Page 6 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
There were no words to explain everything she had done. Everything that came to mind felt like an excuse.
"Oh, my apologies,love. Was that harsh of me?" Rian asked, blinking down at her, his lashes brushing the tips of his brown cheeks.
"Not harsh enough if you ask me," Laurince interjected, leaning against the bars.
Hands shaking at her sides, Kallie took a jilted step away from the two cells. "I want to fix things."
Kallie winced when the men laughed.
"Fixthings? Everything you touch turns to shit." Laurince slid down the wall and sat on the floor with a shake of his head, his arms falling lazily over his knees.
"I know," Kallie admitted, forcing herself to continue. "I know that this is my fault. I didn’t come here to deny that."
"You shouldn’t have bothered to come at all," Rian said.
This was going absolutely terribly. Maybe she was cursed. Maybe she had angered the gods or the Fates.
Still, she refused to back down.
"Rian, I know my word no longer holds any weight, but I am deeply sorry for lying to you, for betraying you, for all of it. But?—"
"Of course there’s a fucking but," Laurince spat.
Kallie ignored the captain and continued. "As much as I wish I could, I cannot change the past. All I can do is hope to make the future better."
"And war is your solution?" Rian asked, his features painfully contorted.
Lifting her chin, Kallie clenched her fists at her sides to steady them. "That is why I’m here: to stop it," she said with as much conviction as she could gather.
"Ha! You and what army, Princess?" Laurince hissed.
Shaking his head, Rian returned to the back of his cell and plopped on the ground. "You’re too late, Kalisandre."
Kallie bit the inside of her cheek, the pain pinching. She had to believe there was still time to fix this. Because if there wasn’t, everyone’s sacrifices would have been for naught.
"War was always going to come," Kallie said, voice quiet yet steady. "Our absence—our supposed abduction—is simply the reasoning Domitius has gone with. But there is something else that has been bothering me since the three of you showed up."
"Which is?" Rian asked.
Kallie glanced at the bent bars of the destroyed cell before returning her attention to Rian. "How did you do it? How did you escape?"
Rubbing his bruised wrists, Rian glanced at Laurince.
"We fought our way out," Laurince explained, his head slumped back against the wall. "We almost didn’t make it. Weshouldn’thave made it, but by the graces of the gods, we weren’t followed."
"You didn’t find that strange?" Kallie asked, her hands falling from the iron bars.
The captain shrugged. "At the time, I was too busy making sure none of us died. I was injured. I—it was hard enough to keep going as it was. While the thought crossed my mind, I didn’t dare question it since I was barely hanging on myself. We needed a blessing, and we got one."
"So you mean to tell me that Domitius didn’t sendanyoneafter you?" Kallie asked, the question painted in doubt.
Laurince’s lips parted and shut, unable to find an answer.
"Why would he bother if he was planning on declaring war?" Rian asked.
Even if that was the reason, something still wasn’t sitting right.
"He could have declared war at any point. I was here," Kallie stated. "He didn’t need to involve you. So while I’m not surprised he’s declared war, I am surprised he waited this long and let us all go. According to Graeson and the others, he let them take me the day of our wedding. But if there’s one thing I know about Domitius, it’s that he doesn’t do things without reason. So what’s changed? Why didn’t he declare war earlier? Why did he wait? Why did he let you go unscathed?"
