Page 151 of Swordheart
She stared at the dark entrance, high on the hill, and thought,He got you away from Alver. That wasn’t a lie. He saw you safe to Amalcross and Archon’s Glory. That wasn’t a lie, either.
He had thrown himself in front of danger, completely heedless of his own safety. Granted, he was immortal, but he still felt pain, yet she had never seen him balk at any injury. Yes, the sword had compelled him… but he could have been free of her at any time, only by asking.
The sword had not compelled him to hold her when she was shaken, nor to joke with her, nor to hold her hand.
You sound as if you are thinking of forgiving him,she said to herself.
It’s mostly my pride that’s wounded.
Pride is all a respectable widow has left. It was not the sword that compelled him to be kind to you, but it was not the sword that made him lie, either. Or seduce you.
Halla grimaced as she walked toward the door. She had not exactly been an unwilling party to her own seduction, had she?
She knew something was wrong as soon as the door closed behind her. The house was cold. There were no fires lit in any of the grates.
Dread crawled up into Halla’s throat. She went from room to room on the ground floor, but they were all dark and empty. The guest bedrooms for her great-uncle’s friends were bare, with signs of having been vacated in a hurry.
No Bartholomew. No Nolan. No sword.
No deep-voiced, sardonic swordsman with fierce eyes and gentle hands.
“They’re gone,” said a voice behind her.
She knew that voice. It wasn’t one she cherished.
Dear gods, it wanted only this.
She turned. “Cousin Alver,” she said grimly. “How very nice to see you.”
CHAPTER 49
“If you’re looking for that horrible guard of yours, he’s gone,” said Aunt Malva. “Gone off with Bartholomew and that scholar of his, and good riddance to him.”
“What?” said Halla blankly.
Sarkis? Gone?
Malva smiled. She was clearly enjoying this. “Oh yes. Bartholomew left in a hurry and came by to tell us where you’d be. Very kind of him. Very lucky for you.”
He left with Bartholomew? What?
The hollowness inside her began to expand. She’d thought to find Sarkis and forgive him. It seemed he had decided that it was not worth his time to wait around and be forgiven.
And here I am.
Right back in the place I started.
Withthesetwo.
“Surprised?” asked Malva. “I don’t know why. Men like that don’t stay in one place.”
Halla shook her head slowly. Blood roared in her ears. The events of the past few weeks began to feel like a long, surreal dream. Had she even known a swordsman named Sarkis? Where was Zale? She had her inheritance back, the clerk had confirmed it, but she was back in her great-uncle’s house and her wretched cousin and his aunt were here and she might as well never have left at all.
“Halla…” Alver said, stepping forward.
It didn’t matter how disassociated she felt, Halla wasn’t letting that clammy-handed little bastard touch her. She jerked back,eyeing him with disgust. “Why are you two here? I don’t care if Sarkis left—”
Liar. You care very very much.
