Page 113 of The Call of Crimson
Ayden nods. “It’s the same.”
“Who is attacking you?” Breyla asks.
“There’s only one group that uses that poison—the Fae.”
My brows shoot up. “That poison comes from the Fae?”
“It does.”
“Could they have been the ones responsible for the attack from your border?” Breyla asks.
“I can almost guarantee it, love.” Ayden’s face softens. “We would have known if another kingdom had invaded Prudia to get to Rimor. The Fae are slippery. They have magic stronger than you’ve ever seen.”
“Why?” Breyla asks, her voice bordering on something that sounds dangerously close to hopeless. “What have we done to them?”
“I don’t know,” Ayden says, and for the first time tonight, I catch the lie in his answer.
I would confront him about it later. Right now, I don’t think Breyla can handle another blow. This, combined with Darian’s words, has shaken her in a way I’ve never seen.
She nods solemnly.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Ayden says, pulling on a fresh tunic. “Today is going to be long. I need to wake Ro to prepare for the poison victims arriving later.”
Breyla’s eyes light up. “You have a way to treat them?”
“No, sweetheart.” Ayden exhales, running a hand through his dark curls. “She’s only going to ease their suffering while I figure out how to tell their families.”
“Oh,” she whispers, biting her cheek.
She’s teetering on the edge of breaking.
“Come on, Princess.” I brace my hand on the small of her back. “I’ll take you back to your room so the prince can get ready for the day.”
She doesn’t fight me at all, letting me lead her back to her room.
Breyla’s deathly quiet as the door clicks shut behind us.
“Are you okay, Breyla?” I ask hesitantly.
Cold, broken eyes lift to mine. “Why would I be okay?”
“Shit, you’re right.” I rub the back of my head, sighing at my own careless words. “I’m sorry, that was a stupid question.”
“Why were you there tonight?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” I explain. “I was startled awake by a panic attack unlike anything I’ve ever felt. Then I heard your voice on my way to the library.”
“Why were you having a panic attack?”
“I haven’t figured that out, but it felt… unnatural. Foreign.” I rub at the phantom pains in my chest. “Then I heard your distress, and all I could think about was the night I found you bleeding out. The panic that created, that was real, and it was terrifying.”
She steps toward me. “I’m sorry you had to feel that.”
The sincerity in her tone startles me. “I’m sorry that I’m part of the reason you feel like you can’t trust anyone,” I reply.
A weight lifts from my shoulders, the long overdue apology easing the tightness in my chest.
Something shifts in her, her eyes growing distant and lost. I can practically see her mind replaying Darian’s barbed words.
