He turned to leave, and she knew she needed to let him get some rest. They all needed it. But she had one question she desperately wanted the answer to. One she needed to know before she met King Vesstan.

“Jaeros?”

He turned back, his brows raised. “Yes?”

“Did my fa—did King Vesstan know? That I wasn’t dead, I mean. Was he the one who asked you to send me away? Did he make you lie?”

She felt Jaren’s hand lock around hers as his father stared hard at her. It was an unfair question to ask him in front of Jaren, but they both deserved to know before tomorrow. She needed to know if her father had ordered them to make the choice, or if they’d chosen on their own to lie to everyone. She squeezed Jaren’s hand back, hoping for his sake, it was the first.

Jaeros’s lips tightened, and for a second she thought he’d refuse to answer, but then he closed his eyes and shook his head. “No, Veralie, he didn’t know.”

The pain that shot through Jaren nearly sent her to her knees. She sucked in a shaky breath, wondering how he was standing so stoic when his insides were anything but.

None of it made sense. Why would they have done that to their son? She could see Jaeros’s love for his son clear as day in his eyes. There had to have been a reason. But Jaeros said nothing else. He just looked at Jaren with an almost crippling sadness before walking out and shutting the door behind him.

JAREN

They’d never told him.

All these years, all this time, he’d believed King Vesstan had personally assigned him scouting duties on Aleron as a form of penance for his part in Veralie’s death. His fathers might not have ever said it, but they had to have known it’s what he assumed. Just more deceit to add to their ever-growing pile.

The hatred he felt was heavy and bitter, and if it weren’t for the warmth of Veralie’s presence, he wasn’t sure what he might be capable of, to them or anyone else. Their betrayal cut all the way to his soul, slashing his ability to trust and ripping it out with apparent fucking glee.

He thought he had a handle on it, thought he could lock it all away like he’d always done, so Veralie would have the opportunity to find out what she needed. But for the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. Tomorrow would be the most important day of Veralie’s life, but he feared, for him, it might be the one to break him completely.

“Why don’t you check out the other room? I’ll be all right.”

He froze, his muddled brain taking a moment to realize what Veralie had just said. Slowly turning to face her, he narrowed his eyes and stalked toward her, giving her every chance to take it back. But she didn’t.