Page 192 of Fearless

I hear the footsteps behind me. She wanted me to hear them.

The familiar warmth of her embrace wraps around me from behind, holding together the broken pieces I’ve become. I stare at the shallow grave, allowing a tear to escape my empty gaze.

He’s gone.

He’s gone.

“I’m right here,” she whispers in my ear. “I’ve got you.”

I turn slowly in her arms, watching that beautiful face come into view. Paedyn’s eyes swim with tears, just as they have for days. For me. There is only so much grief she can have for the man who wished to kill her. No, this hurt is for me.

My eyes fall to the shovel at her side. Managing a sad smile, I lift dirt-stained fingers to her face. “Have you come to help me dig, darling?”

“You’ve dug enough graves for me,” she breathes. “I figured I would repay the favor.”

My sob is part laugh. “I don’t know how I would survive this without you.”

“Well, never again will you have to survive anything alone.” Her gaze grows determined. “Cockroach, remember?”

I shake my head, forever astounded by her. “No. You are strength. Life itself. That is why Death fears you.”

“All I do is fear Death,” she corrects. “Fear losing you.”

It hurts to smile. “Death knows better than to try and drag me from you.”

We hold each other in our gazes, gentle but sure. Sniffling, she stares down at the shovel she brought and clears a tightening throat. “Once he’s buried, they will make you king.”

“So let’s sit here a little longer,” I mutter. “Please.”

We do.

Leaves rustle all around us as I breathe in the smell of freshly turned soil. Paedyn leans back on her palms, eyes shutting when a soft breeze whispers through her hair. Chattering birds muffle the stream of screaming thoughts in my head for a few blissful minutes.

“You will make a great king.”

The reminder of my looming future shatters the short-lived peace. “That was supposed to be Kitt. Not me.” My head falls into shaking hands. “But he was so focused on his father. On greatness.”

Hisfather. Not mine. Perhaps not even before I discovered the truth of my birth. That king was never my family.

Distantly, beneath the growing ache of grief weighing on my chest, I wonder of the man meant to be my father. Perhaps he wasn’t worth knowing. Perhaps I’ll find out for myself one day.

“Kitt was obsessive.” Paedyn gnaws on her lower lip. “Sick with the Plague.”

“He tried to kill you,” I say numbly.

“He wasn’t himself. I… I don’t blame him for it.”

“I killed him.”

I barely hear her words. “It wasn’t your fault. He was already dying, Kai. The Healers told us so.”

“I still killed him, Paedyn.” My voice breaks. “I killed my brother!”

She hooks her arms around my neck, pulling my shaking body against her own. “Shh. It’s not your fault, Kai.”

I bury my face into her scar. “I couldn’t save him. I told him I would save him.” My voice is choked. That formidable power running through my veins hadfailed. “He was supposed to dodge. We were supposed to keep our promise.”

“You will,” she whispers. “You will see him again. Just like I will see my father. Adena. Mak.” There are tears in her eyes when she pulls away to clutch my face. “Your promises are not broken. They are just awaiting you.”

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