Page 126 of Echoes of the Raven
“Perhaps, that is true,” I say. “Yet, there’s more about Korben Theric that you don’t want me to know.”
He turns his face to one side, his eyebrows drawing together. I’m tempted to caress the line of his sharp jaw, grab his chin, and tell him to kiss me, but he feels so distant right now, a true stranger. And there’s still so much anger in me.
Knowing I have to do everything in my power to understand him, I push against what may be the final barrier between us.
“Why did my mother take The Eldrystone from you?”
He takes a step back, putting some distance between us. “I was a different person before I met your mother.”
I brace myself. His next words may shatter anew the pieces of my heart that have been able to find their way back into place. If he and Mother…
Air lodges in my throat, and I can’t swallow.
“She came to Riochtach for the Royal Mate Rite,” he continues.
Tears prick behind my eyes, and I feel the room closing in on me. “Please, stop!” I blurt out.
I don’t want to hear it. Ican’thear it. He and Mother were involved.Oh, Gods!
He scans my face, swiftly closes the distance between us, and seizes my chin in his hand. “No, no! It was not what you are thinking. She only came because her friend, Saethara, dragged her there. Saethara was the one who wanted to be part of the rite. Not your mother.”
A broken sob of relief escapes me.
Rífíor’s eyes fill with tenderness as he looks at me, and my knees go weak. He’s never looked at me this way. His gaze lower to my lips, but an instant later, he pulls away again, retreating to the other side of the chasm that always seems to separate us.
He clears his throat. “I was… your mother… um.” He hangs his head, eyes closed.
I reach out and take his hand, and it feels like such a bold move. Up until now, we’ve only touched each other when our passion left us no other choice. So many times, I’ve wanted to reach out and caress him to offer comfort, to trace his handsome face, to connect us, and that door always felt closed. Except, he just threw it wide open by taking my face in his hands to soothe me from my dreadful thoughts.
“You can trust me,” I say, interlacing his finger with mine.
He extricates his hand, slamming shut the door he just opened.
I retreat, hugging myself, feeling the sting of rejection.
“There is no easy way to tell you what happened. I will not make excuses for my actions, so I think the facts will suffice.” He pauses, swallows thickly, then continues. “From the moment I laid eyes on Saethara, I knew I would pick her. Barely a week after the rite began, we were married. On our wedding night, she stabbed me in the chest in my sleep and took The Eldrystone.”
I gasp, pressing a hand to my breastbone as my heart leaps at the horror he’s describing. “That’s awful. I’m so sorry, that—”
He cuts me off. “My shifting magic saved me, and as soon as I healed, I went after her and took my revenge. I killed her, ran her through with my sword.”
His black eyes are cold shards of obsidian as he looks straight at me, unwavering. His jaw is set, and I can tell the fury of that night still boils in his veins like an incurable disease.
Gods!He killed his wife.
Rífíor continues. “Even as I held my sword, dripping with her blood, I was not satisfied. I wanted others to feel the pain I was feeling, so I vowed to destroy the village and the people who spawned her.”
Legs trembling, I sit at the edge of the bed and let out a hot rush of breath filled with anguish.
“And I would have done it,” he adds coldly. “I would have razed Nilhalari to the ground, if not for Loreleia. Because she took The Eldrystone from Saethara and ran. So, there you have it, Princess. The entire truth.”
Only the sounds of my quivering breaths fill the heavy silence that hangs between us. My heart lies in ruins at the bottom of my chest.
“You wanted to know,” he says. “And now you do.”
I cover my face with my hands and take a deep breath, managing to stave off the tears that threaten to show him I’m undone. Flexing my fingers, I place my hands on my thighs and inhale deeply.
Tentatively, he kneels in front of me and touches the tips of his fingers to my leg. “Say something, Valeria.”
