“Yes. Entirely.”
He nodded, depositing his collection into a wicker basket. “Brand knows?”
“Yes.”
Lyriat’s mossy eyes narrowed as he straightened. “But not that you’re gone.”
Her heart turned over with a sickening thud. “No.”
“Lunara…” Another sigh, this one almost pained as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I attacked the Imperial Family. Committedtreason.”
Crossing his arms, he looked utterly bored—as if she hadn’t admitted to being guilty of an offense punishable by death.“Something tells me that Araxis—the Blessed Nightmare of the Endless Dark, and a male known for his relentless pursuit of transgressors—wouldn’t have happily dumped a traitor of the empire at my feet.”
“I was completely out of control!” She threw her arms out, but reeled them in just as quickly when she felt another spark of wayward power tingling in her fingertips, like something had been awakened by finding out what she was. “I haven’t laid eyes on the Tear Stone in over five decades, and already it has a hold on me. I mistedthricewithout knowing. Everyone is in danger.” It belatedly dawned on her that she was in the presence of a Realm Ruler—not a simple friend—and her breaths picked up speed. “Weeping Sisters…” She took an abrupt step away from him, then another. “I shouldn’t even be here. I shouldn’t be anywhere. Please, Lyriat—you owe me. Get me out of here.”
“What about the Fae?”
“What does she have to do with this?”
“The twins, Baldrir and Nyri, and Thaddeus have kept a constant watch over her—in pairs, as you requested. They’ve followed your instructions. Fern, however, remains unchanged.”
Lunara’s hands sank into her hair, fisting at the scalp. Maybe the pain would ground her. Would make it make sense. “So?”
“You haven’t finished healing her.”
“What?” She searched the ground for answers, finding nothing. “I’m telling you that I’m a monster, that I need your help, and you’re worried abouther? You hired me easily enough—find someone else. I don’t understand why it has to be?—”
“You’re not the only one capable of remembering deals, Lunara. Fern is asurpriseyou’ve not yet seen finished.”
She barked out a disbelieving laugh. “Are you joking?”
“Not in the least.”
Under any other circumstance, Lunara would’ve been more than happy to stay and fulfill that duty, even if it was a stretch.She genuinely cared about the Fae and her wellbeing. Had bonded with her in the way only a healer and their charge can.
She wasn’t a healer anymore, though. She wasn’t safe.
Lunara paced away, unable to wrap her mind around what was happening. “You’re pushing it… Twisting it…”
“No. I’m refusing your payment until you do what you were hired to do.”
Cunning Demon arsehole.
He was technically correct, though she could probably find some way to refute it. Except, by the time they came to any sort of agreement, she could’ve gotten it over with and appeased him. If he wanted to bend the rules, well…
“Fine,” she spat, “but if you’re going to manipulate the terms, then I’m adding on to my part.”
“Oh?”
“You take me away the second she’s awake. Thesecond,Lyriat. And…”
She could hardly say the words. Coming here and being demanding was one thing. Actually following through and making it a binding agreement was another. It would kill the last speck of hope she was clinging to, and she wasn’t sure how to survive it.
“And?”
You must.
