memory, of which there had been so many moving parts. There were plenty of things said between them—particularly the pieces of their argument that served as precursor to the things that were unsaid. Her ears grew warm.
“Bits and bobs,” she muttered.
Garin didn’t wait for her to draw up an answer. “Lilac, I meant everything. All of it, especially the parts about you being crazy. But it doesn’t mean my disposition changes. Part of me thinks what you’re doing is—”
“Is what?” She pulled back just far enough to glower up at him.
“I don’t know. Imprudent. A little impulsive—though there’s no shock there. Erm, what else—unethical.” He shrugged against her. “We both heard what Kestrel and Sable said of Ophelia.”
Lilac scoffed. She never thought she’d see the day he’d complain about a lack of ethics. “What of her?”
Garin sighed in defeat. “My thoughts are my own. Either way, I’ll be there to watch over you. It is my duty to see you to this witch safely if you must. And to deliver you to your parents in one piece.”
Suddenly, Lilac wiggled out of his grasp. She wasn’t quite ready to face the reality that would come after Ophelia—her parents, the castle, becoming queen. All of it seemed so far away, a different world that didn’t fit with the vast wilderness of the woods before her.
Or with the vampire holding her.
She inhaled deeply upon realization of her timeline. The long-burgeoning questions she’d been avoiding began bubbling to the surface. What would become of them? Of Garin? Her pulse slowed. Where he would deliver her, he wouldn’t be able to follow. He couldn’t just wait for her in the shadowed shelter of her tower; there would be handmaidens and seamstresses bustling through her room, ensuring she was perfect for the event. Plus, he had his own coven and Laurent’s investigation to attend to.
“I know you have no real reason to help me,” she said softly. “And I am grateful for all of it. But this is something I need to do.”
Garin was silent, but his jaw clenched firm.
“Trust me?” pleaded Lilac.
“As you wish.” He adjusted the reins in his palm before offering his free hand out to her. “We’re practically there.”
“Don’t you mount first? You’re steering.”
“What kind of scoundrel do you take me for?” He threw her an astonished grimace. “Yes, I’m steering, but regardless… ladies always come first.”
In contrast to her experience with Sinclair, Garin hoisted her up, then carefully followed. She scooted back to make room, and they settled into the hollow of the mare’s back with ease. She wrapped her arms around him gently, relieved he did not comment on her equestrian expertise, or lack thereof.
“Are you ready for the last bit of our journey?”
Before Lilac could answer, the wind changed direction. A thick stream of billowing smoke gusted into the air around them.
Orange flames towered in the distance, silhouetting Sable and Jeanare’s farmhouse.
“That’s not their house, is it?” she shouted against the winds, prodding Garin ferociously in the back. “Is it? We have to go back!”
“They’re fine, princess. It’s the haystack on the hill behind it.” He shook his head in pity, tongue against his teeth. “’Tis a shame. Poor drunken palace guard and his torch. Must’ve stumbled into the dry brush. What a horrific accident.”
Lilac nodded numbly. He’d burned Renald’s corpse. Within the span of less than a week, she’d gone from utterly useless princess to reluctant damsel. Now, she was a fugitive possibly wanted for murder—and more.
She turned to the road ahead as rain began to fall. Squinting in discomfort, she looked up to see clouds covering the stars. With a forlorn sigh, she leaned into Garin, whose bulk protected her from the worst, and he nudged the mare into motion. Within moments the rain lessened, but the dark ony deepened as they trodded along the trees.
Lilac couldn’t seem to get comfortable on the mare’s wide back and kept shifting. The mare, in turn, kept snorting, until one too many shifts finally caused the mare to sidestep in alarm, throwing the princess too far to the right. Lilac clung to Garin’s arm to stay mounted, and he rolled his eyes as he calmly reached back to right her.
“You know, one wouldn’t expect someone like you to be so jumpy around a horse,” Garin said after clearing his throat. “If we had more time, I’d teach you to ride the comfortable way.”
“Excuse me?”
“Like this.” He tapped both legs on either side of the horse. “I can only imagine how