Broken Stone by Kelly Walker

announcement, suspicion had bloomed immediately. He couldn’t be sure of how, but he knew his princess had been involved. Guilt had marred her perfect features as his uncle burst into the room. Now, seeing the fleeting look passing between Terin and Mairi, Reeve grew even more confident in his assumptions. And more heartbroken at her betrayal.
    “Milord, what are you doing?” Mairi cried. “Where is he taking her?”
    It dawned on Reeve that he didn’t know. Trying to shake away the cloud of despair closing in around him, he latched onto his anger, shielding himself with it. “That’s none of your concern. I want the entire household out at the stables immediately. Make haste!”
    He scrambled to formulate a plan as his uncle’s boots stomped down the hall, each of his strides sounding more furious than the one before. When they descended upon the stables, Roel was already there. The stable master kept his eyes locked firmly on Reeve’s, his disappointment evident on his face.
    Reeve turned to his uncle. “Go, take Khane with you, and search the town. Likely someone there is harboring him, if he was even able to make it that far.”
    “If you’d kept better control of your estate , this wouldn’t have happened. Why don’t you go search while I oversee things here.”
    Fighting to keep his voice even, Reeve said, “Because I’d like to have a word with my bride-to-be.” He ignored his uncle’s intentional jab, letting it be for now. He took hold of Terin’s arm, trying to make it look like he was being more forceful than he actually was.
    After releasing Terin’s other arm, Alrec stormed off, hollering for Khane as he went to fetch his horse. Once the two men disappeared down the road, Reeve turned to Terin.
    Tugging on her arm, Reeve avoided her eyes until they were out of earshot of Mairi and Roel. “Did you do this?”
    Terin smiled sweetly, but her lip trembled. “Do what, My Lord?”
    A growl resonated through Reeve’s throat, as he let out a long, frustrated sigh. She was impossible.
    The princess would be the death of him yet.
    “When Alrec gets back, you will not admit to anything, do you understand me? No matter what.”
    Her lips parted as if she were about to argue, but she nodded.
    Reeve led her closer to the stables so he could keep an eye on the other members of the household as they gathered near Roel and Mairi.
    A cold wind whipped through the courtyard and beside him, Terin shivered. Pulling off his own cloak, he wrapped it around her shoulders.
    They stood freezing in the courtyard for several hours, growing more anxious by the moment.
    Several times, Roel and Mairi tried to beg for their leave, stating other duties they needed to see to.
    Each time Reeve denied their request. No one was leaving until he had answers.
    Finally Alrec and Khane returned. His uncle’s jaw hardened into an unforgiving scowl as he shook his head, sending Reeve’s hopes sinking.
    Khane, on the other hand, had adopted a self-satisfied smirk. “Where’d they get the key?”
    Reeve hadn’t thought it possible for the situation to get worse, but Khane’s question instantly raised the stakes. After contemplating that exact question himself, Reeve concluded either Mairi or Terin must have taken the key from Jaryl’s body. It was the only logical conclusion. What he couldn’t understand was why Khane seemed so pleased.
    Khane and Jaryl had been friends nearly since birth, yet he didn’t seem in the least bit regretful over his companion’s death. If anything, he appeared pleased. At one point, he’d thought they might become friendly themselves. But the closer Reeve had gotten to Princess Terin, the less goodwill there seemed to be between him and Khane. Is he jealous? Or perhaps opportunistic? Reeve wondered. If Reeve himself was discredited, Khane might be given a larger role in leading The Three Corners. Not if I have anything to say about it. Reeve had been born to lead. Khane was nothing but the