Page 4 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
Not only did Kallie fear the unknown, but she feared herself too. Despite Domitius’ claws having been ripped from her mind, Kallie still did not trust herself.
But a decision hadn’t been made yet, had it?
There was still time.
Kallie slid the sheath over the blade and stuffed the dagger behind the waistband of her skirt, tucking it beneath her blouse. She slipped on a pair of flats and strolled toward the door with quiet, light footsteps. Turning the doorknob, she peered through the crack. When she found no guard outside her door, she pushed it open but came to an abrupt halt when she heard a soft snore. Her gaze fell upon the man slouched against the wall, head hanging down. Raven-black hair fell over features softened only in sleep.
Graeson slept soundlessly beside her door, his chest rising and falling at a steady rhythm. His fingers twitched in his lap, but he did not stir otherwise. Her gaze shifted to his soft lips, which were slightly parted.
Their conversation before they had parted ways outside the throne room came rushing back to her.
"I’m here if you need anything," Graeson had told her.
She vaguely recalled him shifting on his feet as if he wanted to comfort her but didn’t know how. She could see the wordson his lips, the plea for her to come back to his room, that she shouldn’t be alone. And maybe he had asked her, but the fog in her mind had been too thick to make sense of his words at the time.
She desperately wanted to be the type of person who could lean on him.
Or maybe that’s simply what Graeson wanted. He wanted to be her savior. He wanted what they had shared earlier that night to have changed things. And it did, but not in the way Graeson wanted it to.
Kallie could no longer say she did not care for Graeson, but her feelings for him didn’t matter. Love and war did not mix. Love and war were a recipe for disaster and heartbreak.
Dragging her attention from Graeson’s sleeping form, she scanned the hallway and listened for the sound of guards patrolling the halls.
When only silence greeted her, Kallie closed the door behind her as quietly as she could and quickly padded down the hall, her mind set. Whether or not she was mad at Myra, Kallie couldn’t ignore the ancient words etched into the blade that stared back at her with such intensity. Kallie was the holder of her own fate, and she would be damned if she let someone else decide the course of her life again.
Chapter 2
KALLIE
A single guardstood on duty outside the prison. Upon seeing Kallie, the woman immediately straightened and fisted the small throwing knife she had been previously spinning.
With the dagger pressing against her back, Kallie held up her hands. "I only wish to speak with one of them."
The guard snorted, her posture relaxing and amusement tipping up the corner of her lip. "Be my guest," she said, ushering Kallie forward before spinning the blade again.
Kallie’s brows shot up her forehead, surprised the guard didn’t argue further.
Fearing the guard might change her mind, Kallie thanked her and hurried down the steps. But as she descended the stairs, Kallie wondered if there was a reason for the guard’s easy compliance. Kallie quickly brushed the concern off, though. She had come here for a reason, and she wouldn’t turn back now.
A couple of fading sconces hung at each end of the prison. She counted eight cells on each side. She wondered if this was simply a temporary holding place for prisoners. She had visited the castle’s dungeon in Ardentol many times, and it was at least five times the size of this one.
Kallie shuffled down the aisle, her head swiveling back and forth as she looked inside each cell. The closest cells were empty, but she halted at the second set, her breath catching.
Were her eyes playing tricks on her? It wasn’t humanly possible. There was no way?—
"If you’re worried about us breaking out," a tired voice said, which Kallie quickly recognized belonging to the captain of Rian’s guard, "don’t bother. I already tried. It’s impossible—except for whoever orwhatever broke apart those bars."
Indentations marked the bars, grooves that she bet would perfectly match Graeson’s fingers. Hands that had touched her with such tenderness, such longing that it was hard to fathom they could cause this sort of destruction. Kallie had heard rumblings about Graeson escaping a cell after they had first arrived. She hadn’t given the rumors much heed, but seeing the curved bars with her own eyes sent a chill down her spine. She thought she had seen every side of Graeson, but she was beginning to think she had merely scratched the surface.
A normal person would have been afraid. A normal person would have been concerned. But Kallie had never once felt in danger in Graeson’s presence. Instead, Kallie could only think about how scared he must have been in that moment. Had he trembled later that night like he had when she found him in the woods?
Kallie shook the thoughts away. Now was not the time.
Refocusing on her reason for coming here, she forced her feet forward, but she didn’t make it far.
Laurince slammed his fist against the bars of his cell the moment Kallie came into view. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, rising to his feet.
Kallie held up her hands in acquiescence. "I didn’t come here to fight with you. I came here only for answers."
