The Gifted Heart (Marks of Inheritance: The Orkeia Cycle #1)

17. Under the Rain

Chapter seventeen

Under the Rain

A bigail sat stunned on the end of my bed.

“You’re a witch?” she whispered for the fifth time.

“Yes,” I said. But even as I said it, I wasn’t entirely sure. I had never heard of a white witch being able to heal physical injuries before. That was something that was usually associated with green healing magic. My mind spun with confusion as I tried to rationalize what had happened with everything I knew. But for now, at least, the primary concern was keeping Abi calm.

Her voice shook. “And…the thing that attacked you was…a demon?”

“Yes.”

“Will it come back?” she asked, trembling.

“I don’t think it can anymore,” I said with a heavy breath of my own, slowly sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. “I—I think I managed to banish it back to the Land of the Lost…somehow.”

“Using…using your magic?” she said, still sounding afraid to say the word out loud.

I nodded, a knot forming in my throat. “Yes. Abi, magic—magic itself isn’t good or bad. It’s—sometimes people use it for evil, but most—the majority of us—we see our powers as Gifts. And I—I mean, could I really have banished a demon if my own powers were evil? ”

She stared at the blood-stained dress on the floor, her hands still trembling in her lap. I covered them with my own, even though I was definitely still shaken myself.

“What about the mark?” she asked after a long silence. “You don’t have one.”

“Yes, I do,” I admitted quietly.

She slowly raised her eyes to look at me with a confused frown. I lifted my underdress just high enough to reveal the clearly defined heart on my skin, and a gasp escaped her lips.

“What does it mean?” she breathed.

“It means—” I hesitated. “Well, most people think it means I’m a white witch.”

She raised her eyebrows. “There are different types of witches?”

I did my best to explain the different branches of magic. The more I talked, the more Abi’s shoulders slowly—very slowly—began to relax. She started to ask questions, and as the conversation continued her eagerness to understand grew.

“So the magic holders—sorry, the Gifted—that you were with were good people?”

“The best,” I responded with a pained smile.

She clearly had more questions, but now that both of us were no longer shaking uncontrollably, she set them aside as she looked with concern at the blood still covering my skin.

“Let me draw you a bath,” she said, standing.

I frowned a bit, standing with her. Usually, two or three maids would work together to set up a bath for me, and the last thing I wanted was for someone else to walk in on the scene of my room covered in blood. I was about to express my concerns, but then Abi continued to speak.

“I’ll get rid of the sheets and dress,” she said, gathering up any fabric that was stained with blood. “While I get help to prepare the bath, you can hide in the wardrobe so no one sees you and asks any questions.”

I watched her for a moment. My eyes started to sting, and I realized it was because they were filling with tears. Abi didn’t notice, focused on stripping the bed. The tears continued to build up with my emotions until I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I threw my arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug, letting out a shaky breath. She dropped the sheets as I did, and after just a moment of surprise she returned the embrace, holding on to me just as tightly. It was the warmest hug I’d ever felt.

“Thank you,” I said into her shoulder through a choked voice.

She somehow squeezed me even tighter. “I’m so sorry,” she breathed out.

Slowly, I pulled back from her, my eyebrows furrowed. “For what?”

Her eyes were on the ground. “All this time, I thought magic was just evil. I mean, my father was killed by a sorcerer, and so were the king and queen, so I just assumed—”

“It’s all right,” I said quickly. “I don’t blame you. I’m just glad you trust me enough to see the truth. Hopefully Kiernan will as well.”

Her eyes shot up to meet mine and her jaw dropped. “You’re going to tell him ?”

The silence was deafening. You would have thought the king had just told her he was actually a sorcerer.

“I won’t have much choice if I marry him, will I?” I said a little awkwardly.

“ What? ”

Just hours before, she had been eager to encourage my relationship with the king, and disappointed when I expressed that I had reservations. Now, she looked absolutely appalled at the thought.

“How could you even consider marrying him?” she blurted out. “The king will never understand, Kenna, he’ll kill you as soon as he knows!”

I frowned. “I don’t think so. I think he would listen—”

She began to pace the room, ignoring me. “You need to run, before anyone suspects anything. There are a few passageways out of the castle. I could get you out, my brothers could meet you in the city and help you leave—”

“Abi, stop!” I half-yelled, putting my hands on her shoulders to stop her pacing and force her to look at me. “Please, I just—I have to do this. If there’s any chance he’ll listen, if there’s a chance I can help the rest of the Gifted and stop all this bloodshed—”

A knot caught in my throat. “These people are my family, and they’re dying,” I finished in a whisper. Abi’s lips tightened into a concerned frown, but after a few minutes her expression softened with understanding.

“All right…if you’re sure,” she muttered.

I pulled her into another hug. She once again held me tightly, and I felt her sigh as she did. When we parted this time, there was a gentle, concerned smile on her lips.

“Now…I really should get you a bath at least,” she said, attempting a bit of a teasing tone. “Try not to get blood on any of the other dresses, I don’t want to have to come up with an excuse to the tailor for replacing your entire wardrobe.”

I chuckled, the laughter cathartic after the ordeal we’d both just been through. Abi chuckled as well and gathered up the sheets once more, placing the dress inside of them and carefully folding it to hide the stains. As I watched her leave the room, I felt lighter than I had in months. Whatever happened with Kiernan, I had changed the mind of at least one person.

***

I hid in the wardrobe like Abi had suggested when I heard her approaching with two other maids. When the bath was in place and the others had left, she stayed to help me scrub the blood from my skin. Since she knew about my Gift now, I didn’t insist on the privacy that I normally had to in order to hide my mark. Both of us kept examining my healed skin with wonder.

“Can you heal others, too?” Abi asked, her voice filled with wonder.

“I actually didn’t even know I could do that until today,” I admitted. “It’s not something white witches can usually do. I’ve never heard of it before, at least.”

She stopped scrubbing my arm and leaned over the edge of the tub a little to see my face better. “You didn’t know ? ”

“No,” I said with a sigh. “I mean, Gid seemed to think I might be a sorcerer after all, but I had just never had any evidence for that.”

“Who’s Gid?” she asked immediately. “And what’s the difference between sorcerers and witches?”

This led into another endless set of questions. I did my best to answer all of them, and despite the macabre image of the pink bath water from the blood, the atmosphere in the room felt much lighter than before. She was very curious about what life was like with the Grison clan, and though I avoided talking too much about Neal, the twinkle in her eyes told me she could tell there was a history there. When she tried to prod for more details, I quickly changed the subject. It was too hard to think about him with everything I’d overheard Kiernan say to Lewin echoing in my mind. For the most part, I tried to move the conversation away from the people I missed so much and instead explain how magic worked the best I could.

“And you’re sure this demon isn’t coming back?” she asked with a frown as I dried off.

“I…can’t be sure ,” I admitted a little hesitantly. “But for a moment, I thought—well, it almost felt like I was experiencing what it was experiencing, being dragged down into the Lost One’s pit.”

“How did it get here?”

I shook my head, wrapping the towel tighter around me. “I don’t know. I’ve never really studied the dark side of spirit magic, but I always thought they had to be summoned by a white witch or sorcerer in order to escape the Land of the Lost. But I don’t know who, when, or how it would have been brought here, or why it targeted me specifically.”

“Could it have been summoned by Pious?”

“Maybe,” I muttered. “But if it’s been in the castle since he had power, wouldn’t it have attacked someone else in all that time?”

We both were quiet as we considered the possibilities, but ultimately, Abi knew even less than I did. There was a sinking feeling in my stomach as I considered the three attacks, and especially the fact that the third and worst of them had taken place in the middle of the afternoon. I found it hard to believe that they were random, but if they weren’t, that meant there was someone else at the castle secretly practicing magic—someone who wanted me out of the way.

Since speculating wouldn’t get us anywhere, we let the subject drop, and Abi returned to questioning me about my clan and magic in general. It was such a relief to have someone to talk to so freely, and for the first time in months I felt like I could truly be myself. Soon enough, the sun had completely set, but our conversation likely would have continued well into the night if it hadn’t been for a sudden knock on my door.

We both jumped and exchanged a surprised glance. As I quickly pulled on a robe over my nightgown, Abi crossed the room to open the door. I thought of the conversation we overheard between Kiernan and Lewin, and I felt my breath catch in my throat remembering how eager Kiernan had seemed to speak to me. If this was him, I was even more unprepared for that conversation now than I had been earlier that afternoon.

Abi opened the door, and from where I stood I couldn’t immediately see past her into the hall. She curtsied, lowering her gaze.

“Good evening, Sir Balton,” she said. “May I help you?”

I closed my eyes and let out a relieved breath.

“I need to speak to Lady Kenna in private, please,” he said from the other side of the doorway. I couldn’t see his face at the moment, but his tone was almost monotonous, something that I had learned was a clear sign that he was troubled.

“Of course, Sir,” Abi said with another curtsy. She shot me a glance as she straightened, her eyebrows slightly raised, but didn’t say anything else as she left the room, the door hanging open behind her. My father quickly stepped through it, and the conclusion I’d come to while listening to his voice was mirrored in his expression. His lips were pressed tightly together, his jaw set and his brow furrowed with concern.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as he closed the door behind him. For a brief moment I thought he somehow knew about the demon attack, or that I’d revealed my mark to Abi, but he couldn’t possibly have knowledge of the events of the afternoon without Abi or myself having told him directly.

“There’s something you need to know, Kenna,” he said, the concern in his eyes deepening as he spoke. “The king approached me this evening. He asked for your hand in marriage.”

I bit the inside of my lip, pulling the robe tighter around myself. “What did you say?”

“I said yes, of course,” he said, but his tone was still the troubled monotonous tone.

“So you approve?” I asked quietly.

The concern in his expression shifted to a flash of surprise, and even possibly anger. “Of course not.”

“Then why did you—?”

“Refusing such a request from the king would arouse suspicion,” he said firmly. “Which is why you need to dissuade him from the idea. Stop spending time with him. Come up with excuses. Make yourself absent for meals. Do whatever you need to do to lessen his affections for you short of making an intentional offense.”

My fingers curled against the fabric of the robe, and I straightened slightly, attempting to look more confident than I felt.

“No.”

He raised his eyebrows. “No?”

“I won’t dissuade him,” I said, my voice softer than I meant it to be.

“Please don’t tell me you return his affections,” he said, his jaw tightening.

My cheeks warmed. “He’s a good man—”

“In case you’ve forgotten, you’re a witch , Kenna!” my father whispered harshly, looking around as if someone would hear. “Once the king learns the truth, there will be no more compliments, no more presents. You’ll be hanged in front of the entire kingdom.”

I sighed, and my lips quivered. Before I could find the words to explain myself to him, he let out a grunt of frustration and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

“You were right,” he muttered. “We should never have stayed here. ”

“I was wrong,” I said, taking a step towards him. “You yourself told me that Lewin was the one who convinced him to start the Slaughters. He’s not bloodthirsty and out for revenge. He just wants to protect the people, and he doesn’t understand—”

“You can’t be sure of any of that, Kenna,” he said, struggling not to raise his voice. “I know he’s a charming man, but don’t let that overrule your better judgment.”

“My judgment is just fine,” I said, setting my own jaw as frustration began to take hold.

His eyes narrowed. “We’re leaving in the morning,” he said with finality.

I crossed my arms defiantly. “You can leave if you want—I’m staying.”

“ Kenna —”

“If there is even the slightest chance that I can convince him to stop this war, I have to take it!” I snapped. “Isn’t that what my mother would do?”

His eyes softened, those words clearly striking a cord. Slowly, he stepped towards me, sighing as he pulled me into a strong hug, one of his hands resting on the back of my head. I forced my shoulders to relax, sighing as I leaned my head against his shoulder.

“You’re just like her,” he muttered in my ear, his voice cracking. His hold on me tightened slightly and his chest shook against me with his heavy breath. “Kenna…I can’t bear the thought of losing you, too.”

I shook my head, his beard scratching my cheek. “You won’t lose me.”

He pulled back from the embrace to place his hands on my shoulders. His eyes were watery as he gave me a very stern look. “Listen to what you’re saying. This is the man who killed your clan, who ordered your death. His father executed your mother.”

“He’s not his father,” I said firmly. “Kiernan’s different. He will accept me, I know it.”

“He’s lived his whole life believing the Gifted are evil,” he said, desperately trying to convince me to reconsider. “How do you think you’re going to change that?”

“Didn’t you say that once you’d gotten to know Arabella you couldn’t believe magic was evil?” I asked in place of a direct answer .

At that, he pressed his lips tighter together and slowly let his hands fall to his sides, his gaze dropping to the ground as he became lost in thought. I uncrossed my arms and reached for one of his hands, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Trust me,” I pleaded.

He shut his eyes tightly, gripping my hand. After what felt like an eternity of silence, he gave a very reluctant nod.

“Promise me that at the first sign that he’s not going to accept you, you run as fast and as far as you can,” he said firmly, opening his eyes to meet mine in earnest. “With or without me. Go to Northtown, find the Dreys. They’re good friends, they’ll get you out of the city and to safety.”

“I’ll be fine,” I reassured him.

“Just promise me,” he said, and I saw a few of the tears that had been welling up escape his eyes.

“All right…I promise.”

He kissed my forehead lovingly, his hands returning to my shoulders. He lingered in that position for a very long moment, clearly reluctant to leave. But eventually, he did make his way to the door and bid me goodnight.

When I was finally alone, the muscles in my body began to buckle. I was overcome with exhaustion, both emotional and physical. Letting the robe fall from my shoulders, I moved to the bed. Briefly, I considered reaching for Kindra’s book, but the moment I sat on the mattress I knew that any further efforts to remain awake would be in vain. It had been a long, trying day, and in my last moments of consciousness as my head hit the pillow, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the next day would be just as eventful in its own way.

***

The routine of the day was the same, but it felt vastly different. I was more comfortable with Abi than I had ever been, but the thought of seeing Kiernan at dinner made me increasingly nervous. He had sent a request that I dine privately with him that evening, and I had no doubt that he intended to confess his love to me. The problem was, however determined I was to go through with this, and however much I did care about him, I still wasn’t entirely sure how I would respond. I wanted to say it back, truly, but I wanted to be sure that I meant it when I did.

I was barely able to focus during my lessons, a fact which Miss Grayson was quick to point out. Right around lunch time, she pushed a stack of papers under my nose, slamming the table as she did. “You’re supposed to be reading the history of the kings,” she said as I jerked my head up from where I’d been staring at my hands in my lap. “Honestly, what has gotten into you today, Kenna?”

I sighed. “I’ve just been thinking.”

“Which is not part of your lessons,” she said, only somewhat sarcastically. “Now, repeat to me the Frewin family genealogy, starting with Kiernan.”

Our lessons ended early that afternoon to give Abi more time to prepare me for dinner with the king. With much persuasion, she let me wear my hair down. All she did was braid two strands and bring them together in the back, letting everything else fall naturally. As we both stared at my reflection in the mirror, she let out a breath, a small frown forming on her lips.

“Are you sure about going through with this, Kenna?” she whispered. “He could propose to you tonight. You need to be ready with a response.”

My stomach filled with butterflies, but I nodded. “I’m sure.”

But despite my words, deep down, I hoped I didn’t have to give that answer tonight. I was mentally ready for his declaration of love, but not an official proposal. Not yet.

The walk to the king’s rooms felt even longer than usual, the echo of my footsteps in the halls almost deafening. Abi accompanied me to the door, curtsying as was expected when she turned to leave. She flashed me an encouraging smile when her back was to the other servants, and I returned, albeit a bit shakily .

“Right this way, Lady Kenna,” said the servant who’d opened the door, bowing deeply.

I still paused when I entered the beautiful sitting room, but not in awe this time. If what Kiernan said was true, if he really loved me, this room would be mine. All of these rooms would be mine. I would live here by his side, aiding him as he ruled the kingdom that I’d been hiding from for my whole life. I had to catch my breath before I could enter the dining area.

Kiernan stood, not waiting for his servant to announce me. “Kenna! I hope you’re well?”

“Very well, thank you,” I said, allowing him to kiss my hand like always. The feeling of his lips on the back of my hand sent a shiver up through my arm, prompting my cheeks to flush. His eyes met mine as he straightened, their deep blue color shining. He pulled out a chair from the table for me to sit, which was good timing as I felt my knees about to buckle. I closed my eyes as he took his seat and discreetly let out a breath, desperately trying to control my nerves.

The dinner was excellent, as always. We ate much slower than usual. Kiernan was awfully talkative and, despite my nerves, the conversation felt natural and unburdened. He asked how my lessons with ‘the old crab’ were going, and I couldn’t help but chuckle, even with the rich pudding in my mouth. The more we talked, the more my shoulders relaxed. I found myself tracing his jawline with my eyes, reflecting once again on how handsome he was.

When the table had been cleared, we strolled outside onto the towers, enjoying the view on both sides. My heart started to beat a bit faster as I stared out towards the sea, watching the waves rise higher as clouds began to roll in. It looked like it was going to rain, but neither of us seemed intent to move back inside, at least not immediately. After a moment, Kiernan cleared his throat, and I turned to face him.

“I wanted to give you something,” he said, shifting his feet with an uncharacteristic show of nerves. From his pocket, he withdrew a small pouch and gently placed it in my hand .

“The last time I brought you here to give you a gift, I was misguided,” he said slowly, as if he had thought about and rehearsed what to say many, many times. “I can’t change that, but I wanted to make it up to you somehow.”

His eyes were locked on my face as I pulled the string to open the pouch. Inside was an emerald pendant. I caught my breath as I carefully lifted it, looking at the thin silver casing around the gem. So much of what I had been adorned with at the castle was elaborate and complicated in its design. By contrast, this was elegant and simple, and much more akin to something I would choose for myself than what I seemed expected to wear as a member of the court.

“I had it commissioned a few weeks ago and have been waiting for the right time to give it to you,” he said, almost as if to fill the silence and calm his own nerves. “I hope it’s to your liking.”

“It’s perfect,” I said breathlessly, looking back up at him.

Kiernan beamed, taking the pendant from me and clasping it around my neck. As his fingers brushed against my skin, thunder sounded overhead, and rain began to fall, but neither of us moved.

Tenderly, he reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear, his hand lingering on my cheek. I closed my eyes, my lips parting with a shaky breath. I felt his other hand on the small of my back, and my heart skipped a beat as he gently pulled me against his chest.

“I love you, Kenna,” he breathed against my ear.

Before I had time to even think, his lips were on mine. Instinctively, I returned the kiss, my heart pounding against my chest as I lifted my arms to wrap them around his shoulders. His hand on my cheek moved to the back of my head, his fingers slowly entangling in my hair as he deepened the kiss. I held him tighter, shivering both inwardly and outwardly as the rain began to fall in earnest. Still, neither of us moved.

Eventually, he pulled back just enough to take a breath, pressing his forehead against mine. Our grips loosened around each other, but neither of us completely let go. I was breathing heavily as we stood there, water running down my arms. Both of us were completely soaked.

I didn’t care. With that kiss, all doubt and uncertainty had melted away.

“I love you too, Kiernan.”