Mark of Betrayal (Dark Secrets #3)(57)
Author: A.M. Hudson

“Secret passage.”

“Hm.” I breathed out through my nose, smirking. “Should’ve guessed.”

As we stepped through the thin branches of wilting willows and into the garden, the sweet essence of summer filled the air. I closed my eyes around the beauty of stone steps, shining gates atop, opening out to a cobblestone path.

“Come on.” Morgaine transformed into the epitome of a little girl, taking my hand and leading me to the garden steps. We pushed through the gates, and I stopped, letting my arms fall to my sides. The cobblestone path led away between plants and trees, and at the centre sat a large square pond with marble edging—a place you could sit to read a book. White swans and plain ducks bathed and dived in the water, and blossoming lilies floated on the top, home to frogs I could hear singing but couldn’t see.

“That path leads right around the gardens,” Morgaine said. “I was told Lilith had it laid when she was a woman, so she could pass each of her favourite scents as she walked—a way of clearing her head.”

“Well, then, we should walk it.” I took Morgaine’s hand again and started the path, smiling as daisies, roses and tulips greeted each step—a kaleidoscope canvas of colours. I tried to make out the edge of the walls around the garden, but vines and trees and all manor of plant life completely hid it—as if we were in some alternate universe—no walls. I could imagine the garden went on forever, and this magical feeling, this sense of something present here that couldn’t be touched, made me think I wouldn’t be surprised if it did, in fact, go on forever.

“Morgaine?”

“Yes.” She looked back from the tops of the trees.

“Everything we say in here is in confidence, right?”

“Yes.”

I placed one hand then the other behind my back and watched my blue ballet flats blend in with the tiny multi-coloured stones of the path. Everything felt so bright and richly-hued, like this whole garden was a painting.

“What’s on your mind, Princess?”

“I…” I blinked back tears.

“That bad, huh?”

After a long sigh, I smiled and told Morgaine all about the dreams I’d been having. We walked the entire path, coming to rest by the rectangle pond again, in a circled section that housed a small white seat and a sundial, surrounded by wispy little stems with snowflake flowers.

“So, you think you’re in love with Jason?” she said as we sat on the edge of the pond.

“No.”

“It sounds like it. And I get the sense that you are.”

I sighed, watching a dragonfly whiz past, then drop down and kiss the white and pink blossoms that fell into the water, coming in diagonally on the whisper of the breeze. “I don’t know what to think. That’s why I’m talking to you. I’m confused.”

“Okay, so, what are you confused about—your feelings or what your feelings mean?”

I had an answer on my tongue, but hesitated. “Does dreaming about Jason mean I don’t love David?”

“Do you love David?” she asked simply.

I laughed, looking inside my heart to the place I always felt him. “Yes.”

“Then, no, it doesn’t.”

“Well, am I cheating on him—by having a dream, or…memories?” I asked. “I mean, I held Jason’s hand—kissed him. Is that cheating, when I—”

“Amara.” She placed her hand on my shoulder. “Calm down. Seriously. Jason’s dead. Okay? So, you haven’t done anything wrong. You can’t control your dreams. Sometimes, Princess, they don’t make any sense at all.”

“I know.” I dipped my fingertips into the cool water. “But, I wanted him, Morg. I wanted Jason like I want David.”

“It’s just the spirit bind, Ara. You would never have done that stuff with Jason if he hadn’t made you believe you loved him. And you wouldn’t do it now, would you—if Jason was still alive?”

I shook my head, feeling a little unsure in my heart.

“Good, then don’t worry about it. It’ll pass.”

“Do you think I should tell David?”

“No,” she said in short, her mouth making a circle. “No. I would leave that alone until this thing resolves itself.”

“Serious?”

“Uh-hu. You don’t know their history like I do. Jason’s not here for David to go and strangle anymore, so he’d have to find some other way to vent his anger, and it wouldn’t be pretty.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Trust me, Amara. He is far better off in Mushroom Land than Truth City.”

“Huh?”

“Mushroom Land, you know? Kept in the dark and fed bull—”

“Uh.” I held my hand up, then laughed. “Ok. I get it. But I don’t like it. I feel like I’m lying to him.”

“Well, then tell him—and what you see on his face will make you wish you hadn’t.” She took my hand. “Princess, it was a dream. Nothing happened. Nothing has changed. You don’t need to hurt him for no reason.”

“Well, if I’ve done nothing wrong then he’d have no reason to be hurt.”

“Except to know that his brother, even in death, is still causing trouble.”

“He already knows that.”

“Leave it in the past, Amara. David’s suffered enough. That much I do know. And I know he won’t delight in you admitting you wanted Jason, even in a dream—especially since you don’t actually feel that way,” she said, sighing. “It wasn’t real, Your Majesty, it doesn’t make sense to hurt him for something that you don’t truly feel.” She looked at me then, and frowned. “Or do you?”

“I’m confused, Morg.” I dropped my head into my hands. “I don’t know what I feel.”

“Then don’t tell him until you do,” she concluded.

Mike walked ahead while I followed, taking in the scenery—the soaring, airy trees, some of them yellow, others green, and the dry, leaf-covered forest floor. It actually wasn’t that scary in here—for an enchanted forest. I expected a little more…enchantment.

We strolled in silence for a while, leaving the summer behind on the border, where the shorter trees, with full leafy branches, stood as fairy-tale sentries. The deeper we walked, the darker and cooler it got, and the trees seemed to soar up to the heavens, spaced further apart, though the canopy seemed to close in, miles up into the sky.

Mike stopped in front of a large, grey rock and turned to face me. “This is the Stone of Truth.”