Page 88 of Façade

His frown deepened as he took in my disappointment. “Were you expecting the prince?” He scowled at my revealing blush. “There’s something I must speak with you about concerning him.”

The hatred filling his eyes was far sharper than the previous times we’d discussed him. Had something happened after all? I was almost afraid to ask.

In an effort to curb my escalating restlessness I picked up the yarn and needles Ryland had provided, anything to ground me for the treacherous conversation that lay ahead. Undeterred, he strode over with agitated strides and settled in the seat beside me that Ryland had vacated earlier, the very one I still secretly hoped would be filled by him before the day ended.

“As urgent the nature of our discussion, first I must ask: how are you feeling?”

“Weak.”

His jaw tightened and he rested a hand to my brow, a touch that felt nothing like Ryland’s. “As an Estorian guard I’ve been trained in the knowledge of magic, which grants me the ability to measure it. Your growth in your abilities had been making steady progress, but you’ve taken a sharp regression, made worse because it came about in such a violent, unnatural way.” He gritted his teeth. “I’m going tokillhim.”

My heart lurched. “Kill who?” Though the question was unnecessary when I knew exactly which man my guard most wanted to protect me from.

“The blasted man who only married you for your power.”

Even though I’d been expecting the accusation, my breath still caught to hear the suspicions my conscience had been trying in vain to bring to my attention spoken out loud. “But he doesn’t know about my powers.”

“I’m quite certain that he does, and he’s the one who stole them. He was with you when you suddenly collapsed.”

“I—“ Despite this fact making Ryland the most logical conclusion, it was one I still couldn’t make myself believe. “But he wouldn’t…”

I shrank beneath the force of Silas’s bafflement. I knew my defense was weak, especially considering Ryland’s ill intentions towards Estoria. Yet my heart still yearned to defend him, to believe in him even when sense urged otherwise. I knew ruling with my heart rather than my head went against all my training, especially when mine was currently behaving rebelliously, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to maintain faith in the dear man I’d come to know and love.

With a wavering breath I determinedly lifted my chin. “I don’t believe he’s the one who hurt me, especially when he still believes me to be the decoy.”

Silas frowned. “Do you truly believe that after what you witnessed? Only a guilty conscience would explain his behavior during his visit.”

I opened my mouth to argue…only to close it. When I couldn’t find the words to speak, Guard Silas continued.

“I believe at one point the prince thought you were the decoy, but he’s obviously since learned the truth. You put yourself at risk the moment you healed him; whether it was a guard who informed him or one of the healers, I cannot be sure. It no longer mattershowhe learned of it, only that he now knows the truth.”

My hands tightened around my yarn needles in a feeble effort to shield myself against my guard’s unwanted words. I hated to admit the probability of his accusation, yet I stubbornly clung to my faith in Ryland. Even if hewasresponsible, surely there was an explanation?

“Ryland wouldn’t hurt me.” Yet my voice faltered, the part of me that sensed the truth I didn’t want to believe.

“Whether or not you believe the best of him or not, the fact remains that hedidhurt you;someonetook your powers. I’ve discussed it with both the head priest and the healers, and they’ve all concluded he is the most likely suspect, especially since he’s not denied he was alone with you at the time you suddenly took ill.”

Which explained Healer Jade’s reluctance to go into detail about what had happened to me, as well as her need to bring up how devoted Ryland had been while I’d been unconscious. The icy dread seeping over me only deepened at this realization.

I ached to retort, but I had no defense. Despite my guard’s suspicions, denial fought against my sense with every ounce of strength I possessed. At my continued silence Guard Silas offered the final piece of condemning evidence against my husband my heart ached to ignore.

“Your marriage to the lout grants you two a magical connection that would have made it very easy for him to steal your powers. I can think of no other reason for his sudden delay in going through with the annulment than his discovery that you possess the very magic he needs.”

My heart sank at this final blow, one I couldn’t dispute no matter how much I yearned to. Yet strangely, despite this fierce opposition, my love didn’t waver. Though common sense attempted to sway my devotion, I still believed in him.

I needed to talk to him. Only then would I discover the truth I so desperately sought, and with it piece together the mystery over what had happened to my stolen magic.

CHAPTER29

Anightmare slithered through my sleep, its haunting images as vivid as a memory, one I immediately recognized with how often I’d revisited it these past several days: I stood in the sunlit courtyard surrounded by columns, their ancient stone arrayed in a curtain of flowering ivy. Ryland’s presence enfolded me, his hand on my cheek and our closeness pushing us towards another kiss. All seemed perfect…until a sharp pain suddenly interrupted the tranquil moment as a sinister shadow seeped over me to entirely eclipse the light. I fought to escape, but its suffocating grip pulled me under until I became swallowed in a darkness that slowly robbed me of strength.

I tossed and turned, fighting against this prison…until I managed to yank free from the nightmare’s tendrils to jolt awake. I bolted upright with a gasp. The shadows filling the room left me momentarily confused, so similar to those that prowled my unconsciousness following my vanished magic, making me fear they’d returned to drown me in another sea of unconsciousness…but gradually I swept away the cobwebs of sleep to remember where I was.

With a weary sigh I fell back against the pillows and tried to reclaim my stolen sleep, but the lingering images from my dream kept it firmly at bay. Seeking comfort, my hand felt blindly towards the other side of the bed where in a normal marriage absent of secrets Ryland should have been lying…but it remained cold and empty, evidence of the growing distance between us.

Though the surrounding, all-encompassing darkness was no friend, it at least magnified my senses, allowing me to better discern the magic simmering beneath my skin, becoming more acute the longer I healed. I wriggled my tingly fingers encouragingly, testing the feel of my powers growing steadily stronger. I explored them a bit before hastily tucking them away to protect them.

Rather than sleep, I stared up at the shadowy ceiling, for once content to remain still so I could focus on sorting through the chaos of my thoughts and the puzzle that had occupied my attention ever since my powers had suddenly vanished. But left to its own devices, my mind eventually drifted to a much more pleasant daydream, which the fog lingering over the events of the past few days had shrouded so that I’d forgotten it completely. But now…

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