My eyes widened. “You were one of Scarven’s prisoners?”
Everett adjusted in his seat and cleared his throat. “Yes. My parents died when I was a teenager. His men found me on the streets of Iluze and brought me back to his manor.”
“I’m so sorry,” I breathed out. “How long were you there?”
There was a beat, and his hands tightened around the book. “Seven years, I think.” He licked his lips, suddenly looking younger. Hesitant. As if those memories turned him into that fearful teenager again. “Time is…different there. I lost track of the years, until Nox pulled me out.”
I knew better than to ask what kinds of torture he endured. That was none of my business. But the pain in his eyes told me enough. Something lurked behind the dual-toned green and gray, something that spoke of darkness.
The more I learned, the more people I met whom Scarven had hurt, the more I wanted to stop him. What people like Everett had gone through…it was becomingrealto me. It made my stomach clench, an icy awareness tightening around my throat.
This was about so much more than just me finding my family.
Not wanting to dwell on Everett’s discomfort for too long, I turned to Arowyn. “What about you? How did you meet Nox?”
“It was about a year ago. Both of us competed in the Decemvirate at the capital, and he and I became allies. Friends, I guess.” She looked out the window at that last word, and something about her answer felt unfinished. Like there was more to the story.
“The Decemvirate? Isn’t that a tournament your people have every year?” I remembered reading the word in one of the history books.
“Every ten years,” she said. “But not anymore, if Empress Aris has anything to do with it.” I squirmed at the mention of Clarissa. “When the Fates gave us our magic three-hundred-and-whatever years ago, there was a catch: it fades over time. There’s this ritual the emperor can do to replenish it, and someone decided long ago to turn it into a competition.” Arowyn rolled her eyes. “So, every ten years, each province had to submit their strongest challenger to compete in a bunch of trials. The winner’s province received the most magic, all the way down to the person in last place, who barely got any. And then we did it all over ten years later.”
I blinked. “That sounds…”
“Gratuitous,” Everett offered.
Arowyn nodded. “It’s ridiculous, I know. But that’s howI met Nox. He was Drakorum’s challenger, and I was Celestria’s. We were friends until…” She broke off and sighed, emotion flickering across her features. “Look, it was every person for themself. Those games aren’t the kind you should make allies in. Not when there’s only one winner. I cut ties before I did something I’d regret.”
Perhaps Arowyn and I were more similar than I thought. “So how did you reconnect?”
“Nox came to see me in Celestria a few months after the tournament. Said he had a place for me, if I ever wanted to put some of my aggression to use.” She snorted. “Told me about Scarven’s operation and how he’d started a group of rebels set on rescuing as many people as they could, and eventually wipe Scarven out completely. They didn’t have a Strider yet, and he thought I’d come in handy. Nox can be very convincing.”
I shifted in my seat, remembering the carefree, charming yet commanding man I’d seen glimpses of in Mysthelm and with his Order. So very different from his wrath.
“I know what you did. To Clarissa,” Arowyn suddenly said. There was no judgment in her voice, simply a statement of fact. “I probably would’ve done the same thing.”
“I’m not sure that makes me feel any better.”
She shrugged. “Wasn’t supposed to. But I know why you did it. You were trying to make the most of a bad situation. I think everyone knows you did what you could to try and keep her alive, in your own way.”
I let out a small scoff. “Then why does he still hate me?”
Arowyn gave me a curious look. “It’s because you’re likeus. You’re clever and resourceful and obviously not scared to get your hands dirty. You barely know anything about our cause, and you’re already diving in headfirst. Sure, you’re getting something out of it, but I have a feeling it’s more than that.” She crossed her arms over her full chest. “But you’re unpredictable. I think he knows how great you could be, and the fact that he can’t trust you scares him.”
“Do you?” I tilted my head. “Trust me?”
“I don’t really trust anyone,” she said, a smirk in her eyes. “But I like you. So that’s good enough for me.”
My gaze trailed over to Everett. I knew he’d been listening, and my question wasn’t only for her. If I was supposed to work with these people, I wanted to know where I stood. “And you, Everett?”
His eyes searched me, guarded and stoic, but with a hint of something more. Resolution, maybe. Determination.
“If you’re our best hope for finding out how to take Scarven down, then I don’t really have a choice but to trust you,” he said slowly. “I made a promise to someone there. Someone I said I was coming back for. And I don’t intend to break that promise.”
A chill swept down my spine that had nothing to do with the cold air. The carriage came to a stop, and despite the heaviness in Everett’s words, they lit a fire inside of me. For once, it felt like we were getting on the same page. Understanding each other. Learning to trust.
Perhaps I really could get everything I wanted. My answersandmy redemption.
16
