Page 101 of The Ice Prince's Fated Mate
But maybe Ella had been right. Maybe we needed to.
“Yes.” Caz’s fingers curled into a fist.
“I’m sorry.” I laid a hand on his shoulder. “I was off playing super-hunter, not aware of a damn truth of things, and you were here, having to deal with it. I should have been here with you.”
“You have no blame in this, Dirk. Stop trying to take what doesn’t belong to you.”
I smiled. “That’s my older brother. Always trying to take things onto himself, not sharing the burden.”
Caz’s green eyes clouded slightly as he frowned. “What do you mean? What else do I take onto myself, besides being Tyrant?”
I tilted my head slightly, looking at him. “You seriously think you got away with it. Don’t you? That I wouldn’t immediately know?”
“I’m lost.”
“Caz. Brother.” I pulled him into a hug. “I know the truth about Father. You don’t have to protect me anymore. I’ve always known.”
He stiffened in shock but only briefly. “What do you mean? What about Father?”
“I know you killed him,” I said, the words strangely comforting to finally say out loud. “I’ve known since the day you told me. You tried to protect me, but I’m telling you, you don’t need to. I’m here now.”
Caz was silent but did not pull away. I waited. Finally, his hands came up and we hugged.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked, stepping away to rub at his face, still processing this news.
“You were trying to protect me. To shield me. At the time, I thought it was better to let you believe you had succeeded, given what had just happened. You had enough on your plate learning to run the kingdom. I didn’t want you thinking if I knew, others might figure it out too.”
Caz nodded slowly. “That was very astute of you.”
I smiled, hooking a thumb at my chest. “Little brother. Not dumb brother.”
Caz’s face showed he didn’t agree. We shared a laugh.
“Damn, I don’t even know what to say. All these years, and you knew all along.”
I shrugged. “It feels pretty good to finally tell you, I have to say.”
“Sharing the truth can be like that,” Caz said softly, a heavy weight in his eyes, all of it directed at me.
I glared. “Did you just mousetrap me into admitting that?”
He winked. “Go to your mate, Dirk. Tell her the truth. Apologize. Be honest. If she’s anything like Anna, which I’m sure she is since they’re friends, she will understand. You two didn’t know one another back then. She can’t blame you for that.”
“Maybe,” I said quietly, but I wasn’t so sure I believed him.
I didn’t have a choice, though. Did I? I had to tell Ella. If nothing else, shedeservedto know.
“Good luck, little not-totally-dumb brother,” Caz said. “You can do this.”
“Before I go,” I said, reaching into a pocket and pulling out the object I’d retrieved from one of Ella’s captors, “there’s one more thing we need to talk about.”
Forty-Eight
Ella
I knew it wasDirk at the door before he knocked. I could sense the hesitation in him, the nerves and discomfort. They had been brewing like a storm all morning, and now they were growing stronger as he drew nearer.
He knocked.
