“What?”
“Almost like they glowed? Or that the color was draining from them?” Cullen shook his head. “Never mind. I must’ve imagined it.”
With a nod, Eira started onward and the rest of them fell in tow. Ducot was half a step behind her, suddenly feeling like a protective guard. Even though he couldn’t see it, Eira couldn’t stop herself from casting a warm smile his way. It was good to feel like they were on the same side, with the same understanding, once more. She caught him sliding on the ring again. To Eira’s surprise, he didn’t ask again about what she’dbeen attempting. Perhaps he didn’t want to know. Or he already suspected and couldn’t handle the heartbreak of her failure.
Cullen slid in tightly at her left. “Thank you, by the way, for your help back there with my magic.”
“Of course.” She nodded. “You’re lucky you’re the first person I started working on that skill with. I don’t think I could’ve been as fast with anyone else.”
“Generally, I like it when you take your time.”
She snorted with amusement. Cullen grinned as well. But the expression quickly vanished.
His tone turned somber. “You must be careful.”
“Something tells me that you’re not still worried about my eyes, or warning me against the obvious dangers ahead with making it through whatever patrols Carsovia’s knights might have set up by the wall.” She had tried to look at everything from every angle. Consider all options. But she knew from his tone alone that there was something she’d missed.
Cullen’s voice dropped to a hush. “Qwint is setting you up for failure.” Olivin wasn’t the only one who maintained his noble instincts.
“How so?” She had suspicions, but she wanted to hear his interpretation.
“They have given you what they are clearly thinking is an impossible task,” Cullen explained. “Either you will fail, and they are proved right. Or you succeed, and they are likely to use it to bring calls again that you are, without doubt, Adela’s spawn. Should that belief take hold…” He couldn’t seem to bring himself to reach the logical conclusion.
So Eira did it for him. “They will likely hold me hostage or use me as leverage.”
“Or worse,” he finished gravely.
“They can certainly try.” Eira chuckled. “But I don’t think they realize the fight they’re in for if they do.”
“Once more, running headfirst into danger.” Cullen didn’t sound upset in the slightest.
“I feel more confident doing it when you’re at my side.” She looked up at him and his attention swung to her. Cullen’s lips parted, brow furrowing just a little. Could he really be in that much disbelief? Her expression eased into a tired, but genuine smile. “It’s true, especially after that display in town.”
“I will always be there to try and get you out of trouble,” he vowed. “And to help you avoid it, when the need arises.”
“Even if it might frustrate me sometimes, I do appreciate your counsel,” she said sincerely.
“Well, you frustrate me sometimes, too, if it’s any consolation. Because if I’m being honest, I want to help you make that trouble.” He chuckled softly. Eira echoed the sound.
“Lord Cullen, what a scandal to admit,” she said, jokingly aghast.
“If only the Solaris Court could see me now,” he mused. Her eyes darted up and down him.Indeed, she agreed silently, because from where she stood he was a sight to behold. “But even when you drive me mad, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else but by your side. The idea of you being in danger when I’m not there to help you…that’s more gutting than anything else. If it—” He stopped himself short and finished with, “If standing by you is something you’ll let me do.”
That wasn’t what he’d been about to say.If it had been you that day.Eira had heard those unsaid words with perfect clarity. She had felt them hitting her heart like a mallet, one by one. Stinging the backs of her eyes.
Ducot carried his ring with its echo…but they all carried scars on their hearts. Noelle had been the one to die that day, she had been the one to pay the ultimate price. Yet, something inside each of them had been burned away by those flames. Andnow, new growth was beginning to bud from the ashes. But what would eventually bloom in its place was still a mystery.
17
The rest of the trek back was exactly as Eira had been expecting. Carsovia’s knights had upped their patrols. But, with some patience and a thick layer of illusions, they managed.
“Do you want me to seal it behind us?” Alyss whispered from the inside of the cave.
Eira considered it. Qwint’s runic magic would be enough to open it up again. Though it would depend on the individual having the right runes for the job…
“Leave it,” Eira decided. “If they knew it existed, they would’ve already been monitoring it. If they come behind us, it’ll be easy enough to pick them off, or seal the tunnel, then. It’s not worth risking any more magic.”
There wasn’t any debate. They plunged back into the quiet darkness. This time, Yonlin positioned himself behind her and left little doubt to it being intentional when they arrived at the tight squeeze. He stayed close. Once, his fingertips brushed against Eira’s, as if looking for reassurance that she was actually there—that the moment was real.
