Heat gathered under my collar.He touches her and Myrda will be without a king.
“I was worried you would say that.” Emi’s shoulders slouched. She sat on the corner of my bed. “Something has changed, Roark. Tell me.”
My jaw tightened. I turned away and unsheathed my blade, working on the buckle of my belt. When I tossed the weapon aside, I faced my cousin.Nothing has changed.
Emi scoffed. “Really? Because I thought your duty regarding the melder looked vastly different than what it seems like right now. Not that I’m complaining.”
My cousin was no fool, and I was a piss-poor liar when it came to Emi Nightlark. I looked down at my palms and gestured slowly.I am recalling more.
Her eyes widened. “Really? Do we know the truth?”
I shook my head.Truths have been altered, but I don’t think this is the first time I have met Lyra.
Emi shot to her feet. “I knew it. The gods pointed you to her. Of course it would change your motivation, how could it not? Ifyou’ve met before, then this has happened before, the draw to her. That’s why he helped get her free of the bloodshed.”
What are you talking about?
“Don’t play the fool. I know you’ve felt something. I saw it in Skalfirth. Gods,I felt it.”
What?
“The connection. A sjeleven bond.”
I waved her away, annoyed, but her words dug into the marrow of my bones. Tales of sjeleven—bonded souls—were spoken at marital vows. A sentimental notion that was nothing but dribble to add sweetness to a union.
Still, with the flashes of a past breaking through the shadows, perhaps there was more truth to the myth than I wanted to admit. From the first sight of Lyra, it was as though a dormant piece of my soul awakened and broke through the powers keeping it buried, only to live again near her.
“Roark, you were pulled to Lyra in House Jakobson. Nothing could break your attention away. You even took my longship to keep watch—”
I waved my hand to interrupt, but Emi silenced me with a look.
“You opened your words to her, something you rarely do. You leap into the battles at the gates like it is a personal attack onyourhome. So, I’ll ask again. What are you doing, and how?”
I am doing my duty.I replied briskly. As always.
“But you’re not.” Emi squared her shoulders. “You seem…freer.”
I hesitated, but nodded.I suppose something has changed.
“It won’t go unnoticed, Roark. That is what has me concerned—you creating enemies on both sides of a wall. With your heritage, the line you must walk is narrow.”
The same can be said of you.
“I hear a few insults about Dravenmoor.” Emi popped one shoulder in a shrug. “Hardly anything worthy of distress. You hold more power, more responsibility, and have more to lose. What do you plan to do with Lyra?”
I closed my eyes for a long pause. Emi would keep my confidence. Never had she broken my trust, and she never would. I was not certain I could even summon a lie.
I would do anything to protect her and keep her from the soul bones.
Emi rested a hand on my shoulder. “Can you give her that loyalty?”
Every day is easier.
My cousin sighed, worry written in the furrow between her brows. “Then perhaps you should tell her, let her know the risks. The truth.”
I need more time.
“If you feel as you do, be wary, cousin. Others will want the Sentry free of his distractions. I would not wait long.”
