Page 140 of The Shadows Between Us
He ignores me, tries to slap the sword away with his fingers, so I let the edge dig into his skin, drawing a line of blood.
That gets his attention. He rises at my next insistence and backs away, retreating until his back hits a wall.
“Let me go, Alessandra!” he shrieks.
“No.”
“He sent you away! He said he’dkillyou if you returned.” Had he been listening in on our last conversation? “Why would you defend him?”
I shrug. “Just feel like it, really.” I’m hardly about to profess my love yet again where Kallias can hear it.
“He doesn’t want you. Saving him won’t change that. Move away. Now.”
“I won’t.”
“If you want to stop me, you’ll have to kill me. I think we both know you don’t have it in you.”
When he tries to move, I let the tip of the sword break his skin, sliding in until it hits the wall.
Xanthos’s eyes widen in surprise, as a choking noise comes out of his throat. Where blood oozes from his airway.
“You didn’t really know me,” I say. “If you had, you’d know I’ve already killed for love once before.”
And then he slumps forward, tacked to the wall like some macabre tapestry. Dead.
I turn to Kallias, find him watching me from the floor, his eyes going in and out of focus.
Then I run for the guards.
CHAPTER
30
A s soon as I knew Kallias was safe, that a healer was tending to him and a whole platoon of guards were watching over him, I left. I knew he would only send me away again once he had the strength to do so. Unless of course he decided to kill me.
I saved him, but somehow, I’m as miserable as ever.
Perhaps Zervas was right. It is far better to know he was mine before death than to know he will go on to be with someone else.
I plump my pillow before adjusting it below my chest, wrapping my arms around it, and letting my chin sink onto the edge of the downy softness.
Rhoda is letting me stay at her estate for as long as I wish. She’s away with Galen, staying at some country inn, far, far away from gossip and anyone who knows them.
I try not to be bitter about the romantic getaway they’re having. How can I be so jealous when I have a glorious duchess’s estate to stay in?
Alone.
Cast aside.
Threatened with death by the man I love.
Loved.
I cannot still care for him after what he’s done. It’s been a week since he threw me out of the palace. Since the duel in the sitting room. A week of sleeping in dreadfully late each morning, or afternoon, really. A week of selling off the trinkets Kallias gave me to pad my purse. A week of walking down the vast halls of this estate, touring the grounds (yet avoiding the gardens). I go for a horse ride each afternoon. Enjoy delicious dishes prepared by Rhoda’s exquisite cook. And try to decide what the next step is for me.
I don’t need to marry anymore. I have all the money I could need and a free place to stay indefinitely.
I have nothing to scheme for. And I find I don’t have a taste for men at the moment.
