“Kiran, he dumped me,” I confessed, embarrassed. My cheeks flushed and I looked down at my hands, afraid to watch Kiran gloat or worse…. Smirk.

“He did what?” he almost shouted. “He dumped you?”

“Yes….” I almost laughed at Kiran’s shocked tones. “It cannot be that hard to believe….”

“What were his reasons? What on earth could have possibly been a valid reason to break up with you?” Kiran demanded.

“Uh….” I hesitated. Kiran wasn’t exactly the confidant I should be turning to in the wake of a breakup.

“Come on, Eden,” his voice turned smooth, coaxing me to open up. “I need to know what flaws he saw in you, what flaws I’m apparently missing.” He flashed a charming smile at me, and I cleared my throat nervously.

“He said he deserved better than me,” I overdramatized his words knowing they were gross exaggerations, but they felt real. It might as well have been what he said; the way my heart twisted and my eyes stung with hot tears made them seem real.

Kiran clenched the steering wheel with both hands, seething anger. “I’m going to kill him,” he growled. “I trusted that bastard!”

“Ok, calm down. That’s not exactly what he said,” I quickly explained, not sure what to make of Kiran’s reaction.

“Eden, tell me exactly what he said,” Kiran instructed, calming down but only just a little.

“Not that it’s any of your business…. But he said we have different stories. We’re not meant for each other. He said he imagined a future with me, but I never imagined one with him because he was my second choice, my back up plan….” I finished weakly, the words stinging sharply as I said them out loud.

“Oh,” Kiran calmed down considerably and I could swear I saw his lips twist into a smile but he refused to look at me and I didn’t want to make too much out of his reactions. “Maybe I didn’t give him enough credit after all.”

“You just wanted to kill him, now you’re impressed by him?” I asked in stunned disbelief, my aggression turning against Kiran.

“Well, that was when I thought he hurt you,” Kiran explained.

“He did hurt me!” I shrieked, baffled by Kiran’s roller-coaster of emotions.

“Yeah, no I know, but he’s right,” Kiran finished seriously.

“Oh, my gosh,” I mumbled, dropping my face into my hands. I didn’t have the emotional wherewithal to deal with Jericho and Kiran.

“Because we left earlier than scheduled, we’re going to have to spend a night or two at the hunting lodge to reinforce our story. Is that all right with you?” Kiran asked carefully, turning off the highway and onto rural roads that led through tiny mountain towns.

“I guess,” I sighed, not thinking things through. I didn’t want to go back to the castle, but the hunting lodge? I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t worried about staying alone with Kiran in a remote lodge and that I would spend the night heartbroken and mourning Jericho. I tried to convince myself….

Chapter Thirty-Three

Kiran pulled the sports car up to a gorgeous log-cabin-style house deep in the wilderness, far away from any kind civilization. The road we drove to get here had wound around, through the thick trees and pretty green brush for more than two hours. Kiran parked the sports car and we stepped out, facing a wraparound porch and polished oak beams constructing the two-story hunting lodge.

A carved bench, made from the same wood as the house sat next to the front door and a locked gun case hung on the other side of the entryway. The door itself, intricately carved in the royal seal, welcomed our visit. We walked up the tall porch steps and I paused at the door to run my fingers over the indented lines of a vine of lilies intertwining with two snakes wrapped around eating their own tails.

“I made that myself,” Kiran admitted proudly, stopping next to me to admire his craftsmanship.

“Huh,” I grunted, trying to hide my awe.

Inside the spacious house a large living area greeted us with long leather couches built out of the wood that seemed to be part of every piece of furniture in this house. A long coffee table sat in the middle, but no TV or other electronics ruined the rustic ambiance.

Off the living room was a large table, hand-carved with matching chairs, no doubt Kiran’s handiwork. Parallel to the table sat a kitchen, the only room in the house with modern appliances, all state of the art and shiny. I mean, the only room hopefully except for the bathrooms, but I had yet to see those.

The upstairs was just one giant loft with a balcony overlooking the rest of the house. A wide, wooden staircase led upstairs and I couldn’t stop myself from admiring the hand detailing that seemed to mark the entire house. Along the walls were all kinds of heads of animals, lions, bears, wolves, tigers, and deer. I shivered from the feeling of being watched by the dead.

“They won’t bite,” Kiran teased, noticing my reaction.

“So you say,” I grumbled. “They’re not all from Romania are they?” I shivered again, picturing lions stalking about just beyond the castle wall.

“Obviously not,” Kiran smiled. “Only the big ones.”

I whirled on him, catching his amusement.

“Is this the Nebraska wilderness all over again?” Kiran joked. “Almighty Eden, not afraid of death, but terrified of an animal bite.”

“I never said I wasn’t afraid of death,” I reminded him.

“Fair, but can I also remind you that your dearest friend has the ability to turn into a very dangerous tiger,” he plopped down on one of the couches, stretching out his arms across the back of it.

“And when her head is mounted on your wall, we’ll be having a very different conversation,” I turned in circles, braving the glassy eyes of the dead animals again.

“I doubt Talbott will ever let that happen,” he laughed, amused at my accusation.

“What will he be able to do? His loyalty lies to the crown, remember?” My tone turned biting, more frustrated than ever at the unfairness of Lucan’s laws.

“One day, things will be different,” Kiran sighed. I mulled his words over for a moment, trying to make sense of his casual tone but before I could question him, he continued, “I’m sorry, I don’t have any clothes for you to change into. I hoped once we got to the safe house, you would be able to borrow something of Roxie’s, but we left before I even got a chance to say hello to her. But, I think I might have some of my old things upstairs, if you don’t mind-“

“What did you just say?” I whirled around, facing him. My heart started to pound wildly in my chest, drowning out every other sound. My blood rushed through my veins violently, my magic heating to a fast boil and the electricity popping at my fingertips.

“I wanted you to borrow Roxie’s clothes,” Kiran repeated, eyeing me suspiciously.

“Roxie is in prison,” I stated slowly, in a voice that sounded more like a threat than a piece of information.

Kiran’s eyes flashed panic for only a second before the cool mask of confusion replaced it. “Is she? I must mean one of Avalon’s other Resistance members,” he covered his tracks too late.

“Roxie….” I mumbled, putting the pieces together mentally, a puzzle I had been working on for a while, but afraid of the outcome. “How is it that you know Roxie; or that Lilly’s father was at the safe house? Sebastian joined the Resistance and you don’t care at all? The magic in the door…. The little boy that adored you…. My brother’s forgiveness…. Kiran what the hell is going on?” I demanded, crossing my arms.

“I don’t know what you’re getting at,” Kiran sighed exasperatedly and shifted his eyes away from me. “But speaking of Avalon, I’m glad you noticed that he forgave me. Maybe there’s a lesson in it for you.” He turned defensive, adjusting his position on the couch.

“Don’t start with me,” I threatened, “you may have betrayed us both, but you didn’t make promises to Avalon concerning his eternal future!”

“Oh, right,” Kiran stood up to face me. “I’d like to remind you that I was not the only one that made promises!”

I flinched, taking a step back and going red in the face. How dare he accuse me of breaking promises! I stared at him, seething with anger and brokenness. He was the reason I had to live my life locked up in a castle, a prisoner against my will. He was the reason behind everything, if he would have just left me alone at Kingsley, none of this would have happened! Kiran was the reason Jericho left me; he broke me, shattered me and now I wasn’t even a complete enough person to keep the love of someone as wonderful as Jericho.

Kiran watched the anger flash across my face and my eyes turn to hateful slits, but he pushed his luck further, “Don’t you look at me like that! You did make promises. You did feel the way I felt about you. And I may have betrayed you, but I betrayed everybody! Don’t think I don’t know that. Only they’ve all forgiven me; everybody except you! Avalon, Lilly, even your parents have forgiven me, but not you. And what I have done to you is my least offense-“

“My parents?” I shrieked, finally making sense of his words. “My parents have forgiven you?”

“Oh, don’t look so surprised!” He scoffed, taking a step away from me. “Of course they have.”

“Why?” I demanded, my blood pressure reaching new heights. “Why have they forgiven you?”

“Because I asked them to!” His turquoise eyes shifted to deep blue. He raked his hand through his hair and turned his face to the side so that I could only see his profile. I stared at him, at his audacity, but then my eyes found the place where his earlobe met his neck and I stumbled backward. It wasn’t possible.

It couldn’t be possible.

“Show it to me,” I demanded in a low snarl.

“Show you what?” He growled, his voice just as menacing but then he caught the determined look in my eyes.

“Show it to me,” I repeated, taking a step toward him.

“There’s nothing to show,” he defended himself, jerking his head forward, so that his neck remained out of my reach.

“Kiran, I want to see it for myself,” I stomped my foot and a ripple of magic skittered across the lodge floor.

“No,” he stated finally.

I had enough of him. An entire year of frustration washed over me and suddenly I couldn’t take it anymore. I released my magic on him, determined to get what I wanted. Complete-mind-manipulation, that was what Amory called it. I only accomplished it once before and that was with my grandfather, almost a year ago. It had taken a while to get into Amory’s mind because he was prepared for me, standing defensively ready for my attack. Kiran had no idea what hit him and fell back into the couch as if I dealt him a physical blow.

It took me just a half second to infiltrate his mind. Instantly I was in his consciousness, feeling his emotions, sifting through his thoughts, remembering with him. I pushed forward, passed the road blocks he threw in my way and toward the root of what I wanted to know. Only, inside Kiran’s mind I got a lot more than I bargained for.