Page 35 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
Even now, he could hear the frustration vibrating in her throat when she had said those words. He had messed up. Without meaning to, he had pushed her too far, and because of that, he might have ruined everything.
He promised he would give her the space she wanted. Even if it hurt him to do so. Even if every instinct told him she needed someone to lean on, someone to watch over her. But maybe he wasn’t that person. Maybe he couldn’t be.
Graeson saw Terin’s reflection appear beside his in the water. Terin slapped him on the shoulder. "Ready?"
Graeson grunted, turning away from the river.
He wished he could say he was excited or even relieved to return home, but he wasn’t. Not even in the slightest. His mother was still in a cell, locked up and at Domitius' mercy. Every step he took felt like a betrayal. How could he leave her? How could he not storm into Ardentol and rip the castle apart until he found her? Until he saved her?
He looked out toward those gathered on the dock. Despite the fresh heartache, Kalisandre was the first person he searched for. His brows knitted with concern when he still didn’t spot her in the crowd.
"Kalisandre still isn’t here."
"Oh," Terin said, scratching the back of his neck. "Someone said she was running late."
Graeson poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. "Has she…has she talked to you?"
"About?"
Graeson shrugged. "Anything, really. She’s been avoiding me, and I’m sure she’s nervous about returning to Pontia."
"She has not been avoiding you," Terin argued.
Graeson’s jaw popped. "Yes, she has."
Terin snorted, but the sound was slightly forced. "You’re reading into things too much."
Graeson arched a brow. Was Terin that oblivious? "She admitted it last night."
"Oh." The tips of Terin’s ears poking through his dark brown hair burned pink. "I—I’m sure she has a good reason. She has a lot?—"
"—on her mind," Graeson said, speaking over Terin and eyeing him quizzically. "I know. Are you sure you haven’t talked to her because that’s the same thing she told me?"
"It’s not that hard to figure out. She’s still working through everything—and there’s a lot to work through."
Graeson sensed the god studying the prince with a leeriness that twisted his insides into knots.
Something’s wrong,the god whispered, his voice slithering around his mind.
Graeson narrowed his gaze. "Terin," he said, his hand twitching.
"Hmm?" The prince didn’t look him in the eye.
Before he knew what he was doing, Graeson snatched Terin by the collar. "Where is she?"
"What do you mean?" he stammered, eyes wide.
A deep growl hummed in his throat, and Graeson tightened his grip. The fabric in his hand wrinkled, the cotton fibers stretching, pulling. Straining. Someone called out to Graeson as the attention of the crowd was drawn toward them, but Graeson didn’t pay them any attention. Not as red seeped into the corners of his vision and the god bristled.
"Sh-she—" Frantically, Terin looked all around him, everywhere except at Graeson.
He was hiding something.
"Gray," Dani warned, "let him go."
Graeson’s anger rose to his eardrums. Every other sound turned into a monotonous hum as he lifted the prince up onto his toes. "Not until he tells me where the fuck she is," he growled.
"I don’t know!" his friend shouted.
