Page 80 of Beneath the Haunting Sea

“Please, Talia—”

“Goodbye, Caiden.”

She left him in the hallway and swept downstairs, every nerve on fire.

Talia stepped into the dining room and found Blaive there, alone, her head in her hands. She looked up, and Talia saw thather soft face was streaked with tears. “I thought I could make him forget you, but I was wrong. He doesn’t want me. He wants you.”

Talia’s skin was still crawling at Caiden’s words. “No, he doesn’t. Or he won’t for very long.” She looked into the other girl’s eyes. “He wants what he can’t have. What he’ll never have.”

Blaive bit her lip, chin trembling. “He barely speaks to me. He hardlylooksat me. He can’t forgive me for manipulating his father—”

“He shouldn’t treat you like that no matter what you did. It washischoice to marry you. No one forced him to do it.”

“But the Baron—”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Talia, gently.

Fresh tears slid down Blaive’s pale cheeks. “He loved me, once.” Her voice cracked. “Two years ago, now. He teased me and I laughed at him and we were so happy.”

“What happened?”

“We quarreled. It was foolish, but I was sixteen and I wanted my way and he wanted his and—I went home and he didn’t come after me. I was too proud to write him, and so I didn’t. But I forgave him. I thought he would appear at Shold House one day, and we’d both apologize, and be married. Live out our lives together. Be impossibly happy.” She wiped her face with the back of herhand, curls sticking to her damp face. “But he didn’t. And then the Baron wrote me, inviting me back to the Ruen-Dahr, implying that Caiden was ready to marry, but I didn’t know he’d written without Caiden’s consent. I didn’t know Caiden had really forgotten all about me.”

Talia swallowed past her tight throat. “I’m so sorry.”

Blaive caught her eye and smiled sadly. “It wasn’t your doing.”

“Even so.” She had the sudden realization that the two of them could have been friends, perhaps, in another lifetime, in some other story. She smiled back.

Talia went directly to the music room, praying she wouldn’t bump into Caiden again on her way. Wen was sitting at the raina, mourning clothes hanging too-loose on his thin frame.

“Wen?”

He looked up, eyes unfocused behind his spectacles,and practically leapt from his seat to come over to her. “What’s wrong?” He folded his hand around hers.

“I—I have a favor to ask.”

“Anything. Anything at all.”

“I need to go away for a while. I thought—I thought maybe you would let me stay at your holding for a few weeks—for the rest of the winter, perhaps.” It would be easier, when she was away from here. Away from Caiden and the sea andher fate. She’d be able tothinkagain.

“Of course you may stay at the Ruen-Shained, for as long as you wish,” he said, his eyes dark with concern. “What’s happened?”

“I just—I need to—I can’t see Caiden again.”

Anger hardened his face. “What did he do to you?”

“Nothing.” She tried to smile. “Nothing, Wen. I promise. I just need to go away.”

He studied her a moment more. “When would you liketo leave?”

“Tonight. At once, if possible.”

Wen glanced out the window and nodded. It had stopped snowing. “Give me half an hour to arrange everything.”

There was only time for one trip up to the library—she grabbed as many books off the shelves as she could carry and brought them down to her room. She packed quickly, stuffing the books and an assortment of the dead Baronesses’ gowns into tworagged carpetbags she unearthed from the wardrobe. Then she settled her fur-lined cloak around her shoulders, and she was ready.

Wen appeared at her door and offered to carry the bags for her, but she only gave him one, hefting the other herself. She followed him downstairs, across the foyer, and out into the snowy drive. Ahned was waiting with Avial and Ahdairon, and he quickly loaded Talia’sbags onto the saddles.

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