Page 172 of Fearless

Gail’s hand is pressed to her heart, the look of regret on her face the last thing I see before striding out the doors. Kitt follows in a flurry of confusion. His steps echo behind me. “Brother, just tell me what is going on. Please.”

I turn only slightly. “I will. But only after I’ve ensured I’m right.”

Then I’m off to steal away my queen.

CHAPTER 65Kai

The sun is long set before I’m finally rapping my knuckles against Kitt’s study door.

“This night is never-ending,” Paedyn huffs.

She spins the ring on her thumb incessantly, gaze far from the grooved door before us. Her mind is likely where mine has drifted off to after everything we discovered. But I’ve forced myself to wander back to my brother, as promised. Just as I always have over the years.

I swallow. “I’m taking a page out of your book, Little Psychic.”

Paedyn’s mouth opens, but before she can answer—

“Come in.”

Kitt’s voice is muffled behind the slab of wood I now push open. He sits at his desk, lamplight flooding the room in a flickering glow. Parchment sprawls the span of chipped wood in front of him, and I am consistently astonished how every sheet is marred with hasty handwriting. But what captures my attention is the ceremonial sword leaning against the fireplace. Gone is the blood of Paedyn’s father, replaced with a silver shine.

The king ushers me in with a wave of his inky hand. His skin is pale, stark against the indigo veins that crawl from his temple. My eyes narrow at the striking sickness crowding his features. Bloodshot eyes and gaunt cheeks meet my scrutiny. I’ve never seen him like this, never noticed how unwell he truly looked.

The maids.

They have been concealing his illness as best they could.

I stride into the glowing room, and comfortingly, Kitt smiles at my company. But the shadow stepping behind me makes Kitt falter slightly. “Paedyn. I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”

I force a deep breath into my lungs.

It is their wedding night.

If it weren’t for recent discoveries, together is precisely what they would have been. The thought has something sinister awakening within me, but I stamp it down, right alongside the jealousy that festers there.

“I didn’t either,” Paedyn states truthfully. “But Kai…”

“Wanted your wife here when we finally discuss what happened today.”

The words surprise even me, mostly because they weren’t meant to be biting. I can feel Paedyn’s gaze crash into me as Kitt’s does the same. Slowly, the king gathers his stack of scribbled parchment and shoves it into the drawer beside him. “I’d rather not speak of it. You of all people should understand that, Brother.”

The words are honed masterfully. They cut deep enough to make me momentarily rethink this approaching conversation. I stare at my brother, seeing once again that sliver of cunningness he holds so close. There was once a time when I would have considered myself to be the calculated brother and he the caring one. But it feels as though a lifetime has been wedged between those characteristics, and I’m no longer sure who is deserving of them.

“Kitt,” I say slowly. “You killed someone today.”

He leans back in his chair. “I did what I needed to.”

“That was your first kill.”

“It was?” Paedyn steps forward, shaking her head. “Of course it was.”

“I’m fine, Kai,” the king murmurs. “It was a necessity. Now, can we please stop—”

I brace my palms on his desk. “The brother I know would be in shambles after driving a sword through a man’s chest.”

“Well, he grew up,” Kitt fires back. He shoves the bite in his voice aside. “I am a king now, and everything I do is for the greatness of this kingdom.”

I study the tight paleness of his features. “Tell me what is going on, Kitt. There is something you’re not telling me.”

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