“You have to say all of that. Youloveme.” I drew out the word with a half-hearted smirk, my anxiety from before slowly melting away.
“You aren’t those things to mebecauseI love you, Devora,” he said, carefully moving a strand of hair behind my ear. “I love you because you alreadyareall of those things. I wish you could see yourself the way I do, darling. Because you would never blame yourself if you did. You would never question whether you were at fault foranyof this.”
I rested my forehead against his. He leaned forward to skim his lips over mine, as if he felt the same pull I always did. As if he couldn’t bear the slightest distance.
“How do you always know what to say? Nobody has the right to be that charming,” I said, voice breathless.
He chuckled, but it held no humor. “It’s all the things I wished someone would say to me for so long.”
My heart twisted. I pulled back so I could see his face. “Would you believe me if I said them now?”
He gave me a sad smile. “I want to.”
“Believe that I love you.” I swallowed hard. These sorts of epic confessions and moments of raw, open vulnerability weren’t my strong suit, but for him…I would do anything.
“Believe that youarepowerful,” I continued, tracing my finger along his jawline, his lips, his eyes. “You have so many people who care about you. You’re selfless, and beautiful, and strong, and brave. You’re the perfect man to lead us. And I wishyoucould see whatIsee. What I’ve always seen, even when I didn’t want to open my eyes.”
I gently kissed him, wishing I could bottle this warmth and fullness in my heart for the days that felt empty. Wishing I could tuck us away into a world without power-hungry governors and half-brothers, without pain and loss and constant guilt.
The sound of footsteps on gravel permeated our little solace, and I broke away from him.
“Can you two save this for later?” Arowyn rapped herknuckles on the stone outside the alcove. Her light hair was drenched and swinging at her waist. “It’s time.”
62
Nox
Half a dozen black carriages rolled up the steep incline, wheels precariously close to the drop-off as the wind rocked them back and forth. From the thick cover of trees and pouring rain, we watched them make their way over the rocky threshold and out of sight, deep into the forge. The sky darkened rapidly as the sun descended and more storm clouds moved into view.
I homed my Shifter hearing in on the caravan of carriages. We needed to make sure they unloaded the cargo and took it beneath the first level, deep into the underground tunnels where Arowyn found the holding caves. That was where we could set off the explosive charm to do maximum damage to the weapons without killing all the guards on the first level.
Some of Scarven’s men chose to follow him, but many were just like his prisoners. Pawns in his games of power. Forced into the role because of what they could do for him. I didn’t want to take the chance that we’d hurt a single innocent person, even if it meant sparing some who were loyal to him.
We waited and waited, but there was nothing out of the ordinary that I could hear—instructions doled out by gruff guards,metal scraping against metal, rustling as a handful of guards unpacked the cargo.
Nobody suspected a thing. This was just a regular mission.
Everything was going smoothly.Toosmoothly. It set my teeth on edge, making my stomach clench with every whisper of movement. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a bigger play here. Something we weren’t seeing. Blowing up this weapon’s forge was one thing, but what if Scarven had more? What if this was just a small stepping stone to his end goal?
My burning curiosity and need for control couldn’t sit around here and wait while my suspicions were raised. I rocked forward on the balls of my feet. I had to see for myself. Make sure there wasn’t something else.
“I’m going to check on things,” I said to the other three. Arowyn tried to protest, but I held a hand out. “I’ll only be a minute, I promise. Devora, do you have the new piece of enchanted parchment?”
She nodded.
“Good. I’ll signal all clear on there, and then, Arowyn, you get in and set the fire quartz. Be careful.”
When they all nodded, I slipped on my charmed camouflaging ring, no longer caring about consequences for using Scarven’s “gift.” I’d already lost that trust.
Rain pelted my camouflaged skin as I left the others and stalked to the entrance. The scent of sweat, metal, and musty stone overwhelmed me, the sharp smell that could only belong to steel filling the air.
There werehundredsof boxes disappearing into the forge. Scarven’s lackeys worked with precision, forming an assembly line to remove them from the carriages, sort onto wheelbarrows, and roll down the pathways.
I got as close as I dared to one of the boxes whose lid had slipped off. Dozens of daggers glinted back at me, with blades such a dark green, they looked almost black, like oil. I touched one, then immediately recoiled with a hiss as my magic lurched.
Fatesprig.
This confirmed my fear. Scarven had imbued hundreds, if notthousandsof weapons with the herb. This entire forge was toxic to Veridians, full of objects designed to weaken and detain us before we could blink.
