From behind me, my door flies open, and two guards march forward, dragging Kane under the arms. I gasp, but don't move, not wanting Drogaem's Huntsmen to do anything to me. They don't even look at me though, they throw Kane in onto the hard stone floor and slam the door behind them. I don't waste a second. I run forward and pull Kane over onto his back, my eyes shifting over the scrapes and cuts, the blood dried on his flesh, and even fewer remnants of his wings than before.
I pull the energy immediately to the forefront of my body and begin to heal him as fast as I can. I'm still not able to recover everything, but I'm getting stronger, and I can tell. The deep cuts and scrapes, the bruises, they go away when I run my glowing hands across him. I can see his body relaxing as the pain dissipates, and I'm thankful that my powers are beginning to work with me instead of against me. I'm not sure this will last, but at this moment I can't be more grateful for it.
I sit beside him for hours, using as much energy as I possibly can muster to pour my magic over his wounds. Eventually, though, I run out, my body too tired. Kane lets out a long deep breath and sits up, rolling his shoulders. Usually, he doesn't let me go that far, but after days of torture, he let go and let me take control. It may be the first time in our relationship that he's done that.
"Thank you," Kane says, giving me a nod.
I know it takes a lot for him to thank me, not because he's not grateful, but because of who he is. I take it with grace and give him a smile as I lean back against the bed. He scoots across the floor toward me and reaches his arm up and around my shoulders, pulling me close. "What has happened while I've been away?"
I shake my head. "Nothing really. I wasn't allowed to see you, and Drogaem never came around me. That first night, when I knew the torture was over, I tried to come to you, but Gregore, he stopped me."
Kane growls deep in his chest. "That traitor. Then again, I guess everyone can be considered a traitor at this point. Everyone except for you and a handful of servants."
I know it makes him angry, but part of me understands why people ran. I don't understand Gregore and why he turned against Kane, but everyone has their reasons. I suspect fear is behind a lot of it. Mentioning his name makes me think of what he said to me that night. I've been mulling it over in my mind for days. I lean my head back against Kane's arm and turn my eyes toward him. "When he stopped me, he said a lot of things, a lot of cruel things, of course, but he said one thing that I haven't been able to get out of my mind. He told me that I had the blood of a God in my veins. What did he mean by that?"
Kane's eyes shift up and glaze over as he stares off into the distance. His muscles tense, and my heart drops, realizing that he's known this all along. I'm not telling him something shocking to him. I twist to the side, pulling away from his arm. "Kane? You know what this means?"
Kane licks his lips and squares his shoulders, reminiscent of the stubborn man I had first met. He doesn't look at me when he speaks. "The thing about Lux is that she's not just a powerful being. She was a goddess. Her powers came from a higher place."
I rub my face, trying to grasp what he's telling me. "When did you find this out?"
He clears his throat nervously. "I've known it all along. I knew it before I met you. The truth is, Briar, I made a deal with your father because I wanted Lux's descendent. I needed Lux's descendent."
A lump forms in my throat, and my eyes burn as I force back the tears. I'm hurt, having fallen for Kane this whole time, thinking that he was truly looking for a wife. "Is that the only reason that you wanted me?"
His eyes shift down, and he holds his hands clutched in his lap. "It was. I never imagined that…"
He stops speaking as I turn my head away, pressing my lips together, trying not to cry. I take in a deep breath and remind myself of where I was when I first came to the underworld to marry him. I never had any intention of falling in love with him. I realize this is the moment. If we're going to work through this together, then I need to be honest with him like he was just honest with me.
I catch his eyes, pausing for a moment to settle the nerves wildly dancing in my chest. "Then I have something to confess to you as well. From the moment I came here, I wanted to kill you. In fact, I promised that I would kill you. When it didn't happen right away, it didn't deter me. I was planning on it through our entire journey to Drogaem's tomb, but every time I had the chance, I lost my courage. Willem knew, and he wanted me to kill you as well."
His face doesn't change, though I know that deep down that hurt him. He isn't angry, but he isn't emotional at all, either. There's an awkward air around us, and I turn back, this time further away from him, leaning my back against the bed. My truth stings him just as his truth does to me. Since the moment we became destined for each other, we've gone through trials and tribulations that I never saw coming. We haven't had time
