My Darkest Shadow

Chapter 43

Knowing Kael's secret, that he would die at the end of all this, validated the gut feeling that had brought me back to England. There had been a sense of panic, a feeling that if he continued on his current trajectory, something terrible would happen. Squeezing my eyes shut, a tear escaped from the corner of my eye. And it seemed I'd been right. Why was I losing everyone? Why did I have to care so much?

"Harper?" Garrett knocked softly on the door.

Looking up from my crossed legs, I called for him to come in. Once the fight had stopped, Kael dragged me upstairs and shoved me into this room. Blindly, I had climbed up on the high bed without even glancing at the space.

As Garrett came in, I took in the Victorian decor, carved wood and blush pinks from an era long gone. Some of the larger pieces were covered in sheets as if the house had been closed for ages. Perhaps the Egyptian cotton I sat on now was more for protection than actual use as bed linen. Underneath, the complex pattern of the coverlet shown through in reds and pinks.

I shifted so Garrett could sit beside me, and my eyes caught redness around my wrist. Right where his hand had caught my fist, the skin was irritated but not broken. In my mind's eye, Kael's hazel eyes locked on me, full of meaning yet unreadable at the same time.

"You were crying," Garrett observed softly. His thumb wiped a tear from my cheek. "I'm sorry about this, Harper. You have no idea how sorry."

Still looking down, I nodded. He sounded sincere, but his kind words didn't make me any less nauseated.

I needed to focus on something else, push these emotions far inside me. My injured hand throbbed more than ever. Something was wrong. Slowly, I began to pick off the white bandage.

"You saved my life, you know." My voice was soft. "Getting Kael wouldn't have been easy for you, but it's the reason I escaped, Gar."

My thanks was lost on Garrett. He noticed my hand. "What's this?"

With him helping, we unwrapped it quickly, revealing a red, swollen palm. Small slices dotted its surface where the splinters of wood had been removed. Garrett was horrified, babbling about the atrocities of my capture, but I ignored him, studying the spot that hurt the most. A small slice of wood was wedged in the midst of my palm. Kael probably missed it because it was thrust diagonally with the smallest dot exposed at the surface.

"Here let me." Garrett took my hand.

His fumbling tries with sausage-like fingers only hurt more. After two unsuccessful attempts, I tucked my hand away with a promise to revisit it later.

"What are you going to do now?" he asked. His thumb gently stroked my hand. "Kael says you have to go home. To be honest, I think he's right, even though I'd usually want to stick around for the story." He half smiled at me.

Nodding, I looked down. Again, I appreciated him trying to support me, but the truth was a twisting knife in my gut.

Garrett went on, "But maybe first go talk to him." I looked up, surprised. Garrett shrugged. "Yeah. I think you should try to talk some sense into him. It's not like you could make the situation worse."

"Make what situation worse?" Arthur's voice came from the doorway.

Standing by the door, he looked pensively between us. He'd see what a mess I was without even speaking to me. Like Kael, he had a knack for reading me.

He asked, "Garrett could you give us a minute?"

When Garrett frowned, I mustered a weak smile of encouragement. His concern was justified. After all, none of us knew what to make of Arthur since he'd confessed to being Kael's father.