Page 83 of Brighter Than Gold

“Of course,” he said shaking his head. “I just—I love you, Reyah.” He grabbed my hand tightly, I squeezed back just as hard.

“I love you too, Nyx.”

He kissed my cheek a last time and left us.

“I think he may have been more worried than I was,” Kas kidded.

“More worried, no. Morefrantic? Probably.”

The King smiled at my joke.

“Kas,” I whispered, my muscles suddenly tensing. “There’s something I need to tell you, and I need you to hear it from my lips.”

* * *

Callan

“WHO ELSE KNOWS!”

My ribs seared with pain as I jolted up in bed. The King had barged in so violently that the door was pulled from the wall and swung ominously off its hinges.

“Who else knows, Callan?”

Shit. What had she told him?

“Slow down! I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about…” I lied.

Burke seethed, his skin was mottled red and he was sweating.

“Who else knows about my fucking wife?”

I was immediately nervous for Reyah.

“What did you do? Did you touch her?”

“Of course I didn’t fucking touch her!”

I sighed a breath of relief. “Your sister knows. And two of the women in the Sisterhood. Idona and another woman.”

Burke breathed through gritted teeth as he absorbed my answer.

“No one else?”

“I don’t fucking know, Burke, I don’t know if those women told anyone. I couldn’t help how it happened.”

How it actually happened was after bathing with his wife, but I was fairly confident Reyah hadn’t divulged that part.

“What the fuck am I going to do?”

I pitied him, he was scared.

“There’s whiskey over there,” I said motioning to a small table. “Pour us a drink.” The King did. He handed me a heavy pour and stood by my bedside, staring lost into the amber liquid before tossing it back in one shot.

“We’ll speak with your advisors; they’ll know what to do.”

“Fuck the advisors, Callan! I’m fucking…I’m fucking…”

“What?”

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