Page 86 of Beyond Those Gilded Walls

“How long?” I croaked, my voice hoarse with tears that would not fall. I finally brought my gaze up from my hands to Tallon’s face. “How long has he been dead?”

He sighed, rubbing at my knee through the blood-stained dress I still wore. “Two or three days perhaps.” With his other hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. “This was on the nightstand. It’s addressed to you.”

“Did you read it?”

“Yes.”

“Should I read it?”

He hesitated. “At some point, yes, but right now it would only hurt you.”

I bit down hard on my lip in a failed attempt to keep it from trembling. My vision blurred and the tears finally spilled out, along with a choked sob.

Tallon cursed, shifting closer to me and wrapping his arms around my waist. “I know, my—” He faltered for a moment. “If it helps any, I don’t believe he ever intended for you to read this letter. There were ones there addressed to your mother and brother as well.”

“What did it say, Tallon?”

He sighed again, clearly not wanting to tell me. After a moment, he stood and sat beside me. “He blamed you for your mother, for Rhyon, for himself. He blamed you for everything that ever went wrong in his entire life. He said you ruined his family, and that as far as he was concerned, he had no sister.”

It was nothing I hadn’t expected, but hearing the words from Tallon’s lips rather than Emyl’s hurt far more than I’d ever expected. Surprisingly, no tears came this time. I was numb mostly. I’d known my brother’s feelings toward me, had known them all his life, but I’d hoped I could change them. I’d hoped that by saving him, even if I couldn’t save Rhyon and our mother, that I could have proven myself to him.

Tallon pulled me into his lap, tucking me beneath his chin. As if he were reading my thoughts, he murmured, “You were always worthy of their love, Odyssa. And they never should have made you feel like you had to earn it.”

“I only ever wanted someone to love me. To have a family that loved me. What does it say that I could not meet their expectations? Could not earn their love?”

“That they were not worthy of your love. You gave yours without condition, without falter, and they withheld theirs from you out of some petty attempt to get you to do more for them.” He lifted my chin and the unwaveringlovein his eyes made my mouth drop open. He smiled as I realized what the look in his eyes truly meant. “Does it not mean more to have someone love you when they are under no obligation at all?”

“You cannot love me, Tallon,” I protested. Yet, even as I said it, I knew that if he pushed me to describe my feelings for him, there would be no word more appropriate than love. “We only just met, though, and you are the herald of agod. I am…” I shook my head, trying to understand what my heart and mind were screaming at me.

“You are everything,” he supplied, tilting my head up to press a lingering kiss to my lips. “And do not presume to tell me how I feel about you, Odyssa. I know you feel the same, even if you cannot say it yet.” He kissed me again. “You have always been worthy of love, and Veressia will always know what you did for them in that castle. You aregood, my love.”

My answer was to press another kiss to his lips, pouring everything into the kiss to show him that yes, I did love him, too, or Iwouldlove him, given more time.

“Well, this is charming.” An amused voice startled us both apart. At the stoop stood a tall man with gray-streaked black hair, slicked back neatly to reveal his prominent cheekbones. He tugged on the lapels of his coat, black wool and heavy against the morning breeze. His eyes were dark, yet alive and churning with silver flecks. The wicked smirk across the man’s lips was familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

“Who are you?” I asked warily as Tallon shifted me off his lap and put himself between the stranger and me.

Tallon sighed as he stood. “Why are you here, Kalyx?”

“I have been waiting formonthsfor you to be freed from that accursed place,” the man—Kalyx, God ofDeath—said. He rested a booted foot on the bottom stair and peered up at Tallon. “Did you truly think I would not come see why you lingered here rather than returning immediately? I am a curious man, Tallon.”

“You mean you are nosy.”

“That as well, yes.” Kalyx leaned around Tallon to smile at me, the mirthful smirk replaced by a genuine and warm smile. “Hello, Odyssa. It is very nice to finally meet you, my dear.”

I looked up at Tallon, watching him pinch the bridge of his nose and shake his head. Suddenly, the pieces fell into place and I knew why that smirk and those eyes had seemed so familiar. I saw them every day in the mirror. Tallon’s previous words came to mind. “Is this what you meant before, by your suspicions about my magic?”

“Yes. I wasn’t certain until now, though.” He looked between us. “Seeing you both here, together, it’s undeniable you’re related.”

“You suspected?” Kalyx asked, raising a curious eyebrow at Tallon before looking back at me. “It seems we have a bit to catch up on.”

“Pardon me for being bold,” I said, remembering my manners, “but can you confirm our suspicions? Iamrelated to you, aren’t I? That is why my marks and my magic are so prominent compared to other survivors?”

“Yes, my dear. You are my granddaughter.”

“Oh.” Hearing it aloud made it far realer than the suspicions I harbored for only a moment, and just like that, my world was upended once more. He had to be my father’s father, as I’d met my mother’s parents once when I was younger, before they’d died. I’d never known my father, had never asked about him after learning he’d abandoned my mother. I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to ask about him now. My ears rang, and I swayed slightly from my seat as the information sank in.

“You did not come here for me,” Tallon accused, his arms tightening around me. “I would have brought her to you when we returned and you know it. Why are you herenow?”

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