Page 103 of The King's Weapon

Kallie shivered, not wanting to think of her brother in that situation, and Fynn shrugged in amusement.

A moment later, Dani appeared from the room, her hair flattened and frizzy and rouge smudged around her mouth. As she locked eyes with Kallie, Dani wiped the edges of her lips with her nail. A wide smile appeared on her sister-in-law's face.

With Dani present, Graeson turned on his heels. "Come on, we don't have time. We need to find Terin."

Dani fell into step beside Graeson, the face of a general quickly forming. "What's the situation, Graeson?"

"There's a fire by the pier. And not some kids fucking around kind of fire. It's spreading. Beyond that, I don't know much, but my gut is telling me that it's intentional."

Fynn looked between Graeson and Kallie as they walked, then he stopped abruptly in his tracks tugging Kallie to the side. Fynn grabbed her shoulders and forced her to face him. Kallie's entire body tensed up under his gaze as his eyes narrowed on her. And when he said her name, the voice of a future king echoed in the halls.

"Kalisandre, what did you do?"

Chapter30

The others halted,and Kallie's eyes widened in surprise as she looked between the three of them, their attention focused on her. "I don't know what you are—"

But before she could finish, Fynn had taken another step toward her. Her back smacked the wall.

Fynn tilted his head, his eyes turning into slits. "What have you been hiding from me, sister?"

A chill snaked its way up her spine as he began rifling through her mind. "Why don't you let me in your mind, Kalisandre?”

Kallie spun the ring around her finger as she thought of what to say, of how to explain herself. The walls she had built were breaking inside of her.

Graeson stepped beside Fynn, their conjoined bodies barricading her against the wall. Their body heat reverberated off them and wrapped around her neck. She couldn't breathe.

She didn't know why she had thought she could have it all. She should have known better. She should not have let herself forget who she was, what she did, and why she came here.

Graeson glared at her, pain lacing his words, "What did you do, Kalisandre?"

And this time, when Graeson said her name, a different feeling arose within her, one she didn't care for. One that made her want to shrink back into the shadows and disappear into the darkness.

She met Graeson's gaze and the desire and heat that had filled them earlier that night was replaced by something that shook Kallie's insides.

"Graeson, I can—"

Graeson grabbed her shoulder, his grip tensing. His iron eyes bounced back and forth between Kallie's. When he repeated his question, his voice was not an inch above a whisper, "What did you do?"

Standing before her, he was unrecognizable, transformed into something cold, unfeeling. Feral. His voice was animalistic and predatory; his face, void of any warmth. Gone was the man who had lain next to her in the grass. Gone was the man who had thrown her into the lake, who had danced with her and shown her the stars.

The man before her could strike down his enemy without a moment of hesitation.

But the beast had always been there, hadn't it? Deep beneath the surface, lying in wait.

And seeing this version of Graeson return made her insides flutter. Perhaps she wasn't the only one who was hiding their true self. And as she inhaled, readying herself to explain to Graeson the truth, Fynn stepped between them. He knocked Graeson's hand off of her and stole the words from her mouth. “Graeson, let her explain herself. I'm sure there is a good reason why our land is on fire.”

But Graeson didn't move, for the monster had been unleashed. His eyes slid down her as though he was assessing where best to strike.

Fynn reached out to Graeson. "Gray." A warning, an order.

Graeson's gaze dropped to the floor. Then he took a step back as he inhaled.

At some point, Dani had inched closer, moving to Fynn's other side. Kallie looked between them and her throat seized up. Because despite her efforts in maintaining distance between herself and the Pontians for this exact reason, she had failed and had grown to care for them. And if present circumstances showed her anything, she needed to shove those feelings down.

Fast.

Fynn returned his attention to Kallie. And by the pain that glimmered in his eyes, she knew that her brother had read her mind, had discovered the truth. Despite her efforts in guarding her secrets, she had failed. "Why did you tell that soldier where you were in the woods?"

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