Page 95 of The Nightmare Bride
Ky smiled without humor.
“Wait.” I spluttered, trying to gather hold of myself. “You mean... You’re not saying...you’rethe bandit chief?”
He raised his hands in a “surprise” gesture.
My thoughts spun. “But...no. The brigands’ve been out there for nine years. You only came to Oceansgate ten months ago.”
“True,” he said, drawing out the word. “But for the last four of those months, the liberators have answered to me. Because I inherited the title from the last man, who inherited it from the one before him, and so on and so forth. It’s never been just one person, lioness. There’ve been five of us, over the years. Before I showed up, Vick was slated to be next. But along came this charming upstart, and of course old Charley decided to put me in charge when he left. Vick’s wanted me gone ever since. And I was finally ready to leave. To let him have his turn.”
I stared, my mind a confetti whirl. But gods, this would explain that woman’s reaction to Ky, down in the root cellar. And Vick’s increasingly sour looks. It would even explain why Vick had been combing the manor all this time—he probably wanted to return to the forest flush with riches, plucked from Olivian’s supposed trove.
“So...Vick’s a power-hungry thief? Who’s angry that you took his place in line?”
A smile flickered around Ky’s mouth, then died. “Yes. But the thing is, lioness, he isn’t harmless. I’m not entirely sure he didn’t threaten you just now.”
My brows pinched. “Threaten me? He didn’t threaten me.”
“Oh, but he did. The sword? The dog comment? Trust me, those meant something different than they seemed.”
“But...” I groped for words. “If he’s so dangerous, why don’t you just send him away? Issue one of those royal commands you were just talking about?”
He let out a long exhale. “Because. He isn’t beholden to me. Not in the way you think.”
I stepped toward him without thinking, folding his roughened fingers into mine. “Okay. Then if he won’t listen to you, we’ll have Merron and the stewards throw him out.”
He swore under his breath. “That’s just it. You wouldn’t like what would happen if we tried. Vick would...retaliate. He’d ruin everything you’ve asked me for.”
“What do you mean?”
His throat bobbed. “Imeanhe could destroy this second wedding you want so badly. With little more than a word.”
A thousand thoughts tumbled through my head. “Are you saying he has something over you, then? Something that could affect Amryssa?”
He stared for long moments, then glanced to the sky and dragged his free hand down his face. “Yes. And Hyperion help me, but I never intended to make such a mess of this. I never intended...”
He trailed off, looking more pained than I’d thought possible.
“What? What didn’t you intend?”
“Any of this.” His voice turned low and rasping, an intensity of feeling bleeding through and doing something strange to his accent. “Gods, lioness, but I didn’t intend tocarefor you like this. I thought I’d be marrying a pampered girl, not some woman of fire and steel. And yes, I wanted to try out marriage, but I never thought it’d feel so...consuming. Or that I’d end up wanting you like this. Or that I’d have to spend every day chopping wood because exhausting myself is the only way I can keep my hands off you. I never intended any of that, but you know how I feel about challenges, and here you are, the most spectacular one of all, because no one’s ever made me work this hard, or demanded so much of me, or commanded me to become the best version of myself merely so I could earn the right to stand in their presence, and now that you have, I fear I might be addicted, because I can’t imagine doing anything less with anyone else.”
He cut himself off, breathing hard, and I gaped, so stunned I could barely locate a breath. “You...what?”
“I’m fairly certain you heard me.”
The swamp had ceased to exist. I felt like I was hanging in mid-air—falling into those eyes of his, into warm, wide pools of violet. My insides dissolved until my skin contained nothing but glittering heat.
Ky squeezed my fingers. “I never intended any of that, but now it’s happened, and I’ve dragged you into the middle of it, and I can’t see any way out that doesn’t involve me disappointing you. And believe me, that’s the very last thing I want to do. But...I need to tell you the truth. All of it.”
I dropped his hand, reeling from the enormity of everything he’d just said. “There’smore, then? More than just you leading the brigands?”
His lips pressed together. “Yes. A very big something. About who I am.”
My stomach slid sideways. “But...you’re not the one who hurt all those animals. Right? You can’t be.”
“I—” Ky’s brow knitted. “Wait, animals? What animals?”
I gulped against a raw throat. “The dead ones. From when you were younger. And the seneschal’s daughter. The one you left the ball with, who disappeared for a week. That couldn’t possibly have been you. Iknowit wasn’t.”
