Dark Prince & the Doe

Chapter 73: The Greatest Lie of All

Chapter 73: The Greatest Lie of All

Anne

A few tinderhorses leaned their heads out of large stalls as Calden guided her past. After the unicorn attack, she was uneasy around enchanted horses. The black-furred beasts watched with lapis-blue eyes as she passed, snuffling at the air. Some pulled their heads back as if she was the strange, unusual creature.

Calden entered a stall full of stacked supplies and unworked leather. After shoving boxes aside, he lifted a trapdoor. Hinges creaked as he held the door higher for her to duck underneath. She stepped onto the rickety ladder and he offered her a hand as she lowered herself into the hidden passage.

It was too dark to see the floor, but it was uneven under her feet. "Aria of the Sun, give us your light," Anne sang, finishing the preset enchantments on her bracelet. The amber beads went alight, illuminating their surroundings. The dingy tunnel was narrow and reeked of animals, smoke, and dung. She tried to breathe through her mouth.

"After Gale showed us these tunnels, I've been exploring them every chance I get. Made it awfully convenient for us today," he said with a half-grin, snatching her hand as he led her through the tunnels. "I don't want any Remerian too keen of ear to overhear. My quarters aren't far."

Anne nodded. She'd much rather speak to her brother without the smell of tinderhorse assaulting her sinuses the entire time.

"I never knew about these tunnels," Calden chatted, offering up distractions. "There are so many, it will take me a while to explore them all. This tunnel goes directly to the West Hall. It must have been made as an escape route for the Lenwar princes and princesses."

Anne fretted with her sleeves. This was the first time they'd been alone in days and all she could think about was confronting her brother. No matter how she asked her questions, Izeal would make things difficult. But she needed to know if the Brena family was being forced to pay the Church and the Emperor because of her.

Her worry kept her so occupied that she nearly fell off the ladder as she climbed out of the secret tunnel. Calden grabbed her flailing arms and helped her out of the pit. His hands lingered on hers. For a moment, they just stood in the dark storage room.

"Your hands are all scrapped up," he murmured, brushing dirt from a stinging wound. She wove her fingers through his, finding comfort in their warmth. His thumb rubbed a circle in the center of her palm. The sensation tickled up her arm. Her skin prickled. The bracelet's light made the shadows of Calden's face deeper. It looked as if he wanted to say something, but he remained silent as he guided her through the hall and into his quarters.

There was an innocence in the way he held her hand. He was trying to comfort her, in his own silent way. And, she was comforted. It was so odd. Why did she feel so comfortable with Calden? It didn't make any sense. He could be so infuriating and rude. And yet, he was kind and thoughtful. With each passing day, she found herself impatient to see him. Stand beside him.

It was wrong.

She shouldn't feel this way. A tinge of shame crawled its slick fingers down the back of her neck. She shouldn't be accepting such an intimate gesture from someone aside from Aiden. An unfortunate heat flared across her cheeks as she sat on the couch.

She barely knew Calden, but as he freed her hand, his index finger trailed from her wrist to the tip of her finger. A jolt sparked from her hand to her heart. Thankfully, Calden didn't sit beside her, that would have been more than her traitorous heart could bear. She could not have feelings for Prince Calden!

According to The Hunt's laws, they were engaged but, even if she wasn't betrothed to Aiden, she could never give him a Gift of Acceptance. Both of their people would reject such an insane union. She would give him a Gift of Denial and return home before the Winter Solstice – with or without a peace treaty. Calden knew he'd receive a Gift of Denial, despite his jokes about her marrying him. It was impossible. They both knew it. Everyone knew it. And yet, her heart still raced, unable to be bound by her brain's logic.