He says nothing, and I think back to the time we met, when I was fifteen, when his father had just been killed in the battle against Lilith. I remember begging Grey to heal his wounds, and as soon as it was done, Nakiis fled.
He hasn’t answered, so I move closer. “It does, doesn’t it?” I say. “That’s what happened before. That’s how she trapped you.”
Nothing.
“Please,” I say desperately. I look up at Igaa, beseeching. “Please just tell me.”
For a moment, neither of them speak, and the only sound is the light rain filtering through the trees.
But Nakiis finally says, “Yes. You would have access to my magic.” He pauses. “Notjustmine. All of ours.”
I wait as the implications of that sink in.
“That is how Lilith was able to hold such a grip on Emberfall for so long,” Nakiis adds. “Once the link is forged, it cannot be broken until one of us dies.”
“So I’d have your magic forever,” I say.
“Or until he kills you,” Malin says.
Nakiis screeches at him, and it’s so shrill that we both wince. “Or until he uses that magic to trapme, soldier.” Ice slicks the entire length of the tree now, and I can see his fangs. “Until he realizes just how much power he has, and thenmypeople suffer because of it.”
Malin inhales sharply, ready to fire back, but I step forward and grab his arm.
“Stop,” I say quietly. “Stop.”
Because I suddenly understand. Nakiis’s hesitation, his wariness, his reluctance—they all make sense.
And considering everything I’ve gone through, it should never have taken me this long.
I forgave Prince Rhen because I know a bit of what he endured from Lilith. I knew she tortured him, and she tortured the king—all using magic. When Prince Rhen had me chained up on that wall, I knew he was making a terrible choice to protect his people.
I never really thought about whatNakiismight have endured at Lilith’s hands—or how that would affect him now.
He had an arrow through his wing, and he barely let me near him. He barely lets me near himnow.
I keep my voice low, because I know he’ll hear me. “I told you before,” I say. “If you need my help, I’ll help you. I won’t steal your power. I won’t trap you.” I pause and glance up at Igaa. “I’ll help youandyour people.”
He regards me through the rain, but the ice begins to melt.
“But you have toletme help you,” I say. “If scravers are killing people and we could stop it, we should stop themnow.”
“Now?They will try to kill you, Tycho. As soon as they know. The magic will not be subtle. They will feel it, and they will attack. There are still too many of them, and far too widespread. We must bide our time.”
“Then I’ll tell Grey. He can call up the army, and we can—”
“There is a reason these attacks are isolated and widespread,” Nakiis says. “Your army cannot march on them.” He pauses. “And once you have this power, you will be more powerful than your king. If you tell him, he will not be an ally. He will lock you away where I cannot get to you.”
I inhale sharply to reject the very idea of that—but I can’t. “Nakiis, tell me what you want. How do we move forward from here?”
“I am not ready to lend my magic to yours. Until then, I will continue doing what I can.”
“You could be killed before you’re ready,” I say.
At that, his frame seems to sag, and his wings droop, just a little. “Indeed,” he says. “So could you.”
Now it’s my turn to sag. As always, my life is bound to someone else’s problems.He will lock you away where I cannot get to you.
I want to deny it, but I can’t. Grey would. He absolutely would.
