Page 108 of The Reaping Rose

With a groan, I quicken my pace, but Atlas does the same, keeping up.

He never answers my question about the other side of his necklace, and I no longer care. Getting to know him is pointless when I have no desire to become friends. I don’t know why I bother.

My nerves are on edge with how quiet the forest is today. Not a stir of a bird or the breeze. Yet I feel something watching us.

“I was sorry to hear about your parents as well,” Atlas says, finally cutting through the silence after we’ve been walking for a while. “They were kind.”

“How did you know them?”

“They came to Vaelier often. I assumed after what happened in the Ley Court—” He pauses, shifting his weight as I slow my steps. “Wilder didn’t say anything to you?”

“What could Wilder possibly have to say about my parents?”

And why is my stomach jumping to my throat at his implication?

Atlas scratches the back of his neck, pausing on the trail. “Your parents were close with my father—with the queen. I remember them mentioning once they had a daughter, but I didn’t know who.”

I freeze in my tracks. “You met my parents before the Collision?”

“After. Like I said, they were close with⁠—”

“No.” I shake my head, stepping back. “They couldn’t have been close with your queen or your father after the Collision. Our realms were already battling. They were only there to spy on you—on our enemies.”

He opens his mouth, pauses, and snaps it shut again. His eyes search mine like he doesn’t know what to say.

“My parents were loyal to their king. They wouldn’t have associated with Vaelier after tensions started. They weren’t traitors.”

“That’s not how it was.” Atlas shakes his head. “They understood there was more going on than just the Well. They knew Malachi was hiding things⁠—”

“They didn’t betray their kingdom.” I cut him off. “They didn’t deserve what he did to them.”

Tears prick the corners of my eyes as my voice catches.

“Greer, I didn’t say that.”

“Don’t.” I step away when Atlas reaches for me, and he holds his hands up in surrender.

“I don’t know what your parents were fighting for other than they wanted something better than what the realms were becoming. They thought we could do it differently. I’m not saying they were traitors. I’m just saying they wanted to help.”

No, what he’s saying is that they were helping the enemy. That they were colluding with Vaelier’s queen, which would have given Malachi the right to murder them. Atlas is saying my parents earned their deaths.

Anger is a living, breathing thing inside me as I storm away. Maybe I should make good on my promise to Atlas and unsheathe my sword to end this forced cooperation. But I can’t. My fingers clench, but I can’t do anything except swallow this rage.

My parents were spies for their kingdom. They shared the secrets they learned. They did what they were asked. They wouldn’t have worked with Queen Delayna.

Unless there’s more they didn’t tell me. More I’ll never know now that they’re gone.

I rub the scar that cuts through my eyebrow, and I swear it burns as hot as it did the day I got it.

What have I been fighting for?

Who have I been fighting for?

Before I can fall too deeply into that thought, a rustle in the trees comes from my right.

I barely have time to process what is happening when a creature pounces out. It’s a panther, but its fangs are so long they don’t fit in its mouth. Its cold blue eyes set on me as it rushes forward.

I never hesitate.