Into the Garden by Joelle Charbonneau

Author:Joelle Charbonneau
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-09-12T04:00:00+00:00

5

Betrice pictured Oben striking down the man who had whipped his flesh. Satisfaction chased away the fear that had gnawed at her since the minute Seer Zachar told her she was leaving the Village of Night. Because Oben had been in darkness and had made his own light. He had found a purpose and control where there had been none. He had become his own flame.

“He was a lord of the realm. Killing him was a crime.”

“His death was justice,” she snapped.

Oben nodded. “Justice and law are not necessarily the same thing. If a lord or lady were to speak of my acts to the King, their word alone would be enough to have me put to death.”

Betrice stilled. Her heart hammered hard and fast. She was a lady. And Oben had just put his life in her hands.

“You could have lied to me,” she said. “I would never have known.”

“I gave you my oath.”

And by doing so he gave her the power she desired. He could not give her control over her own future, so he gave her something else. Control over his. The heat of it flowed through her like nothing had before.

She could hardly breathe as she stepped forward and placed a hand on his warm chest. “So I will give you my oath. I will not betray your trust.”

Oben calmly nodded, but she could feel his heart as it pounded harder and faster in his chest. The power to gain vengeance wasn’t the only one she had. “High Lord Xavier will be expected to dote on the King while he and the Crown Prince are in residence,” he offered. “That gives you some time to plan.”

For what he didn’t say, but as Oben walked to her horse to hold the reins, Betrice knew if she was going to forge a future out of fire, she couldn’t rely on Oben entirely. She would have to spark the flame herself. And whether he knew it or not, she thought, climbing into the saddle, Oben had just pointed the way.

He glanced at her as they galloped, as if he expected her to steer Snow in another direction at any moment, but she kept her back straight and her eyes forward while they crossed the miles to the Derio border. They spoke of inconsequential matters when they broke from their ride, and after they finished their evening meal, Oben handed her the bottle of Tears of Midnight and suggested she drink from it.

“The cut on my face doesn’t cause me pain,” she said, even though she was curious about the drink after seeing its effect on Oben the night before.

“The Tears blocks many things—pain is only one of them. The drink quiets visions,” Oben said, pressing the bottle into her hands. “It is powerful. It should not be used often. But for tonight, it will keep your nightmares away.”

The drink was bitter and made her gag, but it did what Oben promised. No bloody faces or reaching hands plagued her during the night.

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