wrongly. I should have acknowledged the journey we’ve shared together. I should thank you for supporting, encouraging, and protectingme at each step.” I lift my gaze and meet a quietly watchful one. “Can we leave everything between us as memories?”

It takes him a few steadying breaths before he answers, “As a man, I don’t want to. As a king, I know I should. As a brother, I will.”

My eyes burn; I slap them and haul in a stinging lungful of air that still resonates with Quin’s magic. I want to leap up and take my leave so I can find somewhere quiet to... grieve. I tighten my resolve and smile.

It wobbles. “What will you do next?”

“I’ll follow my cousin to the mountains, collect her witnesses before winter sets in, and bring them back to the royal city to attest to my uncle’s guilt.”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“It must. Nicostratus will help me.”

Brothers working side by side. They have better chances this way. “If fate should ever have us meet again... should I avoid you? Pretend I don’t know you?”

Quin is quiet, and I understand.

He says, “What about you? What will you do next? The Medicus Contest—” He cuts off, recalling he’d lost my soldad.

EvenifI had it... In the end it’s a wooden badge with a few carvings on it. Completing the soldad was never the true goal. Carrying it stood for something more. Healing. Helping. Saving lives. Advancing medicine. Education. Equality. Responsibility.

All things that exist beyond vitalian magics.

How prejudiced I’ve been. How privileged—even as a par-linea. My soldad isn’t something to be checked off to feel satisfied. I don’t believe Quin ever meant that when he gave it to me. There’s always been another layer to it. Peel back the façade, and see the truth shimmering. The soldad was an expectation. No, not an expectation, abelief.In me.

I meet Quin’s steady gaze, purpose thickening through my bones. “I’ll go to Iskaldir, learn healing through crude—learn healing throughtheirmethods.”

He inclines his head, as if he expected as much, and then he tests me. “Travelling south is dangerous. You’ll have no powerful backer.”

“I have family there. Maybe fate has been trying to send me this way all along.”

“You must be the master of your own fate.”

I swallow and nod tightly. “I want something from you.”

“Name it.”

“I might be gone a while. Would you have someone check on my family sometimes?”

“Whether I manage to overthrow my uncle or not, I’ll make sure they—and your friends—are cared for.”

I touch my clasp to take it off and hesitate. Quin has stiffened. I drop my fingers. “I don’t want to give this back. Even if I should.”

“Why should you? It’s a gift.”

“It’s atoken.”

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