Page 55 of Disillusioned
“Lilac.”
She would have smiled at him, at the tenderness in his gesture and voice. But there was something else there—a hesitation just beneath the surface. “Garin?”
“I’m sending you home.”
She pulled away from his hand, still holding hers. “Sendingme? Why?” Of course, she could not stay at the Inn forever.
“Giles readied the carriage last night. He was able to repair it with the help of theGuài,” he added sourly. “Those creatures were quick to do so when they learned who we were. I was going to allow you to wake on your own, but I thought it’d be much later in the day.”
Giles. Guài.
She remembered those women, stunning, glittering, and deadly as they had chased them down. She rubbed her eyes, trying to remember everything that had happened. It all came to her in fragments. Being thrown from the carriage. The incredible pain. The corpses?—
“Giles…is alive?”
“He is alive. You have nothing to worry about here,” he replied, more stern than reassuring.
“But I do. The Accords are a work in progress, and we need to get that chest to Kestrel. Wedidget the chest, right? Maybe we can attempt a meeting again now that we…” She trailed off as Garin crossed his arms and leaned back. Away from her.
“Lilac,” he said, slowly.
Why was he looking at her that way?
“We all agreed it would be best for you to focus on things at the castle. I imagine your parents are very worried.”
We all?“When have you ever been concerned about my parents?”
“My concern is for you. You will return today. There is no question.”
“I will return when I please.”
“Lilac.” Garin glanced briefly at the door. “You need to convene with your council.”
“I don’t have a council.”
His voice was even, reasoning. “See? What is a queen without her council? Without an advisor or ladies-in-waiting? You’ll have to appoint them when you return. You’ve much to do.”
She didn’t understand. Her memories of the past five days spent in recovery did not match how he treated her now. Sheremembered. He’d held her, laughed with her, or at leastather. He had kissed her forehead as she lay in the crook of his arm, whispered the things he wished to do to her, followed by strange apologies as she drifted back to sleep.
He looked at her quizzically, resting his chin on his hand.
“I think I’ve done fine without a council thus far. I have you, and I suppose Adelaide, Lorietta, and my dutiful scribe, John.” Lilac forced conviction into her voice, which wavered at the memory of him cradling her to his chest on this very bed. She did not want to think about returning.
Unmoved, Garin nodded against his knuckle. “That, I agree with.” But that was all he said.
“What will you do without me?” The desperation in her voice was sickening, but she couldn’t seem to stop it. “How can I be of service here?”
As if sensing her thoughts, he said, “I don’t want you to worry about anything unnecessarily when you have many mortal affairs on your plate already. When you’ve already been through so much here.” As his words sank in, he scooted the chair back and stood. “Bastion has already sent a note to Cinderfell from the nearest hawthorn tree, and I’ll keep you informed as things progress. For now, you must return to your castle.”
She stared at him, incredulous, as he extended a hand and mustered a despondent smile. Lilac didn’t take it.
“Well? Are you ready?”
“That’s it?”
“I suppose.”
She stood from the bed, her hands shaking. Her voice was hoarse when she next spoke. “Are you coming with me? To the castle?”
