Chapter Seventeen
Crouchingsome and digging in her heels, Vi braced herself as the woman approached, shifting to the side slightly and narrowly missing the point of her spear. She grabbed Arwin’s shoulders with both hands, knowing full well she couldn’t hold Arwin anywhere for any amount of time if she didn’t want to be held.
“I need you to listen to me.”
“Vi, you have no idea who that is.” Arwin twisted from her grasp. Bringing an arm around, she pushed Vi behind her as if Vi was in danger.
“I know who that is.” Vi gripped Arwin’s forearm and bicep, clinging to the woman, futilely trying to stop her from moving.
“What have you done to her?” she growled at Taavin. Vi watched the man’s eyes dart between her and Arwin, no doubt debating if or when he should step in. “What hold do you have over her?”
“He hasn’t done anything to me, Arwin, listen!” Vi yanked at her arm. It was as unflinching as one of the giant vines in the forests of Soricium. “He’s…” Her eyes drifted to Taavin for a long second. So much was left outstanding and unsaid between them. But now wasn’t the time. And sorting through that mess would be a lot harder if he was dead. “He’s my friend.”
“Your friend?” Arwin wrenched her arm free and stepped back, facing Vi without letting Taavin fully out of her sight. “Yourfriendis the Voice?”
“I can explain.” Vi held up her hands.
“You lied to me,” Arwin seethed, raising her spear. “You lying traitor. Curse you, your father, and your family.”
“I didn’t lie.” Vi worked to keep herself calm even as Arwin spit venom.
“You said you weren’t Faithful!”
“I’m not.”
“No? You’re just aligned with the worst of them all.” Arwin swung her spear in Taavin’s direction, though her eyes remained glued on Vi. When she spoke, it was with a bitter detachment that hurt more than any word. “I knew you were seeking to infiltrate and betray us from the first moment I laid eyes on you and I was right.”
Vi allowed her blood to run cold. She knew the pain on Arwin’s face all too well. It was the look of someone you trusted showing their hand and coming up with cards you never dreamed they’d be holding.
“If I had wanted to harm the Twilight Kingdom, I could’ve,” Vi said calmly. “If I had wanted to lead a legion of Faithful though the tears in the shift, I could’ve.” Vi actually doubted that. It had been the watch that had protected her through the tear. But Arwin didn’t need to know that. “If Taavin had wanted to move against your people, he would’ve.”
“The Faithful are devious. They don’t function based on logic or reason. They act on hate alone.”
“You don’t have to like us,” Vi spoke through Arwin’s justified rage. “None of us are pretending to be friends. Our only link is that we’re all working toward the same thing.”
“I will never be aligned with a Faithful, and especially not the Voice.”
“You already are. I need him to teach me how to bring down Raspian, but I need you to get to my father. And you need both of us to settle your old score if you ever want to return home.” They didn’t have to like each other. They had to work together. That would be good enough for Vi and it should be good enough for Arwin. If they all knew where they stood from this moment forward, there would be no more betrayal, because there wouldn’t be any real trust between them. They would trust in their shared goals, and nothing more.
“I don’t need you,” Arwin seethed. She swung her weapon and pointed the blade right at the soft spot of Vi’s throat. “My father may have told me not to come back until I settled my outstanding score, but I think he’d make an exception for bringing him the body of the Voice and his accomplice.”
“Harm her and you’ll never see the Twilight Kingdom again,” Taavin cautioned dangerously. “Harm her and I will ensure every sword and sorcerer at my disposal will rally against you.”
“You will not leave here alive.”
“Do not underestimate me.” Taavin raised his hands. Vi could feel the power gathering under his palms, ready to be brought to life with a word. Power Sarphos had nursed back into him at Vi’s command.
One wrong word, and the whole situation would explode into violence and death.
“Listen, both of you, just listen!” Vi pleaded, trying not to move too much. She would’ve suspected talking would be much harder with a spear through her throat. “We all want the same thing! This doesn’t have to be personal.”
“You made it personal,” Arwin growled. “And I will never want the same thing as a Faithful.”
“You do though,” Taavin interjected before Vi could. “And I could give it to you.”
“What’re you talking about?” Arwin’s eyes narrowed at him, but she had yet to attack, which Vi took as a victory.
“What do you want more than anything else?” Taavin asked. “You want to see Ulvarth dead, no? You want an end to the Faithful as conquerors? I can deliver that opportunity to you.”
