Page 118 of Scourged

With a jolt, she realized he was no longer beside her. She pulled Kodie to a halt, twisting in her saddle. A few paces behind, he’d frozen on his horse, his face fixed in an expression of utter disgust and horror.

“What?” She glanced around, alarmed, which seemed to spark a reaction. He nudged his horse forward, the stallion quickly catching back up to her and Kodie.

“I’m … just …” He groaned, again running his hands through his hair. He sighed heavily, eyes lifting to the sky. “I’m sorry,” he finally said. “That was a dick thing to say. You were only curious.”

Mariah’s mouth popped open.

“Are youapologizingfor being an asshole?”

His eyes met hers. “… Yes?”

“Wow,” she said, turning back around. “Maybe Enfara truly has frozen over.”

They rode in silence for a few more minutes, kept company only by the sound of their horses’ hooves and the crowd around them.

“That’s really what you think of me, isn’t it?” Andrian’s voice was soft, but just loud enough to be heard over the din.

Her brow furrowed. “What is?”

She felt more than saw him tense beside her. “An ass. Foul-tempered.” He paused. “Someone who hurt you.” His last words were almost a whisper.

It was her turn to pull Kodie to a sudden stop, her glare turning to ice. He wheeled his stallion around to face her, his face unbelievably open.

Raw.

Vulnerable.

With that look, something in her chest cracked wide open.

“Look, Mariah,” he murmured fervently, pulling his horse beside Kodie. “I know. Iknowthat you can’t forgive me for what I’ve done.”

“Andrian,” she whispered.

“You have to hear me. I swear. To the goddess, to the stars. Fuck, toyou. It wasn’t me. And I’m just as committed as you are to finding out why the fuck all this is happening, why they are so desperate to end you and your reign.”

“Andrian,” she said a bit more forcefully.

“What do you want from me?” Desperation creeped into his voice, a wild gleam in his eyes. “Do you want me to get on my fucking knees for you? Do you want me tobegfor your forgiveness? Because, fuck, Mariah, for you … I would. I would do anything?—”

“Andrian.” This time, she nearly shouted above the crowd, her voice crackling with a touch of the raw magic in her veins.

He leaned back, blinking as if shaking himself from a daze. She grabbed his horse’s reins and pulled them closer, their thighs pressing together.

When they touched, she swore the ground beneath her feet shook, that the heavens above opened, and lightning crackled across the sky. His eyes widened, but she refused to break his stare.

“I don’t want you to beg for my forgiveness,” she hissed, her voice soft but she knew it carried. Knew he heard it. “There isnothingto forgive. I know it wasn’t you. I know you were just as trapped as I was.” She drew in a deep breath, dropping his reins,but he remained against her side. Even their horses stood skin to skin, ears tilted back as they listened to their riders.

“I want you to beg for something I gave away all too willingly before.” She watched the confusion fill his eyes, before she leaned in further, just a touch.

“I want you to beg for mytrust.”

She pressed her heels to Kodie’s side, trotting off down the busy street after Sebastian and the captain, leaving Andrian with an expression of wicked determination—and wild hunger—on his face.

The building was dilapidated,a corner of the roof caving in. Moss and vines crawled up the front, and most of the windows were boarded up or shuttered in.

Mariah stared dubiously at the crumbling brick. “Are you sure this is where the call came from?”

“Yes, my queen. And I’m sure that’s exactly what the guardsmen who responded to this call said when they arrived that night.”