Starkeeper of the Fractured Crown

“No, we don’t, Mom already said all the things you were supposed to say, and I need to pack.”

I fell to my knees in front of him, sliding my hands over either side of his legs, trying to catch his gaze. “I’m sorry.”

He ignored me, picking a spot on the other side of the room to glare.

I swallowed, throat swollen shut, eyes filled with tears. “Little fox, please.”

Big tears slid down his cheeks. “Mom said you don’t want me anymore. That you’d rather send me to the High King then see me again.”

I hated her. I hated her so much, part of me begged me to call Trick. Pleaded me to do so. “She lied,” I whispered, my voice thick. “I love you. I love you more than Ket, more than writing, more than dragons.”

Mark’s glare softened a bit at that, his eyes flicking to mine. “More than dragons?”

I nodded, feeling the tears fall down my own face. “Way more than dragons, I promise.”

He wiped his cheeks, taking in my face. “Why are you crying? You’re Kyra, you don’t cry.”

And after this moment, he would believe that until the last beat of my heart. “Because you thought I didn’t love you.”

He frowned. “I thought you didn’t want me. I never thought you didn’t love me. Different words, different meanings. Shouldn’t you know that for your books?” His eyes narrowed. “Are your books even good?”

I laughed, wiping my cheeks. “I think so. I hope so.” I searched his eyes, his tears already drying up. Thank the gods. “Mark, I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I didn’t know how.”

“You just tell me that I have to move in with the High King,” he replied, frowning. “Doesn’t seem that hard.”

I sniffed, shaking my head. “No, no I guess it doesn’t. I’m sorry. I talked to a warlock today, and he gave me some good advice,” I went on as he straightened. “I was coming here to tell you the truth about everything. To tell you that you would be okay, that I would still fight for you, even if I wasn’twith you.” Because it was the best option, in the end. Better than him being hunted. I couldn’t protect him from the witches. I couldn’t protect him from the High King. All I could do was hope that letting him go would save him.

Mark’s eyes were wide, not a tear to be seen. “Where did you meet a warlock?” He gasped, leaning over. “You have to tell him to run. You have to save him like you save everyone.”

“Who have I saved?”I wanted to ask, but kept my mouth shut. “He’s safe, I promise. I met him somewhere secret. Somewhere nobody else knows about. Nobody except for Ket and the Fallen General.”

“Ket? You’ve had this secret for longer than I’ve been alive?”

I nodded, reaching up to flick his hair out of his eyes. “I’ve had this secret since I was 9, and now it’s your secret, and one day I’ll take you there to visit, but for now, this is all you get to know, okay?”

His shoulders fell, his lip poking out. “Because I’m not a good secret-keeper.”

I smiled, sniffing. Gods, he was so cute. “You are thebestsecret-keeper I know, little fox, but you’re going to be living in the castle soon, and even though I know you would never tell anyone in the castle our secrets, I worry…I worry they’ll get them anyway.”

Worry filled his eyes. “How?”

I sucked in my lips and leaned back onto the heels of my feet. “What did mom tell you exactly?” She couldn’t have known there were witches there too, could she? Maybe she did. She and Raphael had had a son together. She had to have known.

He thought back. “She told me that Raphael was my dad and he wanted me and her to move in with him so we could be a real family.”

Ouch. “And what do you think about that?” I didn’t want to scare him, but he had to know, didn’t he? It was the right thing to do, right?

“Well, I don’t want to go,” he replied with a shrug. “I’d rather live in this place with you then some castle with a guy who kills our friends.”

Our friends. Nightwalkers, Fallen, and human alike. Our friends. “Even if it’s what’s best for you?”

“I don’t know much about a lot, but I do know that you’re my sister, and staying with you is best for my heart. Isn’t that more important than my well-being.”

Gods, he was going to make me cry again. “It’s important to be healthy.”

“It’s important to be loved,” he countered. “And to feel loved. I feel loved by you, not because you give me presents, but because you’re tired all the time, and you still go out to get us food. How can you be healthy if you don’t feel loved?”

My bottom lip trembled, eyes filling. “I don’t know, little fox.”