“You’re just afraid you’ll fall for me again,” I say with a wide grin, unable to help myself. “Come on, are you so weak a little kiss will sway you? Coward.”
Jaga throws her head back and screams, and I laugh, the sound of our voices mixing with the roar of the sea. Chors sits up, running his fingers over the delicate, fresh skin on his throat. She healed his side, too, and pink skin flashes through the holes burned in his shirt. When he catches my eye, he shakes his head with reproach. Jaga’s scream cuts off. She’s out of breath.
“I know,” I sigh, still smiling. “But I can’t help myself. If she won’t love me, I need her to be angry. Anything is better than indifference.”
Jaga sighs, weary and sad now that she’s flung her anger into the night.
“Let’s go back. You have a war to fight, devil boy. So stop playing around and do your job.”
With that, she stands. Chors arches his brows in question, and this time, it’s my turn to shake my head.
I don’t know why she’s invested now, but it’s just as well. We’ll be allies, and it will be so much closer to lovers than whatever we’ve been for the last two months.
Chapter eighteen
Coward
We are in the Hall of Fires—Chors, Jaga, Nyja, and I. It’s a proper war council with the four of us together, and I’ve conjured us a table to celebrate the occasion. Jaga is sullen but bright-eyed. Chors seems bored, his eyes staring into distance as he fingers the healed skin on his throat.
Nyja is impatient and thinks I’m wasting her time.
“The rarog and a few upierzycas?” she asks after I fill her in on the attack. “That’s not too serious since you were there to handle it.”
What the fuck am I doing here?she asks me with her eyes.
I arch my eyebrow and point with my chin at Jaga. “Love, would you show Nyja? She’s our main strategist, so she must know what kind of asset you are.”
Jaga’s lips twist in a bitter smile, but she lowers her shields and lets the shimmery, red fabric of her soul spread out. Nyja’s jaw drops as she stares at the spectacle with awe and fear. She quickly hides her reaction and snaps her mouth shut.
“That’s… Unfortunate.”
Chors frowns, his eyes focusing. “How so? She’s powerful.”
Nyja’s lips flatten as she levels Jaga with a hard look. “I’m sure you’re powerful. But your soul is unbound. It has no shape, no structure. You must know what it means, Weles.”
I purse my lips. “She’ll never die. I took care of it.”
Jaga tucks her soul back in, looking from me to Nyja with sober, assessing eyes. “You mean to say I will not have an afterlife when I die. I suspected as much. Thank you for the confirmation.”
“You won’t die,” I repeat. “I won’t let you.”
She shrugs as if it doesn’t matter one way or another. “And yet, you remade me so you alone can end me. Someday soon, you’ll dangle my life in front of me like a carrot.Do this, Jaga, or I’ll have to kill you.”
“I won’t,” I growl, my hands tightening around the edge of the table. “I love you!”
Her smile is bitter and scornful, but she has no time to reply, because Nyja stands up, slamming both hands on the table.
“You can kill her? Why haven’t you told me? I thought only Perun might be able after your unholy dabbling!”
I suppress a wince, belatedly realizing she’s right. I never told her—nor Chors, who watches me with wide eyes, aghast.
“I didn’t know,” he whispers, turning to Jaga. “If I had known… I would have acted differently.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I ask through gritted teeth. “It was reasonable at the time! She preferred to die rather than be mine. Still does. I have to protect myself, too, and…”
“Oh, spare me,” Nyja snaps. Her eyes are cold and calculating as they turn to Jaga. “This changes things. Come on, make your choice. Either give him your soul or let’s end this here and now.I’ve sacrificed too much for this cause to rely on a fickle girl like you.”
“What?” Fury burns in my gut as I shoot up to my feet, facing Nyja. “I am not going to kill her! Why would you even consider this?”
