Kai had to respect Raphail’s determination, though. He lasted ten minutes, and by then, he could barely speak through his tears. Men like him were trained to withstand physical torture: broken bones, beatings, and maybe the loss of a limb. To feel your insides burn as if your entire body was on fire with no natural end in sight was something else entirely.
He’d survive, but he didn’t know that.
Information spilled from his lips for no other reason than to stop the addition of more scorchbane. Rumors, he’d claimed. Primakos hadn’t trusted anyone with his secrets, though people talked a great deal. Things about low coffers and smugglers. Nothing concrete, and nothing to explain why he was sent.
One thing surprised her, however, though she didn’t know how it fit into all of this. The king of Soterra had been in constant communicationwith the High Chancellor for months. Her mother had often referred to Titos Demakis as an ungrateful and selfish man, and her father spat every time he was mentioned. Even Doli despised him, and she rarely disliked anyone.
Beyond that, Raphail had been only following orders. There’d been no choice in the matter. He was loyal to his country.
Once he finished, Kai crouched and gripped his chin. “You have a contact here in the mountain. I want a name. Who helped you?”
“It was a group of men…I don’t know.” He slumped forward, his head hanging. “They want to change things.”
“Who?”
Raphail met her eyes. “Atsadi Rising Moon.”
Chapter
Thirty-Two
Kai rose from her crouch, chest tight as her world buckled inward, and stood over Atsadi’s accuser.
Raphail’s mottled skin streamed with sweat, and saliva pooled in his mouth and bubbled around his teeth. He sat like a stone as the scorchbane burned through his system—every move must have felt like dying.
She wished he had died. She wished she didn’t know this.
Footsteps scrambled across the room toward Atsadi, but she couldn’t watch. She couldn’t look at the man who had nothing but patience and kindness for her. She couldn’t bear to see the tattoo he’d inked with her and Fala in mind.
She’d trusted him.
They both had.
Kai didn’t know how it happened, and it didn’t matter. Atsadi had pulled her in like a frog into cool water, then lit the fire under her pot.
Fala faced their husband. “Speak for yourself,” she demanded.
Tse and Doli held Atsadi by the arms, though he didn’t struggle.
Atsadi only shook his head and met Kai’s gaze, his jaw muscles flaring. “Kai, I do not know this man.”
He was so good at sounding earnest.
“I don’t believe you.”
Atsadi flinched like she'd struck him. "Then look me in the eye.” He stepped forward despite Tse and Doli’s grip. "Tell me what you see."
Kai couldn’t help herself—she looked. And there he was. Atsadi. The man who once shared her fear of marriage. The one who held Fala’s hands as if they were gentle flowers. Who put his body before hers—not because she couldn’t defend herself, but because he decided he would share the burden of every battle.
He would be their fortress.
Fala had always been the heart of their marriage, and Kai the solid ground. Somewhere along the way, Atsadi had become their safe place to land, to release those duties without fear of their entire lives crumbling.
Somewhere along the way, Kai had started to love him.
Atsadi relaxed only slightly and held Kai’s attention. "I have never spoken with that man in my life." His voice was low, steady. "I swore to protect you and Fala, to honor this union, not because the gods demanded it, but because I chose to.”
Beside her, Raphail sniffed wetly.
