“I see that.” Without warning, his hand lifts from my neck, and my breath catches again. But he only touches a finger to my jaw, gently brushing along the scabs on my cheek that will certainly turn into scars. “Scraver scars are rare. Most humans don’t survive.”
“Many didn’t.”
“Youdid.” His eyes hold mine, and he lets go of me altogether, taking a step back. He folds his arms and leans back against a tree. “You see why I had you lay down your bow.”
I press a hand to my neck, expecting to find trickles of blood from broken skin, but there’s none. I shiver, and it’s not entirely from the cold in the air. “Why can’t Tycho return?”
“He has enough magic in his blood that scravers can sense him. If he is attacked, a scraver would know him for a magesmith. They would kill him. But there is also growing discord within the palace, and the king worries about discontent over magic. He and Tycho argued over it, and the king refused to allow him to leave.”
“So he’s protecting Tycho? Or the kingdom?”
“Both? Neither?” Nakiis looks at me steadily, and he lifts one shoulder in an ambivalent shrug. “He could be protecting himself.”
“Whyarethe scravers attacking?”
“The others want to root out the remaining magesmiths to destroy them. It seems the people of Syhl Shallow are determined to drive the king right out from behind his walls—and it’s working. Once they do, there are scravers who will be waiting.”
I swallow, thinking of the number of times I’ve heard people say that the monster has returned to Emberfall—right when the Truthbringers have gained a strong foothold on both sides of the mountain. King Greyand Queen Lia Mara were nearly killed over fears of the king’s abilities, and it’s not like these attacks will endear anyone to magic.
I study him. “Why don’tyouwant to kill the magesmiths?”
“Because I have seen the ways of your wars. Xovaar and the others are shortsighted. Humans have us outnumbered. Their fear is currently directed at magic. But if we kill the magesmiths, we will have no allies when humans eventually turn onus.”
Xovaar.I remember the name from the first attack. “Can you stop the others?”
His black eyes hold mine, and he’s silent for a moment. “Not yet. There are too many of them—and they have found human allies among the Truthbringers.”
I frown, turning that around in my head. “Allies? But who would—”
“I can’t remain here for long, Jax. If you have a return message for Tycho, give it to me, so I can be on my way. If there have been attacks close by, I need to be swift. There are many of my kind who would harmmeif they could. Things in Syhl Shallow are already perilous enough, and I will not leavemypeople unguarded.”
For a flash of time, he sounds vulnerable, and I frown, because it’s odd to hear vulnerability from a creature who casually mentioned ripping out my organs.
But if I’m understanding him correctly, Nakiis risked something to come here. All this way, just to carry a message, and to bring one back.
Tycho asked for a favor. So here I am.
Tycho would have to trust Nakiis to ask for this.
Nakiis would have to trust him to do it.
“Thank you for doing this,” I say, and his eyes flick back to mine. “It’s been weeks. I’ve been worried.”
Nakiis looks startled, but his lip turns up, revealing the edge of his fangs again. “As I said. He begged me to come. He will be quite relievedto know you are alive and well.” He pauses. “What message shall I bring back?”
Amessage.I don’t even know what to say! What can I send through a third party?
Against my will, my thoughts summon the moment Sephran pressed his mouth to mine.
It was nothing. I stopped him.
Guilt makes my chest clench anyway.
“Tell him I can be patient,” I say, and my voice has gone whisper-rough. “And when he gets back, we’ll go to Silvermoon, just like he promised.” I reach back and pull the length of twisted steel that holds my hair in a knot. My cheeks are hot, but it’s dark, and I don’t care. I hold out the pin. “Give him this. Please.”
I expect him to ask why, or what it means, but he doesn’t. His fingers close around the steel, he leaps into the air, and he’s gone.
I’m back at the door of the Shield House before I realize the weight of everything Nakiis said. My thoughts were wrapped up in memories of Tycho and the idea of him pleading with Nakiis to send a message—and the guilt I feel over what happened.
