"There's no debt between us," Rhys repeated, taking a deep breath to steady himself, inhaling the combination of cool, salty air and the unique scent of the ocean depths that accompanied Esselk'ti. "Only a misfortune and a misunderstanding," he said, pausing to see if the witch understood his choice of words.
"Just like what happened to expose Ashlynn's secret," Rhys added, hoping the witch would drop the matter of learning who had betrayed Ashlynn. "A terrible misfortune born of deep misunderstanding."
For months, Rhys had wrestled with his feelings over Jocelynn's actions. He had carried the weight of secrets long before Ashlynn was ever born, and he knew very well how dangerous her secret was, but clearly, he'd failed to instill similar caution in his youngest daughter. She thought that, because her mother could keep Ashlynn's secret despite being so devout, Owain could do the same, even though she expected him to break off their marriage because of it.
