Betrayer: (The Cursed Bloodstone Book 1)

The mid-afternoon sun beats against my back as I sit next to Kassandra in the garden. Luc’s daughter, Adelaide, plays with a rag doll next to Kassandra.

Only three days have passed since the celebration and my conversation with Malachi. And well, finding out my world has altered.

Roland is dead. Dead.

Even now, the reality sinks into my bones.

“You’re good for him, Sol,” Kassandra says, pulling me from my thoughts.

I glance over at my friend. “What do you mean?”

“You’re good for Gabriel. He needed someone like you.”

Lumps thicken in my throat, stealing any words I might have said. The tightness returns. Squeezing my chest. My lungs. My breath.

She hunches back and runs her hands together, freeing them of the dirt clinging to her skin. “After he was betrothed to Ravenna, and things didn’t end well, I thought he’d never marry.”

“Gabriel was betrothed?”

Kassandra nods. “Yes. One summer ago.”

I brush dirt from my surcoat. “What happened?”

A fierce scowl wrenches at Kassandra’s mouth. “Ravenna broke off their betrothal and married someone from her tribe.”

Is she the one who stole his heart and shattered it?

Intense empathy wells up inside me. Empathy for Gabriel. Empathy that someone would be so callous.

A taunting voice hisses in my ears. You’re going to hurt him too.

Olah, help me.

Please help me.

I don’t want to hurt Gabriel or cause him more pain, but I cannot stop the way I feel. Nor can I stop fearing that the Bloodstone will gain back their magic. It’s as vivid as fire. As painful as a whip against flesh. As real as the dirt beneath my feet.

Nothing about my world alters or changes because I have allowed a bloodstone warrior to slip beneath my skin. Tomorrow, when I wake up, the six tribes of Tarrobane will still be here. They will still quarrel.

And the Bloodstone people will still try to gain back what they lost. I heard it in the way Praxis spoke. If the Bloodstone people regain their magic, they will try to rule Tarrobane again, and they will crush the other five tribes beneath their feet.

“Sol,” Kassandra says, drawing my attention back to her. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” I wipe my hands across my brow, brushing away the sweat clinging to my skin.

Adelaide lurches to her feet and rocks her rag doll like a baby. Her soft hums fill the air and draw a smile to my face.

Children have always tugged at my heart. Maybe because I was the happiest when I was a child. Mother was alive, then.

“What tribe was Ravenna from?” I ask after a moment.

“Carnelian.”

Gabriel was betrothed to a Carnelian?

“I didn’t know.”

“Gabriel doesn’t speak about her. Nobody does.”

What a fool that woman was. Anyone that has tasted his passion would be a fool to let him go.

Like you?

The thought mocks me, digs at my truth, my reality.

“Have you been making plans for your wedding?” I ask.

She nods. “Yes, and I nearly have my dress finished. Well, Mother is sewing my dress. She’s much more talented than I am.”

That must be nice. To have a mother around—one that can sew for you. Love you. Encourage you.

“Sol,” Kassandra says, tugging my attention back to her. “Shall we have something to drink?”

I push away my melancholy thoughts and focus on my friend. “Would you like some lavender and chamomile tea?”

“I want tea.” Adelaide steps close to me and pulls on my hand. “May I have some?”

“Of course.”

Delight dances in Adelaide’s eyes as she tightens her fingers around mine. Warmth nestles against my heart.

If things were different with Gabriel, I might have those twins he teased me about. I even picture them with his blue eyes.

Kassandra follows as I walk with Adelaide inside the cottage. As I heat water and add the tea leaves, Kassandra’s revelation rings in my ears.

Maybe Gabriel doesn’t hate me as much as I feared. Maybe he’s simply guarding himself.

He’s no different than I am. I have spent summers guarding the ache in my chest.

Maybe we’re more alike than I first thought. Maybe we can even learn to trust each other. Fully trust each other.

As quickly as the thought hits me, I reject it. Gabriel should never trust me fully.