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Rion met her gaze. “She’s Avalon’s daughter.”Shit. He’d had one of the ladies of Móirín this entire time? “I didn’t have time to explain before we parted, but she’s likely heard I killed her mother by now.” Saoirse averted her gaze. There was no mending it then. She’d never forgive someone for hurting her mother. Saoirse imagined this Arianna would feel the same.

“Saoirse.” He said her name with such reverence. She studied the desperation in his gaze. Something else she hadn’t seen in decades. “I didn’t do it.” She furrowed her brow. Didn’t do it? What did he meant di—he wasn’t lying. But—they’d seen him. She, Alec, and Avalon had seen Rion standing over the Lady of Móirín’s corpse. “A shadow weaver from Fiadh killed her and fled before I could catch him.”

Her lips parted, words failing her as she tried to absorb the new information. “Why tell us—”

“That I did it?” he finished. “They blamed me anyway.” Just like with the slaves. He took the blame again. Let them believe he was a monster. Again.

“But the war—”

“Was all for nothing,” he said. “The war Avalon declared should have been against Fiadh, but I was so hell-bent on destruction that war sounded… fun.” He looked away, shame filling his gaze. “I wanted out of this city. I wanted the chance to fight, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Until I met her.”

Rion leaned against the nearest tree and looked toward the sky. “And now she believes I hate her,” his shoulders shook, “and that I murdered her mother.”

He cared, she realized. About so much and so many things. This wasn’t The Demon Alec feared, nor the creature her warriors whispered about. It’d all been a façade, a way to keep himself safe from further heartache. And she’d been blind to it.

Some sins couldn’t be forgiven, but perhaps, one day, with a little help, others would begin seeing her little brother in a different light. And if she could somehow fix this, then maybe she’d fix the stain on her own soul as well.

Saoirse stood at his side, but she didn’t reach for him again and they both watched the sun rise over the horizon, bathing the city in its golden light.

Chapter Forty

Arianna

A month.

The longest month of Arianna’s life. She wasn’t sure her crippling grief would ever end.

She’d experienced suffering as a slave. The scars around her wrists proved as much. She’d felt the sharp pains of an empty stomach. The agonizing burn of a parched throat. They’d beaten her until she was broken and bloody, left to either pick herself up or die with those deemed worthless.

But despite all that misery, it was nothing compared to the hollowness she endured now. She ached, so deep Arianna was certain it was her soul that suffered. It felt as though she were hanging onto the last threads of Rion’s essence, and no matter how hard she clenched her fists and planted her feet, he was slipping away.

Ellie secured another flower in Arianna’s hair, twisting a final tendril to the back before removing the pin from her mouth and carefully working it between the braid. Her younger sister’s face beamed when she stepped back to examine her masterpiece. “Done.”

Arianna lifted her eyes to the mirror, uncaring, and sucked in a stunned breath.

Their mother stared back.

Proud.

Elegant.

All the things Arianna could never hope to be.

Her mother wouldn’t have thought twice about attending this celebration. She would have ignored the heavy pain in her chest, lifted her chin high, and marched down that stone path with a smile on her face.

All Arianna wanted to do was scream.

Her father had been planning this since her return. A festival to mark the homecoming of their country’s lady and show the citizens of Móirín how a single female had risen above adversity and survived against overwhelming odds. She was to be the symbol of hope and show them that no matter what trials they suffered, they too could prevail.

But she wasn’t hopeful. She was drowning day by day, struggling in the currents of her fractured heart.

Arianna ran a gloved hand down her arm, the delicate silk pleasant against her bare skin. But Rion’s touch had been softer. Warmer. She pressed her fingertips to her lips and remembered how his had trembled. And how he’d devoured her, chasing away any doubts lurking in the back of her mind.

Tears fell and Ellie’s smile faded. “You can still say no.” Arianna knew Ellie would stand up against their father for her sake. Arianna just didn’t want another confrontation. She just wanted—what did she want?

Rion.

She wanted Rion.