Page 54 of The King's Weapon

Still, the people she rode with were still strangers to her, and she had considered the king her father for her entire life. Or at least since she could remember and that had to count for something—didn't it? But did this new information change that?

Kallie didn't know.

She needed answers. She needed to stop her mind from running in constant circles. However, she knew they would not tell her how she had ended up in Ardentol until she spoke to the queen. And Kallie's frustration grew with every mile they traveled. But there were other questions she could ask to fill the time, so she broke the thick silence. "Why does my gift not work on you?" Then she added, lowering her voice as she spoke to Graeson's back, "Or do I have to force it out of you?"

"I'd like to see you try," Graeson said. Over the past week, their proximity had made her adept at identifying the changes in his voice. Kallie didn't have to see the smug smirk on his face to know it was there.

She began drawing abstract shapes along his back with a gentle finger as she glared at the backs of Fynn and Dani on their horses ahead of them. During the ride, Dani had kept eyeing Fynn's wound. Every time Dani had reached for it, Fynn had swatted her hand away.

To Graeson, she said, "You could at least do me a favor and answeroneof my questions since none of you will answer any of the important ones."

"If my gift isn't important, then I don't see why I need to tell you."

Kallie sighed. "Why is it such a big secret?"

"It's not. Your brothers and Dani know about it."

"So why can't I?"

He turned his face to the side. Her eyes fell to his lips as he gave her a sidelong glance. "Can I trust you?"

Kallie smirked. "You tell me."

He shook his head. "And there's my answer."

Kallie groaned in frustration.

"If it makes you feel better, Fynn can't read my mind either."

Kallie let that information linger in her mind and said, "I didn't think you were in the business of making me feel better."

He huffed a laugh. "I'm not a complete menace."

Kallie shrugged. "Could have fooled me."

In the silence that followed, she listened to the forest come alive. Hidden birds sang in the distance. Hooves clapped against the ground and the wind whistled as it rattled the leaves of the nearby trees. The forests of Borgania were bountiful during the spring months, life springing from every root.

She debated allowing the silence win. But before she knew it, the question that had been tugging at her tongue escaped before she could pull it back. "What's my mother like?"

Graeson sighed, not in exasperation but in what sounded like sadness. "My mother died during childbirth. I never met her, so one could say I don't know what a true mother is. But Esmeray took me in. She treated me like I was one of her own. She never tried to replace my mother even though I never met her. She talked about her constantly, told me so many stories about her that I felt like I knew her."

He paused and Kallie could feel the love and pain starting to mix with each word. It was the same way she had spoken about her mother, but now that was tinged with complicated thoughts and hidden agendas.

"A piece of Esmeray left with your disappearance. Years had gone, but she was still a shell of herself. When the four of us proposed our plan to rescue you, she . . . she was hesitant. She never gave up on you, but hope is a dangerous thing to live off of. And the circumstances of our kingdom are hard to explain. While I'm sure it doesn't seem like it now, she never stopped loving you. None of us did."

Kallie didn't know what to say, so she said nothing. Only laid her cheek against Graeson's back, for once finding stability in his proximity. His muscles flexed, and she thought about moving, but she didn't have the strength to do so. With Terin's apparent help, last night had been the first time she had slept through the dark hours of the night in days. Yet, the jumbled thoughts in her mind made it feel like she hadn't slept in weeks.

* * *

The horses pickedup their pace. Branches of trees flew past them. The jerking of the horse and the swirls of green and brown whizzing past them caused Kallie's stomach to flip. Her hands instinctively tightened around Graeson's waist.

Kallie swallowed. "What's happening?"

"The soldiers have found us," Graeson said.

The fire brewing under her skin heated her entire body. They had been riding for several hours. Still, she was not any closer to understanding who she was, what this group of people meant to her, and how they fit within her plan. She needed more time. But based on the speed at which they rode, she was out of it.

She had to make a decision. And fast.

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