He sounds amused, but his eyes are endlessly deep as he searches my face.
“Yes,” I breathe. “Very much.”
Leaning up, I brush my lips over his. Once, twice. Darian inhales beneath the brief touch, before his mouth firms against mine and his hands raise up to my face.
“Lyra.” He whispers my name as we both pull free, his thumbs stroking my cheeks. “I wish we had met sooner.”
“Better than not meeting at all.” I step back, my cheeks heating. “And I’m glad that I know you now.”
The words don’t feel like enough for what I’m beginning to feel when I think of him. Of them. All three of them.
Darian slips his hand back into mine as we make our way back up, to the main castle.
And he doesn’t let go.
Kaelen
“Pull every scout back here. No exceptions.”
My chest feels heavy as I stare down at the hastily scribbled message, crumpled and small between my hands. Surprisingly small, for such a shattering moment.
After all this time, this is how the end begins.
Full approach. Dawn tomorrow.
I clear my throat, aware of the eyes on me where we stand in the center of the great hall. “How many are still in the Veilspire?”
“A dozen.” Eldritch takes the paper when I hand it to him, scanning it. The scout, his features familiar in a way that reminds me of what else I need to do today, waits silently for orders. “You heard him, lad. Pull them all back. Anyone you can get to.”
“Go,” I say hoarsely when he looks to me for permission.
I’m turning to Eldritch before the scout has reached the doors. Around us, dozens more work around each of the long tables. They’re piled high with weapons, with iron and steel, with shields, with everything we could pull from the storage rooms. On the other side of the room, Eres confers with a small group, his head lowered to listen before he points at a stack of boxes.
Quills. The branches of every nightdusk tree in the Umbercroft have been stripped, each quill added to the boxes he counts now with a crease between his eyes.
“This is it, then,” Eldritch says softly. “About damn time, too.”
I understand his words. The waiting is almost worse.
Almost.
“The Council will meet in an hour,” I say abruptly. “I want you there, and Neela too. Final preparations.”
He nods toward the people around us. “And what do we say to them in the meantime?”
“The truth.” I take another look at them all. So many familiar faces, and yet so few. “Tell them today is the last, and to make the most of it when the work is done.”
This work can only take us so far. “No training today, but the Passing should go ahead tonight. Will you find Valcor and let him know?”
He claps my shoulder as he moves past. “We’ll see you at the meeting.”
But there are things I need to do first.
The prison is cold. The two boys standing at the entrance straighten when they see me approach. I pause in front of the taller one. “Weslyn?”
“Yes, sir.” He shifts, uncomfortable. “Nothing to report. How’s the… the witch?”
“Well enough, thanks to you.” I glance past him, down the dark steps. “Go on to the hall now. Your orders here are complete. Eldritch will tell you what needs to be done.”
