Fiera rested her hand on her stomach. Vi had never been so fixated on something that couldn’t be seen. One motion could say so much, but Vi didn’t know what language the message was in. Did this mean she was pregnant now? Or was Fiera merely referencing the prophecy Vi had given her months before? She narrowly resisted asking outright.
“You…” The Emperor seemed torn. Torn between his growing family and the peace a contented royal family would foster, and his thirst for conquest. His gaze volleyed among the sword, Vi, and Fiera. But ultimately his wife and unborn child won out. “You are right.”
“Then I will entrust the sword to you, Yullia.” Fiera’s mouth turned upward into an easy smile. She almost looked relieved. “Tell no one what you do with it.”
“I will take its secrets with me to my grave.”
Chapter Seventeen
She had the sword.
Vi had to replay the day’s events in her mind as she stared at the faintly glowing weapon in her bedroom that night to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. There had been the preparations, the wedding, the attack. She had summoned a carriage to take Zira and the royals back to the castle before slipping out a back door herself, the sword wrapped tightly so that not even a glimmer of its divine blue light could be seen. Her shoulders had been tense as she wove through the city, the grin she wore so wide that it hurt.
Her heart was still racing as she summoned Taavin.
The man looked from Vi to the sword on her bed. Like a moth to a flame, he slowly crossed to it, entranced. Taavin ran his fingertips along the blade. Yargen’s magic sought him out as it did Vi. It seemed to seep into him and, for a brief, breathtaking second, the thin lines of magic that hummed around the edges of him faded.
He was there, in the flesh. She crossed over to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. He turned, startled. His eyes widened. He must have felt it too.
“Taavin, you’re…” He was solid underneath her fingertips. Vi snaked her arms around his waist, acting on instinct and awe. She could feel his heartbeat racing. Or perhaps the frantic beating was actually her own.
“Vi—” Taavin moved to embrace her and lifted his hand from the weapon. The shimmering magic returned to his form. The warmth and smell of him vanished.
“The sword,” she whispered. “It makes you… real.” If she could string it around his neck, she would.
“Yargen’s magic is a power unlike any other. It’s the embodiment of life itself,” he said thoughtfully, more to the sword than her. But Taavin brought his gaze back to Vi, his thumb caressing her cheek. “But I am always real, for you.”
Vi put on the bravest smile she could, unable and not trusting herself to say anything else.
“Now, tell me, how did you manage to procure it so quickly?”
Her arms tightened around him. “Don’t be cross with me,” Vi started, already searching his eyes for the edges of anger.
“Howdid you procure it?”
“I had a vision,” Vi began hesitantly.
“When?”
“About two weeks ago.”
Taavin released her and took a step back. “Two weeks, and you didn’t tell me? Where did you have it? What was your vision of?”
Vi finally told him of Zira’s request, looking into Raylynn’s future, and what it had ultimately led her to. She watched his expression darken more with every word. Her heart was now racing for an entirely different reason—the adrenaline of warring emotions.
When she finished, Taavin turned, putting his back to her.
“Taavin, I was only doing what I thought was best. What I thought would lead this world—”
“No, you were doing whatyouwanted to do,” he interrupted harshly. “You weren’t acting on behalf of this world. You put yourself in danger to strike against the Knights of Jadar. You didn’t even consult me.”
“You would’ve told me not to do it.”
“Of course I would’ve!” He spun, looking at her with rage-filled eyes. “You’re not thinking this through.”
“I am,” Vi insisted. “I played it safe. I did what you asked. And all it led to was the Knights of Jadar gaining enough time to strengthen and organize an attack. If I had been acting offensively sooner, then maybe I could’ve prevented the attack on the wedding from ever happening.” He was silent, glowering at her. “If I hadn’t acted, Zira would bedead.”
“That’s it, isn’t it?” Taavin whispered.
