Page 94 of Façade

“What’s that?” But I already knew the answer.

“Your magic.”

Even as part of me had expected such a confession, for a long moment I could only stare. “And how did you get it?” But I knew that answer too, even as every part of me ached to deny it.

He evenly met my gaze. “I stole it.”

The words echoed in the tense silence that followed, pressing around me yet failing to immediately penetrate my understanding. Disbelief weighed heavily against my heart, already cracking beneath the implications of his confession.

“What?”

He anxiously bunched the hem of his shirt. “I’m the one who stole your powers. And no, as much as I wish for the contrary, it wasn’t an accident but an intentional decision.”

I slowly assembled the pieces to a puzzle I’d give anything to remain unsolved but couldn’t make sense of his words, even as I could already feel them curl around my heart, squeezing it so tightly I feared it’d break, a pain far deeper than when he’d annulled our marriage.

I thought I’d prepared myself for it, but until he’d made his confession so plainly I hadn’t realized just how much I’d wanted not to believe my guard’s prejudiced suspicions. His words shattered my fragile hold on the faith I’d erected like a shield, leaving me vulnerable to the pain that followed from his betrayal.

“My magic?You’rethe one who—“ Anger smothered my words, their truth causing my breaths to come out short and ragged. “Youstoleit?”

He nodded. He offered no explanation; he didn’t need to. I already knew why he’d done it, had understood his intentions from the very beginning…but that didn’t lessen the betrayal that despite our growing feelings and my having believed the best of him, in the end his greed had overcome everything we’d built together. The man I’d believed to be the true Ryland had been nothing more than an illusion, the one who’d betrayed me the true prince.

My fists clenched as hot fury burned through my veins. “For you to betray me in such a way, even after seeing how much my parents’ betrayal affected me…you knew it’d cause me pain, yet you did it anyway.”

“I didn’t know.” Desperation wrenched the words from him, his eyes widening in a silent plea for me to believe him. “I had no idea it would hurt you so much. Only your pain gave me the strength to stop. I swear, Evie.”

The rest of his explanation faded, as if the disappearing curse had swallowed it. Part of me believed him, but in the end his defense didn’t matter. Whatever his intentions, his greed had been stronger than our friendship or even our love, leading him to steal that which wasn’t his to claim. Though the concern I’d witnessed when he’d faithfully remained at my bedside during my recovery confirmed he hadn’t meant to hurt me, that didn’t change the fact that hehaddue to the choices he’d deliberately made.

Despite my understanding of the desperation that had persuaded him down this dishonorable path and the love I felt for him, in the end the pain of his devastating betrayal was all-consuming, a darkness that smothered every good memory in the relationship we’d painstakingly built and all the work we’d expended to gain one another’s trust. He’d thrown it all away, all for the sake of the magic he needed.

Tears burned my eyes, blurring Ryland so I could no longer see his dear face or any sign of his anguish, leaving only my festering hurt. “Why?” It was the only word I could manage midst the pain of my shattered trust.

“I became desperate.”

“Desperation cannot excuse what you did.” It was all I could do to maintain my fragile hold over my vulnerable emotions. “Your love for your kingdom has twisted you into believing you have the right to do anything for your cause.”

“I’ve never justified my actions,” he said. “I know what I did was wrong. Though nothing can change my choices, I still want to offer penance.”

What good were his penitence and confessions? Words weren’t enough to repair the trust that lay scattered at our feet.

My tears escaped as I lost the battle containing them. I wound my arms around myself, as if the feeble act could hold all my broken pieces together that in this moment felt shattered beyond repair.

He fiddled with the vial. I reached out to snatch it from his thieving hands but he held it out of reach, a gesture that only stoked the anger searing through me like poison.

“You mustn’t touch it. This object is enchanted to extract any magic it comes into contact with.”

I glared, but though I had no need to trust him, the part of me that still hoped to compelled me to drop my hand, an acceptance of his explanation that only confused me. How could I believe anything he said after everything he’d done?

He tipped the enchanted vial towards me. At first nothing happened, but then a shimmery power appeared at the lip, pausing like a tentative prisoner standing at the threshold of an empty cell checking to see whether they were truly free. It inched cautiously into the air to hover like a handful of glistening mist before it seeped into my skin. The return of the magic immediately strengthened my weakened limbs and cleared some of the fog hovering over my mind.

I released the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding and Ryland’s shoulders sank in his relief. “I’m so glad it worked the way the priest promised: magic stolen instead of given will, if given the chance, return to its master.”

He offered no further explanation, simply corked the vial and turned to leave, only pausing to glance back with a remorse that, as deep as it was, couldn’t dissuade me from my hurt; nothing could.

“I’m truly sorry, Evie.”

I expected him to say more—whether explanations that could never justify his horrible actions or pleas for forgiveness he didn’t deserve—but he didn’t ask anything of me, didn’t seem to even expect my forgiveness. He simply turned and departed.

I stared after his retreating back, my hurt keeping me rooted. The shadows stirred and Silas silently emerged, glaring after the prince with searing hatred before his anger softened as he rested a comforting hand on my shoulder.

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