CHAPTER 20 #3
“I think we don’t have the luxury of distance. Thorne is only two days ride from here. All depends on where the men were stationed, and when my father gave the order.”
Kara looked down at her uneaten stew. His father hadn’t wanted this.
“If they’re smart,” he added, “They won’t come through Fatàn at night. If they’re desperate, they will.”
She looked at him. “Which are they?”
“Depends which captain they’ve got.” He went quiet for a moment. “We’ll hear them before we see them.”
He scanned the trees again, then apparently satisfied, turned to her, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“So,” He stretched his legs out towards where the fire had been. “What do you think your father will make of all this, Kara?”
She snorted. “Oh, I can’t imagine he’ll be pleased.”
“No. I guess not.”
“You’re the one who stole the Shards,” she said, brow arched. “I’m just aiding and abetting.”
“So we’re co-conspirators now?” he asked.
“I believe that’s the legal term, yes.”
He laughed – a small, surprised sound – and she found herself joining him. It felt good. Easy. The laughter faded into a comfortable quiet between them, broken only by the hooting of a distant owl.
Sebastian hesitated, before asking, “I’m guessing the wedding’s off now?”
Kara sighed. “Ah, you know, leaving one’s fiancé knocked out and tied up in the woods is hardly a glowing endorsement for marriage.”
He huffed. “I suppose not.”
“Besides,” she added, softer, “My heart was never in it.”
Sebastian opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut again. His face darkened. He looked up awkwardly. “I’m sorry, you know.”
She tilted her head. “For what?”
“For grabbing you. Threatening you.” He glanced at her, then away, as if bracing for judgment. “I shouldn’t have. That’s not... that’s not me.”
He’s apologising... to me?
Kara studied him. His whole body had tensed, and he wouldn’t meet her eyes.
He meant it.
“That? Really, Sebastian, I think considering the circumstances it was fair play.”
His gaze darted back to her face, staring like she was completely mad.
“You were tied up, magic-less and thought I was taking you to be executed,” she said. “You were entitled to be a little threatening.”
His expression shifted – surprise, relief, then finally gratitude. “You’re unusually reasonable about this.”
She smiled. “People do desperate things when they’re cornered. Totally understandable.”
“You weren’t scared,” he said. “Not even for a second.”
“Should I have been?”
He held her gaze. “No. But most people would’ve been.”
“I knew you wouldn’t hurt me.”
He stared at her like he couldn’t understand the words she’d just spoken.
“And you proved me right,” she added. “You let me go.”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “I did.”
“So don’t worry about it.” She shrugged, taking a mouthful of stew. It was surprisingly good. “At least you didn’t leave marks.”
“Well, I wasn’t trying–” he stopped. Watched her intently. Like he was working something out. “What did you mean by that?”
Kara looked up, unease pooling inside her. She hadn’t meant to say that. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Kara.”
“Really, it’s nothing–”
“Tell me.”
She sighed. “My father wasn’t happy when I suggested I wanted actual love over an arranged marriage.”
Sebastian’s expression darkened. “He hurt you?”
Kara shook her head. “He didn’t mean to, he just grabbed me too hard.” She blanched at Sebastian’s murderous expression. “He’d never done it before–”
“That doesn’t make it better,” he snarled.
His hands had curled into fists. A muscle jumped in his jaw. He stared into the treeline, his face lined with barely contained fury.
“And Hale think Thorne are brutal,” he hissed. “He’s a hypocrite.”
“Yes,” Kara agreed. “He is.”
Sebastian looked at her, surprised, but she said nothing more. She didn’t want to talk about her father. They sat in silence for a few minutes, then the question slipped out before she caught herself. “You’re older than me, aren’t you?”
He frowned, visibly thrown by the sudden change of topic. “What?”
“By a couple of years?”
“Uh, yeah,” he said, confused. “I’m twenty-seven.”
She didn’t look up from her bowl. “Why aren’t you married yet?”
He snorted. “Didn’t have the time. Training. Fighting Ice Land raiders. Two years in the Southern Isles. And there was my peacekeeping rotation.”
Kara listened raptly, drinking in every bit of information he’d choose to share.
“I actually liked that one,” he admitted. “Normal people, normal problems.”
“The rotation? Where was it?”
“Durent and Sorrel, mostly. Bit of time in the City.” He paused, glancing at her. “Never did duty in Hale, though.”
Kara smiled at him. “Shame. We’ve got good wine.”
He grinned, leaning back on his hands. “I’ve heard.” Then quieter, he said, “I think part of me always knew if I married, it would be for the wrong reasons. Duty. Expectation. Not choice.”
Kara didn’t respond right away. “I understand,” she said at last. “That’s exactly what mine would have been.”
She drained the last of her bowl. “Well... we’ve made our own choices lately.”
His smile faded, but he nodded. “Yeah, we have.”