Dorian stiffened.
"It states if you or your sister are found to be in the mountain realm, war will be declared between us. Your King Rhafian will send an army of Belwarks into my home, and they say they will throw our children into the valleys from our Temple."
Corbin exchanged a look with Dorian over his shoulder, and Dorian’s fists tightened at the revelation.
"Normally, I would laugh this off," Hagen continued. "Your king threatening my people seems like a fuck of a joke. I doubt he's that stupid, or if he is, I would love nothing more than to watch him try and take our towns. There is also the option of my sending you home, letting your brother deal with you for betraying your crown so that my people stay safe and do not have to worry of such a threat... But—“
Hagen stepped between Corbin and Reverie, and he paused in front of Dorian.
"I've my own reasons for wanting you in my realm. And as angry as I am about the events of this past month, I am, fortunately for you, inclined to trust the greatest man I ever knew."
Dorian could see the clench in Hagen's jaw.
Hagen pressed the papers into Dorian's chest. "Be glad the Venari King liked you as much as he did, little King.”
The knot in Dorian's stomach twisted as though someone was wrenching it from his insides. His nose threatened to burn, but he pushed it away. He swallowed that feeling as Hagen watched him another moment, and then he started backward again.
"Pack up," Hagen said, gaze flickering between Corbin and Reverie. "We've a long way to go before we reach our valleys."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
NYSSA SPENT HER next morning watching Lex fight with some of the younger recruits, keen to observe her again. Nyssa had always enjoyed watching practices first before joining in. She liked to be prepared, to know what she was walking into and not look like a fool when she didn’t know what she was doing.
Nadir had thanked Lex for the addition of her skills with a great hug and handshake, to which Lex had given him a face at that Nyssa knew all too well—a concealment of amusement while also scowling. Nadir had seen through the facade and promised her a smoke on the porch after dinner if she would continue to help him.
Lex, never one to turn down such a prize and chance to show off, agreed and returned the handshake.
"You should join soon," Lex said later as she joined Nyssa on the porch. She leaned back in the wicker chair and kicked her feet up on the railing. "Bit of training might help clear your head."
Nyssa gave her a small smile from the outdoor couch she’d curled up in, the memory of her fighting with Nadir the night before coming to mind. She wondered if Lex had seen them.
"Tomorrow,” Nyssa said. “With you. You know me well enough to know I like observing first.”
Lex chuckled. "Little Nyssari, eyes of Haerland," she mocked. "I'll be ecstatic when that Promised bloodlust finally kicks in."
"You'll be the first to know when it does."
She met Lex's grin then, and the sight of it made her chest constrict. She knew most of their relationship had been forced due to Aydra's persistence that Lex keep her safe. But she had come to love Lex, realized why Aydra kept her so close. In the days Lex had been forced to keep her safe at the Dreamer village when Aydra was injured, they'd come to understand each other a little more than before, even coming to share jokes.
Nyssa still held in the back of her mind that the only reason Lex was with her was because of duty, and Nyssa hated it. She didn't want to be the burden on anyone, and every time she saw the hurt in Lex's gaze—the hollowness she knew came from her missing her best friend—she was reminded of that promise Lex had made.
"Speaking of lust..."
Lex's words muttered from her lips, and Nyssa looked up to see Nadir coming towards them. Sweat on his brow and sand covering his bare torso, he looked as though someone had rolled him in the surf. He was wearing those same dark grey pants he usually wore for training—made of a fabric that felt of silk and water, stretching and molding over the skin, but thick with iridescent U-shaped scales that reminded her of fish scales. He'd told her the fabric was made specifically as their armor, repelled water, and would help keep the blood flowing through the muscles. He'd mockingly informed her no sword had ever penetrated the fabric, but she was sure he was exaggerating.
"I do love those pants," Lex said.
Nyssa snorted, glancing over to Lex, who was absentmindedly packing her pipe. "Surprised they haven't given you any," she said.
"Met a woman earlier who told me she'd fit me for a pair later tonight." Lex's gaze rose, and she winked at Nyssa.
"Oh, I'm sure," Nyssa bantered. "Should I think I'll not see you again until sunrise?"
"Well—“ Lex stuck her match to the flame already going in the lantern, and she lit her pipe, inhaling the breath of the herb. "I was also feeling a bit crowded in there... All thattension. Kept waiting on it to break the last few nights, but the pair of you seem to be determined to eventually shatter."
"I don't know what you mean.”
Lex grinned. "Yeah, you do." She exhaled the next breath of smoke in an elongated, mocking manner in Nyssa's direction. "You think I didn't see the pair of you last night?"
