Page 19 of Legacy of Thorns (Kingdoms of Legacy #3)

“Our mother raised me.” His breath sawed through his throat. “And after she left us, I finished raising Archer. We owe our father nothing.”

“Nothing?” Daphne sounded genuinely shocked, her emotions rubbing against his newly re-opened wounds.

“You may choose to close your eyes on the truth of your parents,” he snapped, “but I choose to see my father clearly, as he actually was.”

Daphne frowned at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“My father ruined my life, and I won’t pretend otherwise.

But what of you? Your parents’ selfishness ruined your life, too, and yet you pretend it was an unavoidable occurrence.

They’re the ones who chose to move kingdoms and then to have a child in Oakden.

Having done that, they should have endured, no matter what it cost—not run away and forced their child to take the burden in their place. ”

Daphne pulled back as if struck, and Finley’s eyes widened. He had lashed out without thinking. He was no better than a wounded animal, acting as if he had been backed into a corner.

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “Forget I said that. Your parents and your life—it’s none of my business.

” He hesitated before adding in a much softer voice.

“I do think your parents wronged you. But you’re the injured party, and the emotions are yours to feel—however you feel them, without any reference to me. ”

Daphne opened her mouth only to close it again. She didn’t unleash the tirade on him that he deserved, but her face still contained the glassy, shocked look. Finley’s stomach clenched.

“My life hasn’t been ruined,” she said with dignity, but there was a catch in her voice as if she wasn’t entirely sure she believed her own words.

Fin’s stomach twisted tighter. Maybe there was something of his father in him after all, to behave with such unconcern for Daphne’s feelings after everything she had already undergone for his sake.

She sighed. “It’s true that I could have nursed resentment all these years, as you have done.

” Her quiet words didn’t hold any note of judgment, but they plunged deep into his middle regardless.

“But what would it have achieved? My resentment would have served no purpose except to make me miserable. My parents love me and have provided well for me. I’m grateful to them.

” Her final words were said in a stubborn tone that would brook no argument.

Finley knew he should let the topic go. He never should have brought it up in the first place. But he couldn’t stop himself from making a final comment.

“As I already said, your feelings are yours without reference to me,” he murmured, “but I just hope you let yourself feel them without reference to your parents either. They were the adults and you the child. It was never your responsibility to make them feel better about their mistakes.”

Daphne sucked in a breath. Finley waited, but she didn’t speak, so he went on.

“At least in your case, your parents have redeeming virtues for you to cling to. My father had none, even if I wished it.”

Daphne’s stricken expression softened into something weary and sad. “I wonder if that’s really true. You say I don’t see my parents clearly, but do any of us? We’re all shaped by the decisions of our parents, whether we want it or not.”

Finley frowned, his voice unintentionally harsh. “Well, it’s my father’s fault that I have no chance to discover hidden virtues in him—given that three years ago he got himself drunk and fell into the river, abandoning Archie and me once again.”

Daphne gasped, and Finley’s hand bore down, cutting his potato in half instead of peeling it. She reached over and took the remaining half from him, placing a whole one into his hand in its place. Her touch was gentle, despite his earlier attack, her eyes equally soft.

Once again her sympathy brought him dangerously close to the edge. His hand tightened around the new potato as he pulled himself back, tearing his eyes from hers and looking at his motionless knife instead.

“I was eighteen by the time he died, so we would have been all right—better, in fact, without Father’s endless debts.

I could have easily looked after Archie without Father there to cause trouble.

But it was only days after his death when those men first came for us.

Nisha saved us, and we’ve been running ever since. ”

“So they have something to do with your father?” Daphne asked, perceptive as always.

“I don’t know what he did to anger them, but I’m fairly sure it wasn’t an unpaid debt.

If it was, they would have demanded money, and I would gladly have paid to be rid of them—even if it took me years to earn enough.

No, it’s something else.” He leaned back, looking over the forest and drawing a deep breath.

“I just can’t imagine what. What could Father have done to make someone so angry that they would seek revenge on his sons for three years? ”

Daphne stared at him blankly. “It’s incomprehensible.”

Finley blew his breath out, looking blankly at the potato still clutched in his hand.

“I’ve been trying to come up with an explanation for three years, and I still haven’t worked it out.

That’s why I left Archie a few weeks back.

I was following a lead, trying to work out what Father had done.

If I could only understand the original issue, maybe I could work out how to appease them. ”

“You’ve tried asking them, I suppose?” Daphne asked tentatively.

“Of course. The first time they caught us, I asked repeatedly. They wouldn’t say a word. It’s all so senseless.” Familiar frustration boiled inside him. All he had wanted for the last six years was to give Archie a normal, stable life. Why did circumstances always conspire against him?

“And you want my help working out their motivation?” Daphne asked, reminding him of the original purpose of the conversation. “That’s why you told me all this?”

“What I want,” he said heavily, “is to save Archie without endangering anyone else. But since that seems to be impossible, yes. I’m asking for your help.”

“Then you have it,” she said without hesitation.

Her ready agreement took him off guard, given his earlier blunder.

She responded to his visible surprise with a shrug. “It’s the only logical course. I don’t want to spend the next three years on the run.”

He regarded her carefully, telling himself to accept her offer and leave it at that. But words spilled out of him anyway.

“We could escort you to the Marleston crossing. Once you’ve crossed into Sovar, you should be safe. Your cousin is the crown princess there. I’m sure they wouldn’t pursue you so far.” He didn’t breathe as he waited for her response.

Daphne shook her head decisively, not even taking time to consider his offer. “I came to Oakden to find out who I am, and I haven’t done that yet. I can’t run away.”

Relief flooded Finley, along with curiosity. He hadn’t earned the right to pry—quite the opposite—but he longed to know what was behind her words. He would have to work extra hard to build up enough trust for her to share more of her story with him.

For now, the important thing was that she was going to stay. He had been given time to earn her trust, and that was all that mattered.