Page 65 of Where Darkness Falls

“I went to the flower shop the next day. Cara wasn’t speaking to me, and I just needed to feel like I was accomplishing something rather than dwelling on what happened the night before. The captain and Antony, the other soldier, showed up. He taunted me and informed me that I wielded a rare ability called starlight. I didn’t know at the time the blood on his armor was theirs until he told me it was my punishment for not coming forward.”

I wipe away the tears blurring my vision.

“I swear on Siorai’s eternal reign I didn’t know. I never would’ve—” I pause, drawing in a shaky breath. “I never would’ve put them in danger intentionally. He tortured them. Their bloodied bodies were lying in the grass by the time I arrived. Cara’s… Cara’s body was mutilated. She died in my arms. So, I went back to Aurelius and murdered the soldiers, except for the captain.”

Gawain’s eyes are teary, but the sympathy I thought I’d see isn’t there. Instead, I see fury in his eyes.

“You’re lying,” he snaps, looking between me and Virgil. “Only one bloodline has the ability to wield it, and suddenlyyoucan possess such an ability? Cara would’ve told me if she was protecting you. She would’ve?—”

Virgil tenses at my side as Gawain rakes a hand down his face.

“Cara didn’t know about it, Gawain,” I say.

“Like all bloody Celestae she didn’t,” he yells. “Cara always carried secrets, but I just didn’t expect you to be the biggest of them all.”

“Why would I lie about that?” I gasp.

Also, what secrets could my sister possibly keep? She was a floral shop owner. She was kind and compassionate. I’ve never known her to not be forthcoming with information.

Gawain crosses the room, yanking me up from the bed. “Prove it,” he says. His grip is tight on my arms as he squeezes. His furious gaze cuts to Virgil. “MAKE HER SHOW ME!” Gawain yells at him.

Before I can blink, Virgil grabs Gawain by the hair, ripping him away from me. He pins Gawain against the wall by his throat. Tendrils of shadows leak from Virgil’s back. They look like dark silk weaving out of the Galrosan, winding their way around Gawain.

As I rush to Virgil’s side, his shadows snake around my legs, holding me in place.

“Do. Not. Touch. Her,” Virgil growls. Gawain’s face blanches as Virgil’s shadows wind tighter around him. “She deserves your respect,” he whispers.

“I’m okay, Virgil,” I say. “He’s just upset. Let him go.”

His gaze swings in my direction.

I gasp as I take in his amber eye that shines brighter than I’ve ever seen. However, there isn’t a shred of the kindness I witnessed in the floral shop this time, the call for violence sweeps over him.

“He shouldn’t have touched you,” he replies. “You’re priceless, and he’s pathetic.”

“He won’t do it again,” I say. “Will you, Gawain?”

Gawain’s panicked expression glances between me and the shadows until he concedes, vigorously nodding his head.

Virgil holds him a moment longer, then drops him to ground as his shadows retreat. Virgil stalks back to the chair, but he doesn’t sit this time. I suppose that’s understandable, given Gawain’s outburst.

Gawain coughs and wipes a hand down his reddened face. “Even if you thought it was a gift from Siorai, you should’ve come forward, but your selfishness is what killed the Cales—killed Cara,” Gawain seethes.

“I know,” I whimper. “I regret it every day.”

“After everything she sacrificed, she deserved more than this,” he murmurs, more to himself than to me.

“I’m truly sorry,” I reply. “Malvoria won’t be the same without her.”

He looks up at me then, his face paling, as his gaze lands near my chest. I glance at my pendant, now in full view. My hand covers it on instinct. I see it then, something clicking together in his mind. What clicks exactly I’m not sure.

“So it’s real,” Gawain says, looking at Virgil. “The Cadre really found the Dragon’s Flame?”

Virgil cuts a scathing look at the man. “As you’ve now seen,” he says in a brisk tone.

“What happened to the captain?” Gawain asks, turning to me. “You said that you killed all of them except for him. How did he die?”

I shuffle my feet. “Ummm,” I stutter. “This is going to sound absurd.”

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