“Well then,” Eres breaks the silence. He turns to the queen, as they all do. “What do you think, Your Majesty?”
Maelira Duskbane watches me with eyes eerily like those of her son. I had heard that she had stepped back from the running of the war effort, that she had handed the reins to her heir, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Although she looks to him, as if searching for his thoughts before turning back to me. “We cannot allow the girl to move around without restriction.”
I keep my eyes lowered, feigning respect. “I’m a good worker, your Majesty.”
A scoff sounds. Fingers wrap around my wrist, making me flinch. Kaelen Duskbane turns my hands over roughly, inspecting them. His hands almost swallow mine as he inspects the bandages that cover them, my darkened fingers peeping out.
I didn’t even see him move.
He drops them as if they’re diseased. “Interesting that we can’t confirm, since her hands are bandaged.”
“She didn’t stake herself to the ground, Kae.” Eres looks disapproving. “I’m happy to oversee Lyra’s stay, if supervision is your concern.”
In front of me, Kaelen freezes. His head swivels to the healer. “What?”
“I can always use additional assistance.” Eres tilts his head, studying me for a moment before he nods, almost to himself. “If you feel a Binding is necessary, I will offer.”
Whatever a Binding might be, I immediately decide that I don’t like the sound of it. And yet any thoughts I have on the matter pale against the prince's response.
“Absolutely fucking not.” The furious roar echoes through the room, and a crack appears in the thin pane of glass behind Darian’s head as Duskbane slams his hand down against the table. “Iforbidit.”
Eres merely folds his arms. “You can’t interfere with a Binding, asyouwell know. The decision rests with those involved and no other.”
The older male—the one who wanted to torture me, Nythen—finally speaks up. “Agreed.”
The words seem pointed enough to give Duskbane pause. He seems to wrestle with himself, alternating his glares between Eres, me, and, inexplicably, Darian.
I clear my throat. My stomach is throbbing, and I wish I had water, but I force the words out. “May I ask what a Binding is?”
“An agreement,” Eres says, studying me. “Between the two of us. You would agree not to betray me—by definition, that would include Umbraxis—and in return, I will not betray you. The agreement is bound by erevas marked into our skin, hence the name.”
Frowning, I consider his words, trying to understand how a betrayal of Eres might include the whole of Umbraxis before I alight on the answer.
Duskbane.
If I hurt the prince, then it would be a betrayal of Eres. Which presents me with a significant problem, should this Binding go ahead.
“Can her kind even accept it?” Darian looks troubled. His eyes trace my face before flickering to Kaelen. “I’m inclined to agree with Kaelen. I don’t think this is a good idea.”
Kaelen snarls at him. “Don’t do me any favors, Veyr. I don’t need your help.”
“What happens if it’s broken?” I receive numerous frowns when I interrupt with anextremely validquestion.
“Death,” Eres confirms quietly. He raises an eyebrow at my lack of surprise. “On both sides. Instant. Irreversible. Should one take action to betray the other, both would die. Our hearts would simply… cease to beat.”
In other words, a Binding would be highly inconvenient in giving me any leeway to kill Kaelen Duskbane without ending both Eres and myself. “And if I refuse?”
The queen taps her hand against her arm rest, considering me. “If you truly have no ill intent, then a Binding is harmless. Were you to refuse Eres’s offer, I would have little choice but to assume that you are, in fact, a threat to Umbraxis. We cannot force the choice on you, but there would inevitably be a consequence.”
“And what consequence would that be?”
Nythen sits up in his seat, straightening and almost panting with eagerness as he looks to the queen. But she doesn’t look at him. “We don’t execute people for no reason. You’ll be returned to the Veilspire to make your way back to Solvandyr.”
“This is ridiculous.” Duskbane rakes a hand through his hair, exasperation bleeding through every word forced out through clenched teeth. “We cannot allow Eres to complete a Binding with a Lightbringer. Especially when the witch offers nodiscernible benefit to her presence besides being an additional mouth to feed and a threat within our own walls!”
“We don’t know that she offers no benefit,” Eres shoots back. His voice raises. “When have we ever found a Lightbringer alive? When have we ever spoken to one? Even without military secrets, she could still be a valuable resource. Who knows what we might learn, Kaelen! Wecannotafford to waste this opportunity. I didn’t save her life for it to be thrown away now. I offer you the Binding, Lyra, and if you accept, you can stay.”
Our eyes lock. Eres is breathing heavily, his hands clenched. But his eyes are…kind. Kinder than they have any right to be, and it only makes me more resistant. Even the thought of agreeing with Duskbane on anything annoys me far beyond normal reason, but his irritation with the healer at least makes sense.
