Page 10 of Enchanted Heir
Molly, however, was a whole other story.
“She’s never going to forgive me,” I whispered as I looked down at my hands.
Renna shrugged. “Give her more credit than that. She might. Molly is one of the most levelheaded and rational people I know. But can I offer some advice?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
“Open up a little to her,” she suggested. “I know more about your stay in this castle from Krew informing me of it than from you telling me about it. You keep us all at an arm’s length, and I understand why, but youcanlet some of us in, Jorah. Not all of us will let you down. So talk to her. You don’t have to tell her you tried to run, but you can tell her it wasn’t all your fault.”
“Wasn’t it though?” I asked.
“No,” Krew snapped. “No, it wasn’t.”
Renna stood and held out a hand. “Come on.”
I took it but shook my head confused. “What are we doing?”
“We are going to go talk to her. I can go in with you if you want or I can just stand at the door,” she offered. “You are already going to be a mess tonight as it is. Talk to her before the ball or you are going to lose it entirely.”
I stopped, stunned for a moment. And then I did the only logical thing I could do in that moment. I threw my arms around Renna and hugged her hard. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you for being a better friend than I deserved.”
She patted my back. “Knowing you are in this castle without magic and also what happened to your father, I would be concerned if you didn’t have a guard up, Jorah. It’s okay. But now we both know where one another stands in this. You want your freedom. I want the king gone and am here only to help Krew. I will never be your enemy, Jorah. In any sort of capacity.”
As soon as we left the room, Owen and Renna’s guard following closely behind, Renna whispered, “Now that you know where I stand with Krew, you and I are going to have the best time tormenting him.”
I snorted a laugh. “Can’t wait.” She was probably only trying to lift my spirits for the conversation about to go down, but I was thankful for it all the same.
A hallway later, I asked a question which had been bothering me for quite some time. “Does Molly know? To use her magic more often? That it will make her stronger?”
Renna nodded. “She does. I told her years ago. And she is stronger than she used to be, but still nothing like the Valanova bloodline.” She paused. “Some of the bloodlines are just more powerful than others.”
I thought on that. Were they truly more powerful, or had decades of being told to use their magic sparingly caused it? Or like most things, the truth was lost somewhere in between.
“You want me to stay out here or come in with you?” Renna asked at Molly’s door. “How do you want to play this?”
I gave her a grateful smile as I reached to knock before I chickened out. “Stay with me, please.”
Molly’s attendant answered the door after we knocked. She delivered us to Molly and then left the three of us alone.
“Not here to play cards, I take it?” Molly asked us.
I noted the barely there light turquoise strands of magic running along the veins in her wrists and the box of tissues next to her on the nightstand. My heart broke a little for my friend. It was my fault she was hurting.
“I’m sorry, Molly,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
She closed her eyes. “I don’t understand. What happened last night after I left?” She took a deep breath. “I thought the night had gone fine. Then this morning I was informed I was switching Assemblages and given a light blue dress in place of my dark blue one.”
I remembered Renna’s words to try to be more forthcoming with her, but also not let anything slip I shouldn’t. “The king set me up to ‘accidentally’ see Prince Keiran and Aiyana together...romantically... after you left. And things with Keir and me hadn’t been great for a while. I wanted out.” I paused. “Krewan offered me a way out. By switching Assemblages.” I felt grateful and still shocked with how it had all transpired. “The king was the one that said if Prince Krewan was taking one of Prince Keiran’s women, Prince Keiran had to do the same.”
Molly tipped back her head to the ceiling. “Of course.”
I let out a sigh. “And because Prince Keiran was pissed at Prince Krewan for it, he chose you. Probably Prince Krewan’s best bet at happiness.”
Molly’s eyebrows furrowed. “You believe that?”
I nodded at her through the extra moisture in my eyes. “I needed space from Prince Keiran and took the offer from Prince Krewan. I just wanted out, Molly. But I didn’t know at the time the king would force someone else to switch over to Prince Keiran’s Assemblage.” I stopped and sniffed. “Molly, you have to believe me, I did not know you would be a consequence of my decision.”
I was telling as much of the truth as I was willing to. It had not been much of an offer from Krew. Either be in his Assemblage or be arrested, but I still felt like I had made the right choice. Really the only choice. But I had still been the one who tried to run. And the guilt I felt over all the people I’d hurt with that move wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
