Page 129 of A Promise so Bold and Broken

Worry.

Love.

She was certain that was what it was.

Because she knew that pain.

Knew it as well as an old friend.

The devastation of watching a loved one hurt.

She didn’t brace herself when the men retreated from her chair and returned to Merrick without a moment’s delay.

If he allowed himself to feel every moment of pain watching her go through it, she wouldn’t deny him the same bravery.

Her eyes remained locked with his over the crouched backs of the guards, refusing to even blink the entire time they worked on his forearm.

They continued to stare at each other even as the men cleaned off the blade, even as they held a short conversation before announcing they were leaving them there to ensure their Fae blood would heal them enough for the coal to seal within their skin.

Neither of them spoke as the men left the room.

What was there to say?

They’d lived with a traitor mark before.

They’d do it again.

ChapterThirty-Two

Lessia didn’t fight the guards when they tied the blindfold back in place before they released her from the chair and secured her hands in front of her body with thick iron that pressed on the raw wound winding down to her wrist.

She didn’t fully understand why they did it—they’d already subdued her again by blowing Vincere into her face, which made her bound arms twitch painfully as they shoved her out of the room.

Perhaps they were being extra cautious.

She could sense Merrick’s presence somewhere beside her, his scent layering over her like a warm blanket in winter, and Lessia drew a shaky breath.

It would be all right.

For some reason, she believed it.

Merrick made her believe it.

He made her… believe in herself.

And for some reason, Loche wasn’t out to kill them.

At least not yet…

They’d convince him.

She’d convince him.

She would.

That much she dared promise herself.

“Oh, are we too early?” A voice cut through the silence, the soft purr of it perking Lessia’s ears.

---