The Underworld Crown (Series)

Chapter 27

"You didn't, but I did." He paused as he stared at me, waiting for me to understand.

Finally, I think I did understand.

"Did Cleo drug the food?" I asked, my jaw slack.

Alek nodded slowly and I let myself slump back against the wall.

"The drug that she put in our food wasn't intended to knock either of us out, but only to confuse us. In my mind, I was only out looking for you for thirty minutes, but I was gone for three hours. I felt slightly out of it, but I had no idea that much time was passing. When I got back, Cleo told me that you'd come and gone."

Alek tightened his fists at his side, shaking his head. "All of this time, I thought Cleo's power was the same as Jackal's. I thought she was a truth-seeker and could gain peoples' trust when she spoke the truth, but I was wrong. Cleo doesn't play with the truth. She plays with lies. When she tells a lie, she is able to make someone believe that a lie is a truth."

I laughed internally. Of course, Cleo's secret power was lie-telling. I shouldn't have expected anything else.

"How did you find all of this out?"

"After you left the ballroom, I confronted Cleo. I got her to admit handing you over to Hades. Jackal then joined the conversation and tried to apologise for not telling me. When I asked him what Cleo's power was, he was unable to use the truth to tell me that she shared the same power as him."

A rush of hatred and anger at Cleo and Jackal raced through me.

Alek sighed and took a step closer, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. Now I was pinned against the wall. He was smiling softly – not smirking like his usual self – and I shot him an incredulous look.

"How can you be so happy?" I questioned. "Cleo betrayed you. She betrayed both of us, though I'm not so shocked about her turning against me personally."

Alek's expression remained serious as he moved to close the distance between us even further. His eyes were glued to mine as he watched my expression slowly transform when the full meaning of what he was saying started to sink in.

This whole time, I'd been angry at Alek for running off and leaving me stranded. But how should I feel now, having learnt that he never left me in the first place? Alek had intended to stick by his promise to return. He'd wanted to keep travelling with me to the North Gate.

"Neither of us left the other," I murmured softly, hardly able to breathe with the tension. My heart beat rapidly in my chest, becoming so loud that it echoed in my own ears. I couldn't squash the feeling of elation that bubbled inside me. Instead, I let myself embrace it and felt my own lips tug upwards. It had been so long since I'd felt anything close to elation, and this feeling certainly had all the tell-tale signs of happiness. I wanted to guard it like I would with treasure.

"We were both so angry at each other, and it was for no reason," he murmured, the shadows darkening half of his face. "Now I think back to the past month and realise how much time I wasted."

My lips parted at the raw emotion in his eyes. "What do you mean wasted?"

His hand caressed the side of my cheek and I instinctively leaned into it. But then his eyelids fluttered shut momentarily and he pulled away. "I should have been honest with you about how I felt a long time ago. If I hadn't believed that you'd left me, I would've spent every waking minute searching for you." He ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe then I would've had a chance with you, because by the time I'd gotten here, you were already with Kadyn."

The mention of Kadyn's name had the effect of a cold bucket of water being poured over me.

"With Kadyn?" I repeated, frowning. "Oh." I realised Alek was referring to the time I'd kissed Kadyn in the library and almost lost myself to doing more.