“Who said he told me anything?” Kade paced to the fireplace and opened a stone box, took out a single black feather and tossed it high into the air, where it floated for a second too long.
The feather became a raven circling the low-hangingchandelier, before swooping down to perch on his shoulder, beady eyes swinging from me to Ryland. I sipped my drink, and the little beast cocked his head, like he was judging me.
So I took another, bigger, sip.
Fuck off, little beastie; you’re not even real.
“I still have a few tricks, even though the bastard stole my magic. Gravelock’s got enough guards posted around Gravespire to win a small war. That’s where the Triune is, and as a bonus, it’s close. A half day’s walk due south, or,” the bastard winked as he affectionately scratched the bird’s head, “ten minutes, as the crow flies. My friend here will show you the way, all you have to do is follow.”
Yup. Totally called it.I took another sip, waiting for Ryland to chime in.
“I’m not tracking a fucking bird across the most dangerous stretch of land in Valarian,” Ryland snapped. “I need proof, not the word of someone who hasn’t set foot outside this island in fifty years.”
“Varian can give you all the proof you need, can’t you, Kronos? He’ll sniff those artifacts out from a mile away.”
Of course, the fucker knew I already sensed their presence pull, that insistent tug at the center of my gut, like someone had gouged an enormous hook into me and yanked.
I could even tell the difference in what kind of gold called to me.
Gilder, jewelry, mithrium from the Pale. It all…felt different.
And this…
I blew out a breath, slow and even, the kind that should have settled me, but only made the wanting worse.
This wasn’t coin, or treasure, but something crafted from ancient magic and pure intent.
Relics hewn from raw Fae power, magic given form, twisted into shapes that had no business existing this side of the veil. There was a hint of malice to them now, having absorbed some of their previous master’s hate and cunning, the sheer force of them paralyzing me.
I felt that incessant call like a siren’s song, but this wasn’t gentle and warm; this was a screech of ancient fury, cold and demanding, dangerous in ways I hadn’t yet figured out. I took another sip and watched the bird hop off Kade’s shoulder and begin pecking at the meager crumbs scattered amongst the broken crockery.
“And then what?” Ryland asked harshly. “You expect us to fight our way through Lord Butcher’s entire private army to fetch your precious artifacts?”
The bastard shrugged. “Good thing you brought a hired blade. That Commander of the Dreadwatch will do just fine against Gravelock’s men. Shouldn’t even be a contest, since I’ve heard she’s quite adept at chopping off heads at the drop of a…”
My glass hadn’t even shattered, and my hands were wrapped around Rooke’s throat, both of us crashing to the floor, the crow squawking as it flapped back up into the chandelier.
Ryland simply took another drink when I plunged my fist into the bastard’s face, blood splattering across the chair, the rugs, me. I hit him again.Again.Then once more, just because it felt so fucking good to hurt something.
“There,” Ryland said, taking a long draw from his glass. “Is that ballsy enough for you, Kaden? Let’s get one thing straight. We don’t fucking work for you. This is a partnership, which means we make decisions together. And Lyrae isn’t part of this, so leave her out of the equation. We’ll get your fucking artifacts as agreed. You’ll help us destroyGravelock, as agreed, then we go our separate ways. That’s the deal, remember?”
I wiped my bloody knuckles down the front of Rooke’s jacket before I extricated myself, body aching as I rose, feeling every bit of exhaustion pull at me as I headed for the stairs. “Leave Lyrae out of this, or we walk, and this whole fucking realm can rot.”
“I lit a fire in your room, Kronos.” Rooke coughed harshly, the sound wet with blood, and a twinge of guilt went through me. “Unless, of course, you’re planning on keeping the Commander warm. I do wonder, which of you will end up with the prize at the end of this, since you’re both so obviously in love with the same female.”
I kept walking, wishing I’d hit him hard enough to shut him up for good.
Ryland caughtup with me as I stood in front of our rooms, debating, as Kade had called it so accurately, which bed I would be sleeping in tonight.
“We have to settle this now.”
“I’m not fighting you over Lyrae.” I wouldn’t win, and somehow, the thought of us fighting over her like a bone didn’t sit right with me. Me and Ryland had been through hell together, were closer than brothers, and yet Lyrae was the one thing that would shatter us apart.
But I wouldn’t—couldn’t—tear our friendship apart with my fists. Nor did I see another way this would end except with one of us on the outside.
And I’d spent too long on the outside already.
“I have no intention of fighting you, Varian,” he said thickly, looking like he was at war with himself, or possibly at war with the world. “I was thinking there might be another solution.”
