He frowned and shook his head.
“Oh, why can you climb in the window at night, but you can’t climb out it during the day?” I taunted out at him. “Are you scared of daylight?”
Kael straightened his shirt and gave me a stern look. “I’m not ashamed to be with you.” He walked over to the door and opened it to a shocked Joss. Joss looked handsome in brown breeches and light blue shirt and vest. He even had a plate of cheese and bread.
I watched Joss survey the room and frown disapprovingly at Kael. He entered to place the tray of food on the one small dresser. Joss stepped forward and reached out to touch my cheek, and I couldn’t help but pull away before he touched me. My rejection caught him by surprise, and I could see the hurt flash across his face.
I didn’t know how to act around him. If what Kael said was true, then Joss and I could never be more than just friends.
Joss dropped his hands to my shoulders and studied me closely. His posture stiffened and he glared at Kael. “You told her didn’t you?” Joss asked, frustration making his voice quiver in anger.
“That she’s mine. Yes, I did.” Kael came and stood next to me protectively, glaring at Joss’s hands. “I had a right to tell her. I gave her time, like I promised her father.”
“But you didn’t wait long enough.” Joss yelled. “I didn’t get a chance to prove myself.”
“I would ask that you remove your hands from her before you lose them,” Kael commanded through clenched teeth.
“You knew about this, Joss? How long have you known when I didn’t?” I demanded.
Joss hung his head. “Since our first day on the road to Skyfell. Kael confronted me and told me to back off, but he also told me that you didn’t know yet and Bearen asked him to wait to tell you.”
“Why Kael?” I pleaded. “Why wait so long and pretend to not care when the whole time my feelings for Joss were growing?”
Kael’s fists clenched angrily by his side. “I was honoring your father’s wishes. He wanted me to try and win your heart before I told you about becoming my lifemate. So you wouldn’t resent me and the loss of your freedom, even though you agreed to the terms of the Kragh Aru.”
Stepping around me, Kael confronted Joss and pushed him hard in the chest. “But this one—knowing the oath I made to your father—took advantage and tried to steal you from me before I even had a chance.”
“Is this true, Joss?” I whispered, the gut-wrenching feeling made the words hard to speak.
Joss’s face turned red and he nodded. “Don’t be fooled, Thalia. I’ve always had feelings for you. It was you who kept me at a distance. If I had known, I would have entered the contest to win your hand in marriage. I would have won the Kragh Aru.”
“Doubt it,” Kael growled out. “You wouldn’t have beaten me.”
“I might have.”
“You would have died trying.” Kael smirked.
“Now we’ll never know, will we? It was only by chance that I showed up too late. I feel like I’m always too late,” Joss answered.
“You would never have been allowed to enter Joss,” I said. “My father would never have allowed a Denai to participate in the Kragh Aru.”
Joss shook his head in disagreement. “There’s still time Thalia. You can still choose me.”
“I can’t betray my clan. I would be exiled.”
“You don’t know that for certain. You’re the clan leader’s daughter. And if you loved me it wouldn’t matter. Choose me and live in Skyfell,” Joss argued.
How could I be so torn between them? They’d both made terrible decisions, and now I had to live with the consequences. I had started to fall in love with Joss, while Kael stood by and let me. I couldn’t simply take those feelings back.
But at the same time my love for Kael had always been there—buried deep and ignored on both of our parts. Slowly, a bit at a time, he’d been working to dig them up.
I felt like I couldn’t breathe and took a step away from both of them. Both Kael and Joss stepped forward, reaching out a hand to steady me. Shaking my head, I held up my hands and continued to back away.
Joss and Kael kept their hands outstretched, as if asking me to choose one.
I couldn’t.
“Both of you, leave now.” I pointed to the door, surprised when they obeyed. The door shut behind them and I sat on the bed, crying in silence.
It was midmorning before we left the Ginger Dragon Inn and headed to Haven. Joss rode Anthem. How had I not recognized his horse in the stable yesterday?
Hemi didn’t seem at all startled or shocked by Kael’s sudden appearance. In fact, he seemed to relax a bit more in his presence. I hadn’t noticed it before, but Hemi seemed to have more respect for Kael than Joss. I only could guess that Hemi also knew of the arrangement with Bearen.
Because of our late start, we were entering the city of Haven after dark. It seemed surreal. The last time I had left the city of Haven, I was being escorted by a retinue of my father’s men and going home to Valdyrstal. There had been little chance in my mind that I would ever return to see the city again or to enter the school.
We came to the valley and there it was. Haven.
Once again I was struck by its beauty, even at night with a thousand flickering lights of fireplaces and lanterns. If it had been daylight, I would actually have seen the houses and streets painted in a variety of brightly colored paints, signifying their districts.
On a hill overlooking the city of Haven was Queen Lilyana’s castle. Though a beautiful castle, it looked cold and uninviting. I wondered briefly what it would be like to live in a castle and be queen. How lonely was it? My eyes quickly sought out the Citadel to the east of the castle, the Denai training school. My heart jumped with joy. I had missed this place—Lorna and Pax and even Donn. I had been forced to leave without saying goodbye. Now, I felt like I was back home.
The Citadel’s training arena was covered with a large glass dome. At night, the dome was alit from within, creating a soothing nightlight effect across the city. It reminded me of a glass ball I had once seen in a shop. The globe had been filled with water and held a miniature figurine of a small girl. It was a Denai toy and very expensive.
We entered the city.
The night was silent except for the sound of water running off of a slate roof and the occasional sound of a dog barking in the distance. A few men could be seen hobbling home in the wee hours. By the smell of them, I guessed they’d spent the night drinking and gambling. After a few minutes, we heard a soft rumble, the sound of approaching horses filling the air.
Kael met my eyes, a worried frown on his face. He directed our horses down a dark alley between two shops. We both slid off of Faraway and waited. A few seconds later, a large number of troops wearing Calandry’s colors paraded down the street. Four of the troops broke off and headed toward the drunken men, while the others continued down a side road.
Loud voices erupted between the guards and the men. The largest of the inebriated men turned and tried to take a swing at the closet guard. He missed and landed in a puddle. In quick succession the men were rounded up. Their hands were tied and roped to the horses, and the group departed in the direction of the palace.