Page 175 of Royal Rebel

Considering her responsibilities, that was a good thing. A princess couldn’t afford to show vulnerability; certainly not one who also led a rebellion.

Silver moonlight peeked through the thinning clouds, and she could make out some glittering stars. They reached the end of the stones, which had led them to a large well. Cardon slowed, but Serene wasn’t ready to go back. Not now that she and Cardon were finally alone.

She looked across the yard, over the long grass to a sturdy wooden fence. A pen for the horses, she guessed. She took a tentative step; the ground was soft, but the long grass kept her from sinking in the mud.

Cardon hesitated, but she pulled at him. “You’re not afraid of a little mud, are you?”

He grimaced slightly, but followed her into the yard.

As they walked, Serene glanced at his profile. He was always so confident and self-assured. It made her wonder what he’d been like as a child. Her mind flashed with images of a little boy with a soft face, eager eyes, and tousled brown hair.

“What are you smiling about?” Cardon asked.

She hadn’t realized she was smiling, but her lips lifted higher now. “I was imagining you as a child.” She tossed him a grin. “You were adorable.”

An emotion she couldn’t quite read ghosted in his eyes. His smile was a little wry. “I wasn’t a child you would have noticed, Princess.”

“I doubt that very much.” There was something about Cardon that had always drawn her in, always made her feel comfortable and happy. And that was before she’d fallen in love with him.

The skin around his eyes tightened.

Looking at him as she was, she didn’t notice the sudden dip in the ground. She tripped. Cardon attempted to stop her fall, but she still dropped to her knees, her free hand flashing out to catch her. Mud squelched beneath her palm, and she let out a shaky laugh. “I suppose I should watch where I’m going.”

He pulled her to her feet, and Serene swept back tendrils of her hair. She could feel the smear of mud on her cheek her fingers left behind, but she was determined to ignore it. She’d already ruined the quiet moment with her ungraceful stumble, and she wanted to return to their conversation.

Cardon twisted her to face him, his brow lined. “Are you all right?”

“Perfectly fine.”

Her skirt was a little tangled; he bent to straighten it, his hand scraping some of the mud away.

She touched his shoulder. “Cardon, it’s fine.”

Still crouched, he looked up at her, and something in his eyes made her pause. It wasn’t concern, exactly. At least, it wasn’tjustthat.

Her smile died. “Cardon?”

He swallowed and stretched to his full height. His thumb skated over the streak of mud she’d left on her cheek, gently removing it. Her pulse rushed faster, but she kept her focus on him.

“I used to live in the mud,” he said.

Serene stared. She couldn’t read his expression—couldn’t understand the words he’d said, nor the flat way he’d said them.

Cardon’s mouth twitched up at one corner, but it was not a happy smile. “Not literally, of course. We had a hovel. But I could never get the mud and dirt off me from working in the fields with my grandparents. We grew onions for a noble lord who paid us just enough so we wouldn’t starve. That’s why you never would have noticed me, Serene. I was nothing.”

Her entire soul rebelled against that.

She opened her mouth to protest, but he spoke first. “It’s all right. I’ve made peace with my past. And I left it behind a long time ago.” His thumb still stroked her cheek, attempting to clean the mud away. “I could never get clean,” he whispered. “I hated that.”

An ache settled in her heart. She grasped his hand, stilling the insistent motion. “I’m sorry, Cardon. I didn’t know.”

His eyes drifted to hers. “Of course you didn’t know. And you have no reason to be sorry.”

But she was. She hated that he’d lived in such poverty. That he’d had to work so hard, even as a child. She hated that children still worked fields in Devendra.

Her voice softened. “Will you tell me more?”

Cardon glanced away. At first, she thought he just wanted to avoid her question, but then he pulled her gently to the nearby fence. Grasping her waist, he lifted her with ease and settled her on the top rail of the fence. Once he was sure she was secure, he hoisted himself up beside her.

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