Betrayer: (The Cursed Bloodstone Book 1)

Four days ago, the earth let out a shuddering breath and halted. During that time, I barely rose for food. I barely cleaned. I barely spoke to Gabriel.

On the fifth day after her death, he joins me in bed earlier than usual. The sun still lumbers on the horizon and throws shadows across our bedchamber walls.

Gabriel’s weight dips into the mattress as he rotates and pulls me into his arms. For a beat, I stiffen before melding to his comfort.

“I didn’t know you cared this deeply,” he says, his words low, guarded, as if he fears saying the wrong thing.

“She was my friend,” I admit.

Kassandra taught me about acceptance, rising above adversity, and kindness. She was the one light among the Bloodstone. The one diamond. The one brightness.

Now, she’s gone.

Tenderly, he runs his hand against my arm. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Gabriel.” I nestle closer to him, needing him more than ever before. His solidness. His strength. His compassion.

He curls his fingers into my hair, cradling me against him, keeping me as tight as I cling to him. “How can I help?”

“You can’t,” I whisper.

How I wish he could. How I wish he could bring my friend back.

“I’m sorry.” The words hang between us, his admittance that he hadn’t protected Kassandra as he had vowed.

“Why didn’t we leave Astarobane? All we had to do was leave.”

A long exhale escapes him. “I was working on it, but it takes a lot of preparation to move an army.”

“Well, now she’s dead.” The stark reality escapes me in a rush of bitterness.

“It should have never happened.”

“Why did it, Gabriel?” I ask, my words breaking me apart. “Is it because she’s an outsider? Or is there something more? Perhaps, something you haven’t told me?”

“There was a lot of anger aimed toward Luc’s desire to marry Kassandra. Not only because she was an outsider, but because of who her father was.”

“A Kyanite?” I ask bitterly.

“Yes, but not only that. He hurt Kassandra’s mother and used her badly. It put a stain on her entire family.”

I think of Averill. How kind she is. How accepting.

She didn’t deserve someone using her badly.

“And that’s it? Kassandra was an outsider. The daughter of a Kyanite. So, it’s all right to murder her?”

Gabriel takes my hand and places it against his chest, to the even pounding of his heart. Maybe he did it to calm me. “It’s not.”

“Then do something about it.” Anger fuels me as I lash out. “Burn the city.”

His brow lifts. “You want me to burn an entire city?”

“No.” I choke back the torrid of emotions boiling inside me. There are still good people here. Like Everly, Leah, Praxis and Luc. I could never wish death to innocent people. I just need to see justice. “I need you to avenge Kassandra.”

“And I shall,” Gabriel says with determination.

“How?”

“I will question the woman I believe is responsible. If I discover she’s guilty, she’ll be executed.”

Surprise crashes over me. “You know who’s responsible?”

“I believe the woman was one of Kassandra’s high paying clients. The same one who threw rotten food at her and encouraged her friends to join her.”

“Deborah?” Sourness swells against my tongue as I voice the name. I had followed the woman enough to know how haughty she could be.

But violent? I should have guessed.

“Yes.”

Kassandra was young and kind. She deserved a long, thriving life.

Not this. Not death at the hands of cruel people.

I bury my face against Gabriel’s chest and will the pain to cease.

If only it were that simple. If only life were that simple.

But it’s not.

It’s cruel. Dark. Unforgiving.

And it doesn’t care who it casts its shadow of death on.

Any of us could be next.

Two days later, we’re ordered to the same clearing where the Bloodstones murdered the Kyanites. Luc positions himself near the front with Alden, Cenric, Aston, Gray, and five more men I don’t recognize.

The torches lighting the square cast shadows over Luc’s haggard features. Those features I cannot look away from. He looks more haunted than before.

Deborah and two other women stand where the Kyanites stood, their hands bound, their eyes downcast.

Graveness etches Alden’s features as he turns and addresses the crowd. “Today, we condemn those who murdered Kassandra.”

My heart races as I take in the solemn man next to me. Gabriel stares straight ahead, his eyes locked on the trees swaying in the distance.

He did this.

I know he did.

Alden continues, drawing my attention back to him. “They will die for the murder of Kassandra. May Olah forgive them. For we do not.”

One by one, Bloodstone archers strike the condemned women, and they fall to the ground, their bodies riddled with arrows.

I feel no empathy, no tugging at my heart. They knew what they were doing when they took my beloved friend from me.

Their deaths don’t ease the pain of her leaving, but I’m happy knowing they cannot do this to anyone else.