go.”
Lilac froze mid step. How odd it was, that as soon as he’d uttered the words she’d been dying to hear, there was a sudden reluctance in the pit of her belly she certainly did not expect to feel. Absently chewing on her lip, she mirrored him and stuck a toe into the shallow water.
“It’s not that. I never got to tell you how sorry I was to hear of Laurent’s death.”
As if breaking from a spell himself, Garin blinked twice and finally faced her.
“I don’t mean to be insensitive by mentioning him now,” she said softly. “It must be hard.”
The other words she meant to say stuck behind the lump in her throat. That she was sorry he’d lost his father and mentor. He’d been forced to face the coven that had rebuked him. In the midst of it all, an enormous responsibility had been bestowed upon him and beneath all that, he still struggled with his own demons.
Much like her, he was cursed in his own way.
Garin laughed unexpectedly. “Apologizing for your kindness. How endearing.” He stretched his long arms high above his head and gave a disjointed growl in attempt to shake off the sorrow. “Anything is possible, princess. We both know that. But a Darkling assassinating Laurent is as likely as a human farm boy trying to assassinate your father. Possible, but not probable. It’s a death sentence that none of us want.”
Lilac swallowed. She didn’t expect her apology to sour his mood, at least this quickly. “
That’s not what I…” she trailed off. “I can assure you, it wasn’t one of my family.”
“And if it was?”
She had no answer. An unexpected wave of emotion washed over her before she spoke again. “Garin, I need to ensure my people are going to be safe. At least, as safe as I can promise them.” As soon as the words were out, she regretted them. How humanely selfish of her. She glanced sideways, anticipating his angry glare.
Instead, the vampire regarded her curiously, head cocked. He padded through the damp clay, closing the gap between them. She backed away from his sudden movement, but he stopped her, grasping her forearms with a startling gentleness. “Princess. Despite the dark blood that runs within my own veins, and the human, saccharine blood that runs within yours,” he whispered, “you stand in my presence more or less unharmed. I kept you safe, as I said I would. Even in the presence of my unruly brother.”
“I know—it’s not me I’m worried about. My people,” Lilac insisted, hands in fists as Garin held her arms. “My family…”
A murky smile played on his lips. “Don’t you see?” His eyes were coals, smoldering against the quivering candlelight, and suddenly, something human in him grasped at her. The scent of his breath, unexpectedly syrupy, drew her closer still. “Don’t you think that if I wanted to seek revenge on humanity and on your kingdom, that I’d start with you?”
His low voice and threat in his words ruffled her, and she struggled to keep her own tone level as she replied. “The only reason you haven’t killed me is because you are unable.”
“Is that so?” As fast as he’d grabbed ahold, he released her. The vampire backed away, pacing restlessly up the curved perimeter of the pond. “As young as you are, there’s no way you could begin to fathom the things I am capable of. Even your wretched father was but an infant when Bastion and I terrorized the streets of Rennes, Paimpont, and the bordering towns… Before I—” He cut himself off with an agonized groan. The shadows cast upon his tortured face made him look like a madman.
Any attraction Lilac had previously felt was instantly smothered by fear. She peeked back at the stone path. Before she could calculate how quickly she’d be able to escape if she needed to, he loomed over her.
“Hear me out, princess,” he said, enunciating every vowel with crystal clear diction. “You’re not wrong. I am not Laurent. My conscience never bared much semblance to his when he was alive, and it certainly does not now.
“Before my curse, I was unstoppable. Bastion and I wreaked havoc on everything and everyone in our paths. My brother was right, it was glorious. And then,” he said, his face twisting into something like despair, “I crossed the wrong person.” He laughed darkly. “Look at me now. It’s bad enough that I let you escape from me at the inn. That I allowed you