Page 35 of A Promise so Bold and Broken

She whipped her head up at Raine’s words.

Her forehead creased. “For what?”

“For saving Merrick.” Raine took another sip. “I wasn’t strong enough. Not after Solana.”

Shrugging, she kept Raine’s gaze. “He saved me too. Several times.”

A sad smile pulled at Raine’s lips. “Sounds like Merrick. Ever the martyr.”

“What do you mean?”

Raine leaned back in the chair, the low scrape of the legs dragging against wood reverberating through the room. “He swore that blood oath because of me. Well, me, Thissian, and Kerym.”

Her brows knitted. “They are the other two in your brotherhood?”

A raspy laugh left Raine. “Brotherhood?”

He shook his head before she could respond. “I guess you can call it that. And yes. We fought together for centuries. Grew up together. Bastards all of us, so we were raised in a soldiers’ camp. Probably for the best—we all harbored so much anger and resentment, so letting it out on the battlefield helped.”

“I didn’t know,” Lessia mumbled, her aching chest hollowing further when she thought of a young Merrick, the one with the face she’d seen when he’d slept after the attack.

He’d seemed so peaceful then.

But hearing this, she wondered if he’d ever seen peace.

She at least had years of a loving family, a warm home and bed, and as much safety as her father could muster while trying to keep them out of Rioner’s claws.

“I’m not surprised,” Raine said. “Merrick isn’t one for small talk.”

Despite everything, she giggled softly. “You don’t say.”

Raine’s lips curled further. “He doesn’t pity himself, even when he should.”

“What happened to him?” Lessia asked, even though she was still unsure whether she really wanted to know.

Whether she could handle more devastating information.

Raine’s smile fell. “The damned king, of course. We’d fought for Rioner’s father for decades when he realized how strong we were. He started paying more attention to us. At first, we relished it. He made each of us commanders—let us roam as we pleased as long as we came when he called. But then he passed on the crown to his oldest son, and Rioner wasn’t as… trusting.”

Goose bumps peppered her arms when Raine’s eyes darkened.

“He wanted something on us to ensure we’d never go against him. I’d found Solana by then, and Thissian and Kerym had also met their mates. Rioner took them from us. Kept them locked in that castle of his for us to pay off the debt he believed we owned the crown, for ensuring we had a roof over our heads growing up.”

Raine’s teeth slammed together. “We got worse at fighting after that. Nearly died several times because we couldn’t focus when worrying about them. Merrick, being the fucking idiot he is, couldn’t stand it, so he took it upon himself to try to set them free. He swore that damn blood oath right in front of us for Rioner to release them.”

A growl rumbled through the room. “Rioner couldn’t resist having the Death Whisperer at his beck and call. The strongest Fae in Havlands bound to him?”

A bitter scoff escaped Raine. “He kept his promise of setting them free, only to hunt us all down a few days later… He doesn’t take well to anyone turning their back on him. So Solana and Thissian’s and Kerym’s mates paid the ultimate price.”

Tears spilled down Lessia’s cheeks when Raine’s hand pressed against his chest, his eyes fixing on the swirling liquor in the glass in his hand.

Not just for Solana and the others who’d died.

But for Merrick, who’d sacrificed everything.

And for what?

“He blames himself, you know,” Raine got out in a thick voice. “Even though none of us do. He believes he is as evil as the stories about him. That he’s cursed. I think a small part of him was relieved to swear that blood oath—that he had a reason to keep everyone at arm’s length. Live up to the reputation of the Death Whisperer.”

---