Damon Lunard laughed in his face. He pressed the knife harder against the captain’s pale throat. A thin trail of blood trickled down Lunard’s neck.
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t slit your throat right here.”
Lunard chuckled darkly. “I’m afraid if you did that, you’d lose some valuable information.” Dominic raised a brow. “About Adara.”
“What could you possibly know about her that would concern me?” Curious, Dominic released his hold on the pirate and dropped his dagger to his side.
Lunard was fast, but Dominic would be faster to strike, even with his weapon lowered. Out of all their years together, Damon had seldom bested Dominic. Valen was the one who usually kicked both their asses.
Lunard eyed the knife in Dominic’s hand. Knowing Dominic would never part with his weapons, the captain dismissed it as enough of a surrender to talk civilly. “She never told me much during our time together on my ship. I know she has a home she wants to return to but cannot—”
Dominic rolled his eyes and cut in. “I already know that.”
Lunard held up a hand, and Dominic shut his mouth for once, eager to gain any information that might help him win this war.
“But after I told her the legacy of Andreilia and its water that can make one ageless, she became so eager to go there. Threatened me many times to take her there—immediately. I have a feeling she wasn’t so eager about being eternally young. A few months wouldn’t make a difference, but she wanted to journey there themomentI mentioned it. I reckon there’s something else she’s after.”
Yeah, my key.Dominic clamped down on his retort. “She said she needed what everyone else needed,” he pondered aloud. “Time.”
The pirate nodded, silver jewelry swaying from his ears, shadowed by his jet-black hair. “That’s right, my friend.”
Dominic aimed his knife at Lunard’s chest. “I am not your friend,” he snarled. No, they hadn’t been friends for a very long time. Not after what happened to Valen. Lunard was only toying with him, pretending to be an ally, as if they could ever be the brothers they once were.
Lunard ignored the jab. “My point is that Adara is hiding something. I reckon it has something to do with the Realm Fracturer.”
“Yeah,” Dominic grumbled. “She doesn’t know how to get to two of the relics.”
Damon thought about this for a moment. “She knows something,” he said with certainty. “She wouldn’t charge into a bargain with you if she didn’t have a plan. Perhaps she’s hiding the relics from you.”
Dominic shook his head, pinched the bridge of his nose. None of this was making sense. What could Adara possiblyneedtime for? Where would she even hide such relics if she were able to find them before he had? And why would Lunard warn him?
“Why are you telling me this?” he asked.
Lunard merely shrugged, a devious glint in his eyes. “I warned Adara about you before she arrived on the island. It’s only fair that I give you the advantage now.”
That wasn’t all. Dominic could tell there was something he was leaving unsaid. The captain would never simply give away information to make their game fair.
“What else?” Dominic said, angling his knife toward Lunard’s throat again. One swift motion and his blood would be spilling on the docks, his body drifting out into the Plagued Sea. If Dominic weren’t such a coward, he would have done it.
“Use the Realm Fracturer like you promised you would, and maybe I’ll forgive you.”
Chapter 31
Hummingquietlytoherself,Adara took a swig of the bottle of rum she’d picked up from a tavern on her long walk through the city. The streets were abandoned at this hour of the night, especially when she reached the deepest parts of the slums of Lykrios. It was peaceful, lying on the thatched roof, gazing up at the stars with nothing but the gods to keep her company.
The only thing that could possibly make her situation better was if her ruminating thoughts would quiet for even a second. But they continued incessantly, every interaction she’d had withDominic replaying in her mind as she tried to pick apart his act, to determine what was real and what was false.
She had so desperately wanted to believe that he’d done this all for her—the dress, the festival, the dancing. She so desperately wanted to believe there was something deep within him that justified the fact that, despite all odds, she might actually care for him.
Foolish, she knew, which was why she constantly reminded herself of home. She had to win this war, take his key, forge the Realm Fracturer, and save Blemythia. Fate did not care what her heart wanted. That much had always been clear. And she’d grown tired of trying to outrun her destiny.
Fulfill the prophecy, then she’d live life the wayshewanted, not the gods. That was the plan.
You, my little flame, will do great things.Her mother, so full of love and life, had told her. But Adara never felt the words to be true, especially now.Your legacy will be eternal. Never forgotten. Therefore,youwill be eternal.Adara liked to repeat those words in her head like a prayer. At the time, she hadn’t known what her mother meant, what legacy she’d leave behind. Completely ignorant of the war that would break out across Blemythia, never having truly found peace. All because of some stupid prophecy. A prophecy for her. For the fate of Blemythia. A prophecy that got her captured and tortured by the Shadow Empire.
Adara took another drink, reveling in the burn as it slid down her throat. She recited the words in her head.When the gods disappear from the night, flee this world or come to fight. Great power once roamed the lands. When returned, make the final stand. First, merge the crown and the flame. Only then will the darkness be contained. Shall she rise or fall? A savior or destroyer of all.
Adara wished they’d killed that seer before she finished reciting the prophecy. It would have saved her a lot of trouble.
