That lack of depth of knowledge might be her downfall.
Chapter 27
VALE
When I awoke, it was to find my mate already wide awake and deep in thought.
“Did you sleep well?” I nuzzled into her hair, sniffing and repressing a low moan at how her smokey vanilla scent turned me on.
“Not really. Thyra dominated my dreams,” Neve murmured.
I pulled her closer, protective over the female who completed my soul as I completed hers.
A day had passed since she’d met her sister. A day of silence that was driving my mate crazy.
My mate had longed to meet her family and though she put up a brave front, Thyra’s reception had hurt her.
“Also, I’ve been wondering about the task they’re to set. Will it be something deadly? Thyra doesn’t seem to like me much. What if she wishes me dead?”
“She won’t harm you.” I sounded sure, though doubts roamed deep in my heart. Neve didn’t need to hear those,though. “And if there’s so much as a whiff of danger in the task, I will join. There is no other option.”
“We have other options, Vale.” She turned to face me, her violet eyes searching for an answer to a question she hadn’t spoken. “We could leave. Go find the Baliks like we planned. Or try to find the Ice Scepter with our friends.”
“Do you now have an idea of where to start?”
“None,” she admitted so halfheartedly that I suspected she hadn’t really wanted to leave anyway. She wanted to learn more about Thyra and see if they could have a relationship.
“Well, I have an idea of a different sort.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Your sister wishes to see how strong you are. To test your fortitude and weigh the true faeness of you. See how much you hunger for power, like many of our kind.”
“I’ve never been very power hungry.”
“And yet you seek the Scepter.”
“I do want it,” Neve said. “But only to right wrongs. I want to help those I can relate to. The downtrodden. And to bring this realm back into a state in which all canlive.”
“A noble pursuit,” I whispered. “You’ll need power all the same for it.”
“True,” she exhaled. “So what do you have in mind?”
“Today we train, and you will show off all that I’ve taught you.”
My mate smirked, and I swore the sadness in her eyes sparked and took on heat. That fire and ability to rise to meet any challenge was why she was still alive.
“I like that idea,” she agreed. “Maybe they’ll give us weapons? Or allow us to use magic?”
I suspected they might be satiating their own curiosity. “We can only ask.”
Neve rose. “Then let’s go. I want to show my twin that I’m not one to be trifled with. That I’m not weak.”
We dressed and left our private room to find everyone else in the annex was already awake. At the mention of training, Luccan, Thantrel, and surprisingly, Duran claimed to wish to join. I figured that was not so many people that the rebels would worry about arming us—especially when Caelo was still abed, and Rynni had been called to the healing wing an hour back. She was to work in that area of the falling castle, helping the rebels who did not have such a skilled healer with them.
Arie, Anna, and Clemencia would stay with Caelo. Anna would work on mending our attire that had worn out in our travels, while the other two would devour books that had been brought to our annex hoping to find clues on the Hallows. I stared at the books, somewhat stunned. That the rebels had delivered the tomes Arie requested hinted that theymightwelcome us fully. Eventually.
One could hope anyway.
