Page 39 of Magic Betrayed

“On the contrary,” he said calmly. “I believe Imusttell her. That I should have told her the full truth when I saw her before. I not only know what her magic is, but I know how my mother used it. I know how Elayara used Kestryl’s own sense of compassion to torment her.” His tone grew harsh, and his gaze out the windshield was bleak and haunted. “I even know that she usedmeas a part of that torment, so I do not for one moment accept that Kes does not deserve to understand that I neither blame her nor hate her for my mother’s actions.”

I was left with no words. No response that would do justice to his pain. Nor could I argue with him that he was wrong.

Because Kes did deserve to know.

“You love her, don’t you?” I blurted out suddenly, and the sigh that answered me echoed with old pain.

“Yes,” he said, with stark honesty, “but not in the way you’re thinking. In the past, you would have been right, but the Rath and Kestryl of the past no longer exist, and whatever future I once imagined for us will never come to pass. Too much has come between us, and there are too many dark memories that may never truly fade. Worst of all, I am tied to the Fae Court, and will never be free to follow the demands of my heart. But even though our paths are separate now, I still care enough to do whatever I can to ensure that she is safe and happy.”

My heart broke for him, and for Kes.

“Okay,” I agreed hoarsely. “I guess you know her better than I do. Just… Promise you’ll be careful?”

“Always.”

“Then… welcome to the team.”

NINE

We didn’t saymuch during the last few minutes of the drive. Rath appeared to be lost in some grim contemplation of his own, and I was now free to worry obsessively over why Kira had texted us but not mentioned why.

Did that mean it was something so terrible she could only tell us in person?

When we finally arrived at the pink and black house that served as home to Kira’s bookstore, I barely waited for Rath to put the SUV in park. The moment he pulled into a spot, I leaped out and headed for the stairs behind the store that led to Kira’s apartment on the second level.

By the time I reached the door and lifted my fist to start knocking, it opened, and Kira’s wan face greeted me.

“Thank the heavens, you’re here.” She pulled me inside.

“Rath is coming too,” I noted, and she looked startled but poked her head out the door to watch for him.

“Where is Callum? I thought you two were together.”

“We were,” I acknowledged. “Long story, but he ended up shifting and had to fly back to his apartment for clothes.”

Her eyes went wide. “He shifted? Were you attacked?”

“We thought so, but turned out it was just Rath.”

Speak of the devilish fae prince… He arrived at the top of the stairs just as I said his name.

Kira shut the door behind him and commenced pacing across the kitchen, her phone clutched in tightly clenched fingers.

“What happened? Why did you text Callum?”

As she turned to face me, heavy footsteps came pounding up the stairs from the bookstore below, and Callum burst in, more on edge than I’d ever seen him. His hair was windblown, and his eyes were a little wild until they landed on me, at which point he seemed to force himself to stop and breathe.

“You made it.”

I nodded, watching him carefully. His jaw muscles remained clenched for a moment, his shoulders unusually tense, as if prepared for a fight. And he was still looking at me, a slight glow simmering in his gaze, when Kira held out her phone, screen towards me.

“I got these texts,” she said, her tone wavering slightly.

“Okay?”

“From an unknown number.”

Dread hit me like a freight train, stealing the breath from my lungs and leaving a sick ache in the pit of my stomach.

---