Love And Honour (Book 2)

Chapter XXXVI

"I heard shouting and I went to see what was happening. Jasiel and Gavriel were at each other's throats. Gavriel was brandishing a dagger and kept threatening Jasiel with it. Jasiel was pushing him and taunting him, telling him he should learn to go through with his threats. They were being such fools. They were going to end up hurting one another..." she falters and fresh tears spring to her eyes.

"Go on." Logan says his voice strangled.

"It was an accident and it all happened so fast..." she pauses to go her wavering voice under control. It is a pointless exercise. "I got in between them and it was all such a blur, I tried to get the dagger from Gavriel, Jasiel was trying to get hold of it and Gavriel was trying to hold it out of our reach. They were yelling and shouting and trying to push me out of the way and then..." Logan reaches out for her but she steps further away. She has not yet finished. She is still prepared to see the hatred grow within Logan's eyes no matter whether he tries to hide it or not.

"I got hold of the dagger but then I was trapped between them and in the struggle with them pushing at each other the dagger slipped from my grasp. Gavriel had gotten it but in that moment Jasiel punched him in the stomach and somehow the dagger lodged in Jasiel's shoulder when it flung from Gavriel's hand. It was an accident, a horrific accident. We all stopped as Jasiel faltered and fell back. I tried to stem the blood but Gavriel pulled me away from him. I have never seen him so pale..."

"He knew you could not save him." Logan adds, already working out what happened next in his head.

"Yes, he had poisoned the blade but not to harm Jasiel. He always carried it in case a situation arose where he needed it. It was meant to protect us if we were ever ambushed."

"Why did you not tell that story before? If it was an accident, why could not have told the truth?" Logan weakly asks, now relieved that she had refused to let him comfort her only moments ago.

"Do you really think anyone would have believed us? We are the Ricells, we lie, we cheat and we fight for the right to rule. No one, not even our parents, would believe it was just an accident. We would either have been sentenced to death or life imprisonment. That would have left Gethin to rule, do you have any idea how much our lands would suffer?" Zara squeezes her eyes shut as she sees what she expected arise in Logan's eyes.

"So you chose to frame the man who you claimed to love? You chose to make people think I was a murderer. You chose to let me rot in your dungeons and you chose to continually destroy me by not believing in my innocence?" Logan coldly questions, his voice low and controlled. Zara wraps her arms around herself and nods slowly, tears running in a torrent down her cheeks. "I loved you!" He smashes his teeth together. "I love you." He repeats almost silently. He shakes his head and turns away, exhaling for several seconds.

"Gavriel persuaded me, told me that he would make sure I took the fall otherwise. I was stupid and foolish and I should have told the truth."

"Yes you should have." Logan replies icily.

"He promised that he would get you out that you could live a life away from all of this. He promised me that you would live and you would be protected. I trusted him and he did get you away."

"In such a way that I could never return to my family and I could never return to you." Logan looks at her, his features tense. "You are just like them and I thought you were different. I never would have believed you were a Ricell but now I see you are just as calculating, manipulative and cold as the rest of them. Did you ever love me?"

"Of course I loved you, I still do. It has been tearing me apart since we made that stupid decision to save our own skins. I hate myself for what I did, I really do and I know that I do not deserve your forgiveness, I know that I do not deserve you. I am so sorry. I know words will never change anything but I do love you, that has never been fake on my part."

"So what about Gethin? You decided you were going to set up your own brother? Is this what you do to the people you care about?" Logan brow furrows and Zara fails to meet his cool green gaze.

"No. No!" Zara bites down on her cheek and blood swims around her mouth. "I honestly believed he had poisoned Gavriel and father. I was not going to let him take the fall for Jasiel."

"Then who were you going to make take the fall? Your parents will not just let it go. Someone has to be punished for his death. If not Gethin, if not me, then who?"

"I do not know. Gavriel told me that he would sort that out." Zara weakly replies. Logan falters.

"Hunter." He utters quietly. Zara's gaze springs to his and her forehead creases. "He is going to make Hunter take the fall." Logan shakes his head, red blurring his vision. "I will not stand idly by while you frame someone else, especially someone that I care about."

He turns to leave and halts, his vision clearing a little. Hunter swallows roughly and his dark eyes flicker to Zara. He inclines his head to Logan before again warily glancing at the young woman shivering with tears running down her cheeks. "I am guessing the proposal did not go quite as planned?" He hollowly says.

Logan lets out a harsh laugh. "The understatement of the century. How much did you hear?"

"Only that I am going to take the fall." Hunter studies Zara, his eyes flicking over her destroyed, crumpled figure. "The rest I can guess. There was a witness present who has just come forward. I have heard their story and I can only assume from your face that she has just told you the truth also."

"I have." Logan shortly says. "Did he say that it looked like an accident?" Hunter nods and Logan sighs. "Did you come to warn me?"

"I thought you should know the true story before you proposed to her." Hunter quietly asserts. "I am not the one who found the witness. You may want to return and alert your brother, Zara." He nods at her and she picks up her skirts and runs. Hunter then turns his attention to his brother. "You are hurting?"

Logan laughs roughly and rubs a hand over his eyes. "Yes, Hunter, I am hurting. If she had just told me the truth from the beginning, I could have helped her. None of this would have had to happen. I could have protected her, given her safety in our lands. I could have helped prove that it was an accident. She could have trusted me." He rambles. Hunter winces.

"The man said that Gavriel threatened her and told her she must remain silent. She may have feared for her life." Logan shoots Hunter a glare that would rival his own. Hunter's eyebrows climb up his forehead.

"Why on earth are you trying to be understanding?"

"Because I am not a fool and I know you still love her." Hunter says gently, watching as his brother's anger ebbs away to be left with a deep sadness. "The question is 'Can you forgive her?'" 

So the big question has finally been answered... how do we feel about that? Do you think Logan can forgive her? Should he? I would love to read your thoughts!