Page 48 of Dawn of Hope
“Will you let me finish explaining before you cut me off again?”
“No guarantees,” I say icily, not ready to jump in and trust him, only to humiliate me some more.
His jaw clenches as he continues to look at me, but not speak.
I wait silently. I want to hear what he has to say, what sort of excuse or explanation he is going to give me now that I am clearly upset at the ruse.
“You did call me tonight. I am truly the Guardian of Dawnlin, and my name is really Dane. No, there is no sister, but I lied for good reason.”
I open my mouth to speak, but he holds a hand up, halting me. I close my mouth again and cross my arms, mimicking his stance and showing my impatience.
He laces his arm back in and continues. “I sometimes visit the areas near the fountains. It helps me notice if I’m going to be called soon. If I find someone who is looking, I try to speak to them, so they aren’t frightened when I appear behind them.”
He gestures to his body, causing me to trail my eyes over him. He is a very large man, and I admit if I hadn’t met him before, I would have been scared to go with him, no matter how attractive he turned out to be. Hell, I pulled my dagger on him. Clearly, I was even surprised at first.
“I use the story that I have an ill sister so that there is reason for me to be around the information, around the healers. Near the fountain, getting to know the people who may need it. That is all. It wasn’t a lie to trick you.”
“Why did you bring it up to me? How did you know I was looking for it? I told you I was studying to be a healer.”
He shoots me a pointed look.
“I warned you I probably was going to interrupt.”
“I brought it up because I’d hoped that you would figure it out. You seemed very determined, and like someone who needed Dawnlin.”
“But why would a healer need Dawnlin?”
“She wouldn’t, but you aren’t as convincing of a liar as you think you are.”
Heat fills my cheeks. Hopefully, it was only Dane that saw through my lies and not everyone I lied to.
“Do you bring it up to everyone you meet?”
“No. I don’t.”
“Why me then?”
“I wasn’t supposed to, but let’s just say that I couldn’t resist. I wanted you to need me.” He breaks my gaze and looks down at his feet.
My fingertips start to tingle and my chest swells at his words. He wanted me to need him. No one has ever wanted me to do or be anything to them before. Maybe our time together had been real after all. At least, maybe it wasn’t just to help me find Dawnlin.
“What else did you lie about.” It is a statement more than a question. I need to know.
His eyes rise to meet mine. “Nothing, I swear. I just couldn’t tell you who I was or the reason I was there. Everything else was real, Addy, I swear.”
It was my turn to look down at my feet.
“What?” he chuckles nervously.
“Well…” I start. “In the spirit of honesty, I should probably tell you that Addy isn’t my real name.” I glance up to read his face. Maybe I wasn’t as bad of a liar as he thought if he didn’t figure out that wasn’t my name.
The sides of his lips quirk slightly. “Oh really? And you were so quick to lecture me on being dishonest. Maybe I should be the one not trusting you.”
I roll my eyes. I have every right to be mad. My name was a much smaller scale lie than being the gatekeeper to a mysterious magical land that no one knows how to find.
“My name isn’t important, but you might as well know the truth. I’m Lennox.”
His face breaks into a smile that reaches his eyes. “Nice to meet you, Lennox.” He nods his head toward me but doesn’t bow.