Page 43 of The Court of Secrets
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Cedric, that’s not true. It wasn’t his fault.” I pretended not to see the crestfallen look on his features.
“He lied to you. Hurt you. You told me so.”
“I did the same to him,” I admitted. “Still, I can’t believe he would threaten your life over you telling him off.”
“That’s not why he hates me,” he admitted. He let out a weighted sigh. “I knew he’d tell you. That he’d have figured it out.”
“Figured what out?”
“Another reason I’m not mad is because… I haven’t been entirely honest with you either.”
“Honest about what?” A shiver snaked down my spine.
“Try to understand, I didn’t have a choice. I did what was needed. For my family.”
“Cedric, tell me what you did,” I ordered, tears welling in my eyes.
“I was never meant to fall for you. It wasn’t supposed to be that way.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
My fingers brushed against my lips. My heart cracked in half as he spilled the painful truth. My fingertips trembled, and the darkness inside me struggled to reach through the haze of the potion, begging me to hurt him. To hurt Cedric. He’d been given a mission to get close to me… so he could steal the Sword of Impervius out from under me. He had also seized the Dagger of Ruin when opportunity struck.
“I’m going to assume this mission occurred after Kiros kidnapped me?” I clenched my jaw, recalling the pain I’d been in as death neared, through the bars of the cage I had been kept in. My temples ached.
“Yes.” He wouldn’t look at me.
I nodded slowly, biting the inside of my lip. My mind attempted to weave together the tatters of my memories, but the heartache shrouded everything else. “So, when you broke me out, it was so you could earn my trust?”
Rage flexed my fingers, forcing adrenaline through my veins.
“It’s not the only reason.” His eyes flicked toward mine. “I didn’t want him to torture you. To keep you. I still cared about you.”
My tears fell thick and fast. Betrayal had never cut so deep. “You used me to get access to the Sword.”
“We would never have had a chance to get it while your cousin was in control.”
My stomach hurt. “I’ve heard enough. Get out.”
“Wait.” He placed his hands in the air. “Before you force me out, I need you to know why. I need you to remember that I stayed even though I knew Blaise was coming after me. I could have walked away with both the Sword and Dagger, but I didn’t.”
I crossed my arms, barely containing my fury. “Explain everything. Don’t leave anything out.”
Everything made sense now. His words:Occasionally, we all have to betray the people we care about to do the right thing.His worry about Blaise’s letters or visits. The guilt I’d seen in his eyes. None of it was my imagination.
He unfolded his arms. “Things haven’t been easy for us in Berovia. My parents and siblings are under threat. Xenos has captured other faeries,” he explained. “He was siphoning our magic, like they used to do centuries ago. It may be illegal, but it didn’t stop him. He did it in secret, and it wasn’t until you told me about the dragons we figured out he must have been keeping them in underground caves. He’s wanted us out of control. He was power-hungry, and his son is just as bad.”
“Kiros is not as bad as his father, but that is awful.” I shook my head. I was still mad, but knowing what they were doing to faeries, draining their magic until they were mere husks of people without a way to die, it made me sick.
“Maybe he’s not, but he doesn’t want to share power with us either. We needed a safeguard.”
“The Sword of Impervius and Dagger of Ruin. The only two weapons that can kill an immortal.”
“He was after them,” Cedric explained, worry guiding his tone. “You were never meant to find this out.” A sheen of sweat covered his forehead.
“Who was after what?”
“Xenos, and Kiros knew too. They were looking for the Sword and Dagger. Now they have the Ring. If they got them, he’d have a way to kill us. Xenos wanted my family dead so the line of succession died with us. He never wanted to share Berovia with us. I’m sure his son shares his ambitions.”
