Page 24 of Between Wrath and Mercy

“Why didn’t he just run from the creditors and take all this money from his—whatever this business in Folterra is? Why pay everyone off?” I felt chills race through me. Had he made some sort of deal involving Elora? I immediately rejected the idea. He would never. No matter what he’d done, the debts he’d accumulated, he would never risk Elora—would he? What kind of person would?

“You.” Rainier had his hands clasped between his legs as I whirled to face him.

“What do you mean, me?” His gaze met mine, his green eyes burning and eyebrows raised, as if he were the one asking the question. He sat there for a moment before he spoke.

“What you suggested may have been his original plan, but when he rode in with the Folterrans, he ran into a few people who planned to make good on his debts. He paid off everyone he could and made assurances to everyone he didn’t. He’s been a regular for years, Emmeline. They knew where he lived, whereyoulived. He paid to protect you. And to protect his own neck as well, of course, but you were still part of it.”

I stared at him a beat too long before I laughed.

“Fat lot of good that did.” I gestured to my face from the previous day. “Aside from the fact it doesn't make any sense, where did the money come from? How could he pay everyone off?” I rubbed the spot between my eyebrows, sick nausea creeping up my throat.

“Emmeline.” Something in his voice made me nervous, sick.

I knew. I knew all along; I just needed someone to put the words to it. It was all I could do to stay upright.

He heaved a deep breath as he watched me. “He sold her.”

That feeling in the pit of my stomach exploded. I let my gaze sweep across the three of them, waiting for someone to explain that what he’d just said was wrong.

“From what we’ve gleaned, he sold her for a large sum. When his creditors got word, many threatened to kill him where he stood and burn your home to the ground with you in it if he didn’t pay up. They knew he had the money, so he paid them all to save his own neck. And yours.”

“Why?” I didn’t know exactly what I was asking, but my voice was quiet. Rainier only shook his head with his eyebrows raised and hands outstretched. He didn’t know either.

“The money, that’s our only guess.” Lavenia supplied, choosing to answer why he’d sold Elora. Why he bothered to save me when he took Elora from me was left unanswered.

“There has to be more to it. She’s ourdaughter.”

No one spoke, my shallow breaths the only sound in the room. In a daze, I walked back over to the bed and sat down, staring at the floor in silence. The sun was setting, and I watched as a ray of light moved across the floor. I vaguely felt Lavenia move, the weight of her body leaving the mattress, but I didn’t bother to see where she had gone.

How could he? He sold his own daughter to the same people we’d spent the last fifteen years hiding her from. I felt my hands ball into fists. Anguish rising, I threw my head back and screamed, louder and more guttural than any sound I’d ever made.

Totheircredit,noone stopped me from yelling or attempted to comfort me while my screams of rage turned into heaving gasps for air and eventually melted into quiet sobs. Dewalt and Lavenia left the room, probably in search of dinner. My back against the headboard, I leaned forward, bringing my head down onto my knees. I couldn’t comprehend the information I’d just been given. Faxon had sold his own daughter to our enemy to pay off gambling debts and to keep his creditors from killing me. How did he not see he was killing me himself?

I felt the mattress shift next to me, and I glanced over. Rainier had taken his shoes off and climbed up next to me, leaning against the headboard. He looked absurd in the small bed, his body taking up more than half of it. I watched him situate himself, crossing his arms over his chest and one ankle over the other. He glanced over, finding me staring at him, and he seemed so startled, I snorted. He watched me, eyes wide, as a small smile formed on his face. I couldn’t help it as I started laughing. And once I started, I could not stop.

He looked at me incredulously. “What?”

“You!” I cackled. “This!” I gestured to him on the bed. What had my life turned into? I never thought I’d see him again, let alone see him here next to me, looking like a giant in a children’s bed. I never thought he’d be the one to tell me my husband sold my daughter. The events of the last day were mind-boggling, and it clearly had gone to my head. He stared at me, expressionless, and his face sent me even further into my fit.

“This is all ridiculous!” I was howling with laughter. The corner of Rainier’s lip tugged upward, but his face flooded with confusion and worry.

“I’ve spent her whole life protecting her, and her own father sold her!” I was losing my mind. “And now you,” I snorted. “You! Of all people,youhelped me find all of this out.” I threw myself backwards, my laughter slowly turning to quiet tears. “What am I going to do?” I felt my face crumple. I should have known. I should have seen something wasn’t right. “I’m such an idiot.”

I started slamming my fist into my thigh, over and over again, wanting it to hurt, wanting the pain of my body to match the pain of my heart.

Rainier reached out and grabbed my wrist between punches, and I whipped my head toward him. His face was calm, but his eyes tracked my features. He was studying me again as he had on our way to Mira, like I was about to break in half. I hated it. He lowered my wrist as he intertwined his fingers with mine. I caught my breath as I looked down, focusing on his thumb gently rubbing the back of my hand. I could feel the calluses on his hand, but his touch was delicate. I sat there for a few minutes, just watching his thumb circle while my tears slowed.

“I should’ve guessed you’d be the first person I’d have to stop from hurting you.” I could hear the smile when he said it, but his voice was quiet and soothing, almost as if he was afraid to talk too loudly. I gave a choked laugh and drew my free hand to my face, wiping away the tears. I felt his eyes on me, and I focused on my small hand resting in his large one. The difference between the two was drastic, and it made me smile. It was almost comical. I felt the heat of Rainier’s arm next to mine, and I couldn’t stop myself as I put my head on his shoulder. His arm was warm underneath my cheek. I wanted to just sink into him, letting myself only think of the heat, the smell of him. Our hands stayed clasped between us, and I tried to relax. I could feel my divinity slipping out of control and heard his steady heart. I counted the beats and basked in him while I focused on my breathing. I needed to calm down and get myself together. What just happened couldn’t happen again—it wouldn’t save her. After a while, he reached over with his other hand and pulled my chin up to look at him.

“We are going to find her. And then I’m going to kill your husband.” The voice belonged to the Bloody Prince, but his soft expression belonged to Rainier. It belonged to Rain.MyRain.

“Alright.” I didn’t have any doubts he meant it.

DewaltandLaveniawalkedback in the room a while later and exchanged a weighted glance. I sat up and pulled my hand from Rainier’s. I had no idea how long I’d been sitting there with my head on his shoulder. It was dangerously easy to fall back into friendship with him. Could I even call it that? It was strange, coming back to this world, to this life. In some ways, it felt like no time had passed at all. Lavenia was still kind and Dewalt still annoying. I had loved all of them. But when Lucia died, she took part of me with her. I wondered if I’d ever be able to forgive and forget. Did I even deserve to? Did any of us deserve it? Sometimes I wondered if the part she’d taken was my ability to love. Or maybe the ability to lovethem. At least with Elora, it was intrinsic. I loved her because she was mine.

“Everything alright?” Dewalt drawled.

Rainier chuckled. “Emmeline was just having a laughing fit because I told her I was going to kill her husband.” It wasn’t exactly true, but not far enough from the truth to refute.

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