Heir Of Violence (#1 Betrayed Destinies) - ONC2024

Chapter 14 - An Olive Branch

It took them the rest of the night to walk back, with the reddish-orange sun rising as Caeryssa pointed out different plants and their properties. More than once she blinked at a question Rain asked. Not only was he interested in what she had to say, but he also quickly grasped the value of her expertise. Maybe he hadn't just been making her feel better when he'd promised to find a working compromise. Could he actually mean it? How was he different from his father, from his best friend? Or was he just lulling her into complacency?

She glanced up at him, the light a halo around his midnight hair casting his face in shadow. It was hard to read his expression. She'd expected gloating or a return of his explosive temper, but he'd almost seemed... Her cheeks heated and she looked away.

A light touch on her back guided her toward the lefthand branch of a white stone path. For once, he hadn't insisted on a break-neck pace that had her scrambling to keep up with him. Instead, he'd shorted his stride to hers—an unexpected concession.

"We'll take the gravlifts," he insisted, shaking his head. "I swear, you scared a century or two off my lifespan by climbing down those vines."

Her lips quirked. She might not be able to make out his expression, but his tone scolded every bit as effectively. Did his people really not know the tensile strength of those vines? She'd not been in any danger. Only a novice would attempt to put weight on a tendril, leaf, or fruiting stalk of Elva, instead of a lateral shoot or cane, no matter how thick around it was. After all, fruit was meant to be shed to propagate the species. Vines were often the quickest and safest way to get a perspective of the land ahead or scale a rock face when on an expedition—far more reliable than cliffs that could crumble without warning.

And roots, it would have been faster to climb than weave back and forth between various gravlifts to return to the top of the prince's tower, even with Dhevun glowering at anyone who neared them. That man threw scowls like an asteroid herder, and he'd certainly not spared her when they'd reached him at the entrance to the tower. Although to be fair, he'd given Rain the once-over check-and-glare, too.

Stomach growling when they reached the suite, she strode straight for the breakfast laid out on the rectangular dining table. She'd been so nervous planning her escape yesterday that she'd hardly eaten.

Not that it had done her much good.

Bond separation was no joke. As much as she'd had to try, she'd not be attempting that again. She wasn't about to tell Rain she'd actually dropped to the ground, unable to breathe when he'd started to close the distance. If he hadn't come after her when he did, she'd have died alone on the forest floor.

Still, she'd panicked and ran when she regained consciousness and realized he was coming after her. Not her finest moment.

It'd taken him calling her on her death wish for her to see the futility of what she'd attempted. She might as well shout against the stars for all the good it did to fight the bond. And the way he'd handled it, even though she'd risked his life as well... he kept upending her expectations.

"Hungry?" Rain teased, seating himself more leisurely on a dark blue, high-backed chair.

"Starved," she mumbled around a mouthful of purple berries. The benefit of being on-planet and in a prince's suite, she could have as much fresh fruit as she wanted. Of the choices they'd offered her, she'd taken to the berries, moon melon with its pale rind and blue flesh, and the tart red citrus. The staff figured out her preferences quickly. Rain could keep his vidnut sausage, scrambled spark eggs, and toast.

"My sister used to love the moon melon, too. She always carved designs into it as she ate it," the prince said between bites, staring down at his food.