Page 194 of The King is Dead
Istral’s eyes were so big when she looked up at me.
“You can’t move from here,” I whispered, but firm, like Papa did it and people listened.
Istral nodded, but the piece of her inside me got cold. She was afraid.
“I’ll go do this, then come back for you,” I vowed. “You stay here in the mists so they can’t get to you.”
But instead of nodding like I thought, she leaned up on her toes and kissed me.
I almost didn’t leave.
When I turned away, I had to make myself walk fast because leaving her was really hard.
Too hard.
I made fists with my hands ‘til my knuckles were white and kept repeating the words.
She’s staying safe in the Shadows until I come back. She’s staying safe in the Shadows until I come back. She’s staying safe…
The messenger that found me was one I knew, but only because he always thought I was weird and never looked me in the eye. Luckily I heard him coming, so I could hide Istral behind a bush before he got to us. So, even he didn’t know she was there.
No one could know she was here. Even if Papa had won. Even if the others that were left listened to him… they were stillNeph.
I prayed over and over again that no one would find her in the hiding place. And that we could do the ceremony quick, so I could go back to her. But I couldn’t stop looking back over my shoulder in the direction where she was hidden. My chest hurt. Because what if something happened? What if she got hurt? Or the messenger was lying and—
“Don’t worry, Gall. I’ll make sure she’s safe.”
I stopped so fast my feet slid a little on the loose dirt. I had my hands up in the defensive stance like Papa taught me, and gritted my teeth, because I’d kill a fucker if—
I blinked.
I didn’t know the man on the trail. But he looked like Ishouldknow him.
As tall as Papa, maybe even taller, he stood at the center of the trail with his hands clasped behind his back. But he wasn’t dressed like a warrior.
He was dressed like aKing.
Deep, royal blue jacket in a strange style, with gold stitching. Cream trousers. Black boots that stopped just under his knees and were so shiny I could see myself in them.
He smiled when he saw me and opened his arms. A long, heavy cloak that hung off his shoulders and made them even bigger, fluttered behind him.
He was handsome.
Really handsome.
The kind of handsome that girls liked a lot.
And his eyes were shiny gold, like stars.
I stood in the trail, trying to think what to say, when his smile got broader. And he still had his arms out like he’d hug me.
“It’s so good to see you, Gall,” he said in a soft voice. Warm, like Papa’s when he was proud of me.
“Who are you?” I blurted, then winced because I was supposed to be polite to important people so they wouldn’t—
“Don’t you know, Gall?” he said softly with the little hurt noise in his voice that made me nervous.
Shit.
