Page 73 of The Tree of Spirits
I frowned at him. “I’m still angry with you, you know.”
“I know,” he sighed.
“You’ve made some seriously stupid decisions, Conner. Like not trusting me with your secret. Because I would have kept it.”
“I know.” His hand reached toward me.
I scowled at it. “Andyou also hang out with the people who kidnapped me, knocked me unconscious, and dragged me all the way across town to some super-shady hideout.”
He retracted his hand. “They…made an error in judgment.”
I huffed. “That might be the biggest understatement ever.”
“Just hold still and let me fix the mess they made.” Conner pulled out a knife.
I flinched.
He sighed. “You have serious trust issues.”
“You kidnapped me. Gee, I wonder why I might not trust you.”
“I didn’t kidnap you. My harebrained friends did. But they meant well. They’re good people, once you get to know them. You guys just got off to a rocky start.”
“A rocky start?” I repeated in disbelief. “Your friends grabbed me and threw a bag over my head. That’s more than just a rocky start. It’s a declaration of war!”
“You’re so melodramatic.” He lifted his knife to the ropes binding me to the pole.
I shot him a suspicious look. “What are you doing?”
“What’s it look like? I’m untying you.”
“But why?” A part of me was still feeling paranoid.
“Do you want to stay tied up?” he asked, amused.
“No,” I said quickly.
He cut through the ropes, freeing me.
“So.” I shook off the severed pieces. “Now what?”
“Now I’d really like it if you would forgive me.”
His smile was so genuine that I really wanted to. And, if I was being truly honest with myself, I’d have to admit that part of me already had.
“You’re pretty smart and good at magic,” I said. “And it seems like you want to do the right thing.”
His smile grew wider.
“So why did you leave the Knights?”
“I left the Knights last year for…well, for personal reasons.”
“Personal reasons?”
He shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand.”
There he was, holding back again.
