Page 141 of To Touch A Silent Fury

Lang did not flinch; he just shook his hand in Hanindred’s weak grip. “You’re a feisty little thing, aren’t you? Going to be a big strong dragon one day.”

Hanindred played back, pouncing on his arm, and I heard the rumble of his purr.Strong together.

“His name is Hanindred,” I said.

If we were to leave, I wanted him to know it. I didn’t know why.

Lang looked up. “I’ve heard that name before,” he said.

“Not fromyourbooks,” I replied.

He tilted his head, then scratched Hanindred’s belly. “It is a good Twin Lands name. Suits him.”

By my blood, it hurt. Why did he have to be kind? Why couldn’t he be what I had made him to be? The evil prince who stole my life from me? Braxthorn’s minion.

He stared at me again, then, watching the tear track down my cheek. Once more, he reached his hand towards me. Uncertain. Nervous.

This time, I had to know.

I reached back.

The moment felt at once both simple and monumental. Fingers nervously reaching on a Tanmer day, as lovers might reach for one another that first time. Then his hand touched mine.

His warm skin against my own made me shudder, his hands calloused from his riding. We held hands then, as if shaking on a deal. His grip was firm.

I found the pity first, because it swirled on the top like debris. Below it was darkness. Grief tinged in despair. Desire to the point of need. Anger bladed in rage. Affection coiled with frustration.

His emotions fell over me, and I didn’t react, keeping my body still. I wasn’t sure if there was any point in hiding this extra deception from him now, but if there was even the smallest chance of us—even if it was years away—he couldn’t know I wasn’t Broken. For what I had seen in the war room. For what I needed to change. For everyone who needed help in the five kingdoms, he could not know.

I held his emotions alongside mine, because at some point, I did not know where one stopped and the other started.

“Tanidwen,” he said. The sound of my name falling from his lips floored me just as much as it had before. “I thought when Icame back, when you had the ruse of your illness… I was certain you had already left and that was a line to cover up your escape.”

I gave him a sad smile. I wished I was already gone. The thought of having to return to those same walls again for two more nights was more than I could bear.

He rubbed a thumb over my hand. “I’m happy I could see you one last time.”

Langnathin, the feared Dragon Prince,caredfor me. Tanidwen, and not Vorska. Not for what my dragon represented, but for me. I could not tell if the source was entirely guilt, or something more, but I was far from immune to his desire. It swelled with mine, weaving it ever stronger.

I had done it, the man wanted me, and it was still not enough. I was about to go on the run for the rest of my life. Hanindred, who played with a piece of rope at the bottom of the boat, would never know peace. Septillis would throw his entire life away to come with me.

One last try. One last turn of the key. For them. For me. For the world at large.

I stared up at the man who once more controlled my Fate. “Am I so horrible a prospect you would not marry me yourself?”

He sucked in a sharp breath, shock rippling through him. “Tani—”

“I know I lied to you. I know I am not highborn. But can you not volunteer yourself? Spare me from your brother?”

A thrill shot through our hands. Delight, even. And then something more, something deeper, too. A sadness at a depth I could not fathom. An unworthiness as old as he was, covered up by his surprise. “You would accept me?”

I blinked, not expecting his reaction. “I trust that you do not want me dead. You would protect me and respect me, even if it is out of guilt.” I squeezed his hand. “I would accept you.”

“If it was me, beside you. You would not run?” His voice was barely more than a breath.

Had he not suggested himself because of our history? Because he believed I would never accept the man who destroyed my Fate? It made sense. If he truly had Broken me, as he believed he had, I would never have plotted to come here. I would never have left with him from Gossamir. He must be entirely confused as to why I’d ever approached him.

“I would be running all my life,” I said, not telling him that somehow along the line I’d found I actuallylikedhim. Not yet. “At least with you, we could find some common ground. Change a small piece of the world.”