“I wouldn’t have even entered them if it had not been for Nathaniel,” he said, head turning as he scanned the gardens. “Strange how that worked out.” His gaze returned to me. “With you.”
Yes, it was strange.
“I’m sorry about your . . .” Friends? It was obvious that neither Muriel nor Nathaniel had been a friend. “I’m sorry about what happened with them.”
His head turned back to mine as he went quiet. It was the same reaction he’d had the night before when I apologized for what was done to him.
I swallowed. “There’s something I’ve been wondering all day about Muriel. He set you up, didn’t he?”
Lord Thorne nodded.
“Why would a Hyhborn be involved in the shadow market?”
He was quiet for several moments. “That’s a good question. One I would like to know the answer to, but I do have another question for you.”
“What is that?”
One of the vines moved to the side as, this time, I saw him step forward. He hadn’t touched the vine, but as he’d said, he was part of the realm in a way lowborn could never be. “How did you spend your day wondering why a Hyhborn would be involved in the shadow market when you did not know until tonight that he was a Hyhborn?”
Shit.
My heart tripped over itself. “I . . . I just assumed he was.” My thoughts raced. “You said you were to meet him at the Twin Barrels. I figured it would be another Hyhborn.”
“Ah.” Another wisteria stem spun without his touch. “It should be I who apologized, for what you had to witness and experienced these last two nights. I’m sure that’s not something you see every day.”
“I . . . I wasn’t expecting to find Hyhborn on the verge of killing one another.”
He let out a dry laugh. “You may be surprised to know that isn’t all that uncommon an occurrence.”
My brows rose. I was surprised. Then again, I knew little of what occurred in the Hyhborn Courts.
“You must think I’m a monster now?”
“No, that hasn’t changed. I mean, he was going to stab you, which seemed like a really poorly thought-out decision based on how that turned out for him. And well, Muriel was going to kill me, so fuck him,” I went on, flushing at his low chuckle. “Why did he set you up?”
“Besides the fact he was a fool? He was scared.”
“Of?”
“Me.” One of the sōls moved over his shoulder, nearly grazing mine as it passed us by. “So, he thought it best to have me dealt with.”
I didn’t really know Lord Thorne at all, but he didn’t strike me as the type one attempted to force into anything. “I guess both were making more than one poorly thought-out choice tonight.”
“You’ve guessed right.” His fingers drifted over one of the wisteria stems once more.
However, it seemed to me that it was more than Muriel just being afraid of Lord Thorne. Granted, that would be enough reason for most, but they’d spoken in those brief moments as if they were alluding to something else— something that was likely not my business, but I was curious.
“Well, I . . . I hope you find whatever it is you were looking for,” I told him, and his head tilted again. “It sounded like you were looking for something that he claimed to have information on.”
“Yes, but now I’m not sure if he spoke the truth or not.”
I started to ask what it was that would possibly anger the King, but Lord Thorne touched a wisteria blossom, drawing my gaze as his fingers drew them down the length of the vine, not dislodging a single blossom.
Another sōl appeared, joining the other as they floated over us, casting enough light that when Lord Thorne turned his head toward me fully, I finally saw his face clearly once more.
A tingling sensation started at the base of my neck and spread throughout the entirety of my body as my gaze lifted to the golden-brown hair brushing against powerful shoulders and a throat the color of warm sand.
As a young girl, I’d found him to be beautiful and terrifying.
And that hadn’t changed.
A lock of hair fell across his cheek as an eyebrow a shade or two darker than that wavy lock of hair rose. “Are you all right?”
I gave a small jerk. “Yes. I’m just tired. It’s been a strange two nights.”
He stared at me for a moment. “That it has.”
I swallowed. “I think I . . . I need to return to the manor.”
Lord Thorne was silent, watching me closely. Intently.