“I know,” Carver said, throwing the last essentials into his saddlebag.
Jayveh had wanted to go with them, but Cregon succeeded in dissuading her. It was highly likely this was a trap, but more than that, it wasn’t safe for Jayveh—or her unborn child—to leave the palace right now. Not so soon after the emperor’s murder.
“Argent wouldn’t want you to take such a risk,” Cregon had said softly.
Jayveh had reluctantly relented. But the hope in her eyes was agonizing to witness. Especially because Carver knew that—wherever Tam ultimately guided them—it would not be to Argent.
Carver didn’t want to leave Amryn, even though he knew Ivan would look after her. The Wolf had earned Carver’s trust, at least in this. Still, he’d nearly asked Ford to remain with her.
Amryn had been the one to talk him out of it. “Ford needs to do this,” she’d said. “He needs closure, too.”
And so, the morning after his conversation with Tam, Carver was packed.
He still wasn’t ready to go.
He reached out, his hand settling against the side of Amryn’s neck. “I want you to avoid Rhone while I’m gone.”
Her eyebrow lifted. “I always try to avoid him.”
“I know, just . . . humor me.”
Rhone had cornered Carver just as he’d come out of Tam’s cell last night. The knight had been livid that Carver had conducted the interrogation without him. “You put yourself at risk,” Rhone snapped. “She could be the empath we’ve been searching for.”
The next moments had been the most tense of Carver’s life. Rhone had insisted on seeing Tam. Carver had gone in with him, his eyes sharp on Tam.
She’d instantly realized who Rhone was. He looked too much like Rivard for there to be any doubt, and his crimson uniform made it clear why he was there.
Tam had given Carver a small smile, but she’d stayed silent about Amryn.
The knight had been seething by the time he concluded questioning Tam. “It’s not her,” he’d growled to Carver. That he still wanted to kill the woman who’d murdered his brother had remained glaringly obvious.
Carver held Amryn’s gaze, his palm catching the heat of her skin. “He’s going to be even more suspicious of everyone now that he knows Tam isn’t the empath. Maybe you can claim an illness, and you can stay in the apartment while I’m gone.”
Her eyes softened. “I know you’re worried, but I’ve got the bloodstone,” she reminded him. “I’ll be fine. And I can’t abandon Jayveh.”
Carver respected her loyalty, but it caused him more stress than he cared to admit.
She laid a hand against his chest, directly over his heart. The sight of the gold bracelet around her wrist caused his chest to heat. “I’ll be perfectly safe,” she said. “You’rethe one walking into potential danger.” Worry crept into her eyes as she searched his. “Be careful, Carver.”
His hand shifted, moving to cup her cheek. Meeting her gaze steadily, he said, “Nothing will keep me from coming back to you.”
Some of her tension eased. “Good. Because if you don’t, I’ll embrace my harpy side you’re always talking about and hunt you down.”
He chuckled, his thumb tracing the curve of her cheek. “That’s not much of a threat, sweetheart. I’d love to be hunted by you.”
She cracked a smile, but it fell away too quickly. “This is the first time we’ve ever truly been apart,” she whispered. “I don’t think I’m going to like it.”
“I’m going to bloody hate it.”
She tried to smile, but failed.
It was instinct to lean in and press a kiss to her faltering lips. And yet, it wasshewho stole his breath as she kissed him back with such fervency and love that she took yet another piece of his heart.
He felt her fingertips trace thearwydencircling his wrist. The braided cuff was a perfect representation of the peace she’d given him, and a tangible piece of her he could always have with him. His fingers slid into her hair as he deepened the angle of their kiss.
But even as he lost himself in her, he knew time wasn’t on their side. He needed to collect Tam, since he trusted no one else with her. And his father would be waiting in the courtyard with Ford and a small contingent of highly skilled and fully trusted men.
Still, it took far too much of Carver’s willpower to pull back. To end the kiss he knew would haunt him until he returned. To step away and shoulder his pack.
