Page 32 of The Last Wish of Bristol Keats
“You may rigidly follow the rules now, but you’re still the same man. You just keep it hidden.”
“Tyghan’s mother gave me a second chance when no one else would. She trusted me.”
“Which you deserved. If not for you, this whole kingdom would have crumbled after she left. He should know, Eris.”
“For what purpose?”
“You’re hisfather.”
“His father is the man who raised him as his own.”
“Yes, for the first seven years of his life. But you’ve been there and guided him for the last twenty.”
Eris drank back the last of his sherry. “His mother chose not to tell him. Neither will I.”
“He was too young to understand then. He would now.”
They both startled when Cael grunted some gibberish.
Dahlia checked him to be sure he was still sleeping. She shook her head. “Shouting orders even in his dreams.”
Cael. The enduring problem of a boy forced to be king before he was ready.
Dahlia returned to his side on the sofa and sighed. “I’m sorry that I’ve made you complicit with Cael.”
“It was my fault. Every day you had to listen to me complain as he flaunted every rule.”
She poured him more of Cael’s precious sherry. “It wasn’t your complaints, Eris. You know how I feel about cheating. I shouldn’t have told his betrothed where he was going when she asked.”
Eris was silent. It was true. Dahlia had committed a major breach in revealing the king’s destination to the angry young woman, but still, something told him it hadn’t been her. Cael’s betrothed didn’t have the expertise nor the ability to inform Fomoria of Cael’s precise location.No, Eris’s instincts told him,it was someone else—someone far more powerful, with a stronger motivation. Cael’s philandering was old news.
He put his hand on Dahlia’s thigh. “It wasn’t your slip. I’m certain of it. Put it out of your mind.”
CHAPTER 24
Bristol and Tyghan walked along a path that bordered the sea, on their way to the sacred groves. Giant ferns hugged the cliffs, and tiny fern sprites danced on the curled fronds, making them bounce like they were alive. Bristol had suggested going to the groves, saying she would share news with him there.
“Or maybe we could go for a swim? That might be fun.”
Tyghan wondered how much she’d had to drink. “But—”
“I miss our talks, Tyghan. You have no idea how much I miss them. The way we used to talk at the end of the day when we met beneath the hazel trees. The groves are where we began. Where we shared things with each other—spiders and laundromats and secret dances. Where there was a mysterious burn on my skin—and that burn wasyou. I miss the distant music like we were miles from the rest of the world . . . and I miss worrying about bruises and scrapes instead of—” Her eyes briefly squeezed shut. “I thought life was challenging then, but I had no idea how much more complicated it could become. I wish we could have just one night of peaceful ignorance.”
“I took you away from your friends and your rest. I’m sorry. But the bargain you made. I need to know—”
“I’ll tell you. I promise. Once we reach the hazel grove. For now, please—” She swallowed. “Let’s just hold hands as the moon rises and watch the stars come out as we walk.”
Stars?He couldn’t see stars. He could only see Glennis’s lifeless stare entwined with the threat that Maire still posed, and a murky bargain that must have come at great cost to Bristol for Maire to let Cael go. Cael was Kormick’s greatest prize. Most of the time he avoided the subject of Maire around Bristol at all costs, his hatred of her too great, but now . . .
“I have to know at least this: Did she hurt you?”
Bristol grimaced. “No.”
Maybe not physically, but Tyghan knew she was hurting. He could almost see the lump in her throat. Just days ago he had shouted at Quin,How much more can one person take?And now more had been thrown at her. Facing a ruthless enemy was one thing, but facing an enemy that was your own mother was another. He wished he could turn back time, retrace his steps so she never—
He caught himself. No. The past choices made, for good or bad, had brought them to this point. He loved Bristol too much to wish her out of existence. He tried to think of something else to talk about, to give her those few peaceful minutes she deserved, but his mind was mired in all the grim things they still faced. His inability to conjure a few simple, distracting words infuriated him. He dug deeper, pushing aside his own worries, searching for something, anything that would put her at ease.Art. She loved art.
“Did I tell you that the other piece of art you demanded was delivered to your sisters?”
