The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles, #1)

by Mary E. Pearson

I will find you … In the farthest corner …

When she fist hearts her love <3

I will find you … In the farthest corner … I will find you.

She heats him<3

In the farthest corner

When she sences their ab to meat XD

I knew I’d never heard it before. But I had.

I was almost hoping it wasn’t her but then when I heard her speak, I knew. I knew by her boldness and temper. I knew by the way she commanded a towering soldier to silence with a few hotly placed, if imprudent, words.

“And maybe I did favor one of them.” Though I wasn’t entirely sure. Finding something intriguing about one of them didn’t necessarily mean I favored him. Still, he had haunted my dreams last night in a strange way. Partial glimpses of his face dissolved and reappeared over and over again like a specter, appearing in shadows of deep forest, walls of crumbling ruins, and his eyes crackling in a fan of flames.

but this morning when I woke, my first thoughts were of him.

“So it’s Rafe.”

The women of the small fishing village painted their homes a bright color so their husbands who went to sea could see their own house from afar and remember that a wife waited for them to return. It was believed to be a way to protect their true love from being lost at sea.

That sounds romantic

“He couldn’t even be bothered to come see me before the wedding,” she sniffed. “He didn’t care who he married. I might as well have been an old broodmare. He’s nothing more than a princely papa’s boy following orders. I could never have a morsel of respect for a man like that.”

he was holding out two delicate garlands, one pink, one lavender. “I think these are like the ones you had?”

bit my lip and then finally whispered a small inadequate thank-you as he placed them in my hands. An awkward moment passed, both of us looking at each other, looking away, and then looking back again.

Bringing me the dropped bundles was one thing, but the effort to find the same garlands to replace the crushed ones still mystified me—especially with the other vile task he’d had to attend to. He was so hard to understand.

If only I had been brave enough to refuse the marriage in the first place, she never would have had to run, she never would have had a knife held to her throat, she never would have had to work at an inn with a slimy lout like Enzo. If I had acted so she didn’t have to, everything would be different.

Don’t tell her who you are. Don’t make matters worse for Dalbreck or your fellow soldiers.

He had known things would go wrong, but how could I have known that Lia would turn out to be someone so very different from the person I expected?

“Because ever since that first day I met you, I’ve gone to sleep every single night thinking about you, and every morning when I wake, my first thoughts are of you.”

“When I’m not with you, I wonder where you are. I wonder what you’re doing. I think about how much I want to touch you. I want to feel your skin, your hair, run every dark strand through my fingers. I want to hold you, your hands, your chin.” His face drew nearer, and I felt his breath on my skin. “I want to pull you close and never let you go,” he whispered.

“A farmer,” I sighed. “Isn’t that romantic?” “Yes,” Pauline agreed. “So much more genuine than a stuffy old prince.”

If only she knew

Maybe there were a hundred different ways to fall in love.

“I botched this up, Sven.” He shook his head. “No. Not you, boy. Two kingdoms did. Love’s always a messy affair better left to young hearts. There are no ground rules to follow. That’s why I prefer soldiering. I can understand it better.”

If one can’t be trusted in love, one can’t be trusted in anything. Some things can’t be forgiven.

I was only using my false identity for a time to get what I needed. I just hadn’t known before I came here that what I needed would be Lia.

shook my head. Something was wrong. She would be here.

It would take a while to catch up with them. But I would. I’d do whatever it took to bring her back. I found her once. I would find her again.

I hoped she did have the gift and could see me coming. “Hold on,” I whispered into the flames, and I prayed she’d do whatever she had to, to stay strong and survive until we came.

I didn’t like them talking about her that way. She would one day be their queen. At least I prayed she would be.

In the farthest corner, I will find you. Except this time, I knew the voice was Rafe’s.

“I will find you, Lia,” I whispered. In the farthest corner, I will find you.

I’ll remember them all. I will never forget.

And late at night as I stared at the stars, sometimes a whisper broke through, one I was too afraid to believe. I will find you. In the farthest corner, I will find you.

I whipped around. “No! It’s not over.” “There’s nothing we can do. You have eyes. We can’t—” “No!” I repeated. “I will not let her cross that bridge without me.” I

My heart stopped. Dear gods.

“Who is this?” he demanded. Kaden glared. “A very stupid sot. A smitten farmhand who rode a long way for nothing.” My thoughts tumbled. How? Rafe got to his feet. He looked at me without acknowledging Kaden. He surveyed my filthy bandaged fingers, my torn shirt exposing my shoulder, my bloodstained clothes, and certainly the grief that still lingered in my face. His eyes searched mine, questioning me silently, and I saw his worry that I had been harmed in ways that he couldn’t see. I saw that he had ached for me as much as I had for him.

The good ones don’t run away, Lia.

I yanked free and ran to Rafe, falling into his arms, crying as my lips met his. “You shouldn’t have come. You don’t understand.” But even as I said the words, I was selfishly glad he was here, wildly and madly happy that everything I felt for him and I had believed he felt for me was real and true. Tears ran down my cheeks as I kissed him. My blistered, broken fingers reached up to hold his face as I said a dozen more things I would never remember.

His arms circled around me, his face nestled in my hair, holding me so tight I could almost believe we would never part again.

“It will be all right,” he whispered. “I promise, I’ll get us both out of this. Trust me, Lia.” I felt soldiers tearing us apart, pulling at my hair, a sword at his chest, rough hands dragging me backward.

I’ll get us both out of this. Trust me, Lia.

“But the prince ignored my note,” I said weakly. “I’m sure he deeply regrets that decision, Your Highness,” Rafe answered. I had signed the marriage documents myself. Rafe. On that much he hadn’t lied. Crown Prince Jaxon Tyrus Rafferty of Dalbreck.

Rafe pulled against the soldiers who twisted his hands behind his back to chain him, but his eyes never left mine.

In the farthest corner … I will find you. I wiped at my eyes, the real and true blurring. But I knew this much. He came. He was here. And maybe, for now, that was all the truth I needed.