Page 68 of Destiny Redeemed
“How did you find that particular tunnel?” Anderic asked suddenly. “Even I didn’t know about it.”
“I found it on one of my walks in the garden,” I answered honestly.
He gave me a sideways glance. “You don’t have to lie, Lya. You can tell me when you’re comfortable.”
“I’m not lying!” I turned to face him fully. “After Noah showed me one of the secret passages, I became curious and started looking for others. You’d be surprised what you can find when you’re actually paying attention.”
“What else did Noah show you?” Anderic’s voice had taken on a strange, tight quality.
I turned my head to look at him incredulously. “Are you seriously jealous of Noah right now?”
Firelight danced across his features, highlighting the sharp angles of his jaw as he clenched it. “I can be jealous if I want,” he said moodily. “You certainly were jealous enough of Lady Isolde earlier tonight. Or did you forget how you kissed me in front of the entire court?”
I groaned and scrubbed my face with my hands. “Please don’t remind me of that. I won’t be able to show my face anywhere ever again.” The fire crackled between us, throwing elongated shadows against the rough stone walls. “Besides, I barely had any relationship with Noah while we were married. We were basically strangers living under the same roof.”
Anderic didn’t respond, but he inched closer, his bare shoulder now pressing against mine. The contact sent a ripple of warmth through me that had nothing to do with the fire. Water dripped somewhere in the back of the cave, the steady plinking sound echoing in the small space.
After a few moments of silence, I asked, “Was it really okay for me to kill Gareth? Didn’t you need more information from him?”
“I had everything I needed,” he replied, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through his chest and into my shoulder.“In fact, I was meaning to tell you—I found out where the illegal gold is coming from.” His eyes reflected the dancing flames as he looked at me. “The northern mines, near the border where criminals are banished.”
The words cracked through my calm like the lightning outside. I froze, my mind stuttering—then flooding with memories so vivid they stole the breath from my lungs. The biting cold that sank into your bones and never let go. The villagers’ hatred, sharp and constant. My mother’s frame growing thinner by the day as we scraped for food. Sebastian, bloodied and broken after the soldiers beat him in the mines. And the worst of them all—Commander Maxwell’s blade catching the moonlight a heartbeat before it pierced my chest.
Where I died.
“Lady Ilyana? Are you listening?”No. I’m not.
Anderic’s voice jerked me back to the present. The cave suddenly felt too small, too confining. Sweat beaded along my hairline despite the lingering chill in my bones.
“I’m sorry, what were you saying?” I managed, painfully aware of how brittle my voice sounded.
He studied my face intently, his golden brows drawing together. “Do you know anything about that place?”
“Why would I know anything about that?” The words came out too quickly, too defensively. I pulled away slightly, breaking the contact between our shoulders.
Anderic raised an eyebrow but didn’t press the issue directly. “Because you seem to have information about a great many things, Princess.” His tone was measured, careful. “And you did promise to help me with this investigation.” He ran a hand through his damp golden curls, sending droplets of water scattering into the fire, where they hissed and evaporated. “I’m leaving in two days to go there personally.”
My heart stumbled in its rhythm. Two days? To the very place where I had suffered and died? Where the memories of a life I was desperately trying to change still haunted me?
The firelight caught in his eyes as he watched me, waiting for my response. Outside, thunder rolled across the sky, a distant reminder of the storm that had trapped us here.
“I’ll let you know if I… if I learn anything before you leave,” I said slowly, the words tasting like ash on my tongue.
Could I let him go alone to that hellish place? The place that had stripped me of everything—my dignity, my family, my life? The mines that broke Sebastian’s body and spirit? The cold, barren hills where my blood had soaked into the frozen ground?
Chapter 17
“You’re shivering.”
Anderic’s observation yanked me from the depths of my memories. I glanced down and noticed my arms were indeed covered in goosebumps, my body trembling slightly. Strange—I hadn’t felt cold at all. The fire was throwing plenty of heat against my skin, yet the chill seemed to come from somewhere deeper, somewhere the flames couldn’t reach.
“Wait,” he said, rising to his feet in one fluid motion.
The fire highlighted the contours of his bare chest as he moved across the cave, retrieving something from the rock where we’d laid our clothes. He returned with his cape, the leather already dry to the touch.
“It’s leather, so it dried quickly,” he explained, draping it around my shoulders. His fingers brushed against my skin, leaving trails of warmth in their wake. “Better?”
I didn’t respond but pulled the cape tighter around me, inhaling deeply. His scent clung to the leather—sandalwood, steel, and something uniquely Anderic that reminded me of sunlight on warm stone. It should have been comforting. In some ways, it was.
