Page 47 of Dawn of Hope
I nod. “Yes, it is.”
“Are you prepared to depart now?” His deep voice rolls over the words, the rumble sends a small shiver up my spine. It feels familiar, yetnot. I wonder if that is part of the magic, that the Guardian helps ease any doubts or fears, so you follow him. Brynne would expect me to keep a healthy dose of skepticism, but my excitement overpowers it.
I nod again. “Yes. That’s it? I just trust you and you’ll take me to Dawnlin?”
“Hope and trust are two of the tenets of Dawnlin, so yes, Addy, you will need to trust me.”
“Where do we go fr?—”
I stop short, my gaze snapping up to the shadowed face. I narrow my eyes, trying to see past the darkness still hiding him. “How did you know that name?” I breathe.
“Remember what I said.” He pauses. “Hope and trust. You need totrustme. Can you do that?”
I say nothing. I know I need to, but warnings are going off in my mind, and Brynne is yelling at me to retreat.
My body tenses as he reaches up, drawing back his hood and letting it fall behind him. My jaw falls open.
“Dane?”
“Hi Addy.” His voice isn’t the deep growl it was a moment ago, and instead is back to the familiar voice I have come to know over the past few weeks.
I slam my mouth shut, the reality of the situation washing over me. Dane is standing in front of me, claiming to be the Guardian of Dawnlin, and I feel like an idiot.
“Is this some kind of joke to you?” I spit at him, anger overtaking my initial shock. “How did you do it, huh? How did you make the water glow like that? Were you doing some potions research too during all that time in the library? Did you follow me here?”
“No, Addy, I swear I didn’t?—”
I cut him off. I don’t want to hear excuses right now. “Did you have it planned all along to fuck with my head? To plant these stories and get my hopes up and then pull this? Who else knows? Who is watching andlaughing?” I spin around, scanning the alley to see the people I missed hiding in the shadows, spying and laughing at Dane’s little joke, but there is still no one.
“It’s not a joke, Addy.” He reaches forward to grab my shoulders, a pleading look on his face, but I push his arms away.
“Was there even a sister? Was anything you told me true, or was it all a lie?” My voice cracks on the last word, and I clear my throat, trying to rid myself of all the emotion.
I’d trusted him. I was so desperate to make a friend outside of the castle that I fell for his game. He showed me a little attention, laughed with me, touched my hand, and I believed everything he said.
I’m so stupid.
The bitter tears sting my already swollen eyes and I harshly wipe them away with the back of my hand, without breaking my glare at him.
“No, there isn’t a sister, but?—”
“Gah, I can’t believe you!” I throw my hands in the air and spin away from him, setting my sights on the end of the alley. I need to get out of here. Brynne was right. I shouldn’t have left.
Hell, my father was right. I had been alone for so long. I wasn’t ready to be out in the real world. I need to get back to the castle and end this nightmare of a birthday.
He grabs my elbow, whipping me around to face him.
“Will you please listen to me?” he yells.
That shuts me up quickly. I snap my mouth shut and clench my teeth. No one has ever yelled at me before besides my father and Brynne, and I don’t know how to respond.
He should be laughing at my gullibility, not yelling at me. If this was something he planned and plotted to make a lonely castle girl look stupid and hopeful, why was he begging me to listen to him?
I roll my lips together, preventing myself from saying anything more, but my eyes are still full of angry tears.
“Thank you,” he says, releasing me and crossing his arms over hischest. His thick forearms flex as he clenches his fists, and I am slightly taken aback.
He’s serious.