“Stacia has her braid. You’ve seen it kill, I’m sure.” Jarret said. “She just took another victim a few months ago. An interloper from another land.”
Yes, Tressa had seen. It was the reason she was standing in front of Jarrett.
“But,” Jarrett continued, “Henry is not so different from Stacia.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Jarrett sauntered away, dragging Henry behind him. His words felt like more mystery than facts. He'd told her nothing useful. Certainly nothing that would engender her trust.
After the training session, she took off for the pond alone. The other men were napping. They claimed it was to re-energize their muscles and preserve their stamina. Tressa felt they were only being lazy. She'd worked just as hard, if not harder than them, and had no interest in closing her eyes.
Tressa took one last look around the forest before slipping off her clothes and diving into the pond. She emerged, only her head above the water, and enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her face. The cold droplets energized her.
She lifted one arm out of the water and flexed her bicep. A smooth muscle popped up from her arm. She smiled. All of her hard work with Leo paid off. She was exactly where she needed to be and one step closer to her ultimate goal. It was physical proof of everything she was working toward.
"Go on, give it a little kiss. You know you want to."
Tressa gasped and slipped under the water. She opened her eyes and frantically searched for shore. It wasn't far. The ground sloped upward quickly. Unfortunately two feet stood in the shallows, the toes wiggling, almost taunting her.
Slowly she resurfaced, but only to her chin.
"Jarrett."
"Max."
"I already explained it's against my religion to be seen without my clothes. If you'd leave me to my bathing, I'd appreciate it."
"I only wanted to talk to you more." He sat down on a rock, his feet still in the cool water. "I promise I won't look."
"I don't want to talk to you." Tressa forced herself to consume steady, even breaths. Her confidence quickly waned. One wrong move and he'd know her truth. "You only speak of treason to our queen, the woman we've sworn to protect."
Jarrett rolled his eyes. "Stop the act. I knew the identity of every man entering the tournament. I knew his reason for entering whether it was blind faith to the queen, the need to secure his family's future, or even to get away from an arranged marriage." He scratched his chin at Tressa's look of surprise. "Yes, men hate those too."
He pointed at Tressa. "But you are the only one whose intent I didn't know. It wasn't clear to me until the last man died. Leo would not give his life for just anyone."
Leo. He knew Leo. Even in the disguise. Even when Tressa didn't see until near the end who the man with the braided beard was.
"This was how I knew you could be trusted."
"How did you know Leo?" She had to know. Jarrett had crossed a line, giving her the permission to speak true.
"Leo was my father."
Tressa let the information sink in. He'd never mentioned a son.
Jarrett waved a hand in the air. "My mother was the only woman he was ever intimate with. It was that night he knew his pleasure lay elsewhere. Fortunately it was after he'd deposited his contribution to me into her."
He stood up and took off his shirt. Jarrett's dark skin glinted in the sunlight. Tressa averted her eyes.
"Is it against your religion to see others naked as well?"
Tressa heard the swish of his breeches fall to the ground. "It is a private matter." She hoped her voice didn't waver. When the water rippled and sloshed, she looked back at him. Jarrett was submerged to his waist.
He tilted his head to the side. "Were you my father's lover?"
"No." Tressa couldn't help but laugh. "He was like a father to me."
Jarrett's eyes narrowed.
"I'm sorry. I apologize. That was insensitive."
"No." Jarrett waded closer. "Truth is always the right answer, whether it's appropriate or not. I had a stepfather and he was a good man. He cared for my mother and for me, and the children they had together. I was never treated like another man's son."
Tressa stopped herself from telling Jarrett she grew up without a father. It wasn't his to know. She couldn't allow herself to get closer to him until she knew he could be trusted. Just because he claimed to be Leo's son, it didn't make him trustworthy.
"I'm telling you this because I feel we can trust each other." He took another step toward Tressa.
She stepped back.
"I need an ally. I think you do too." Jarrett held out his hand, but she refused to shake it.
The clear blue water lapped against the top of Tressa's shoulders. She bit back a response. She didn't want to trust him. But he was right, she needed an ally too.