Devora
Every night on the road was the same. We’d stop in some secluded area, set up camp, eat a quick dinner of dried meat and fruit by a fire, then sleep until dawn and do it all over again.
Day three and part of day four were spent traversing the rocky mountain pass of the Mistwood Mountains. It was overgrown with twisted trees and wide bushes, with dangerous holes the carriage had to maneuver around. Strange howls and animals rustling through the leaves echoed outside my tent at night, making sleep impossible.
When we finally emerged on the other side into Tenebra, I didn’t think life could possibly get any colder than Drakorum.
I was wrong.
“Holy F-Fates,” I said, teeth chattering when we stopped to relieve ourselves and let the horses get some water. “Wh-why would anyone l-live here?”
I pulled my scarf up to cover my mouth and nose, tugging my cloak tighter around my shoulders. I should’ve brought five more of them. A thin layer of gray ice coated nearly every surface in sight, from the rocky ground to the treetops to the small hills in thedistance. The dry, cold air sucked the breath out of me, making my lips crack and my hands throb.
“I suppose you can ask your family when you find them,” a voice said from behind me. I whirled around, surprised to find Nox standing there. He’d been avoiding me since we left.
“Yeah, I’ll p-put it at the t-top of my list,” I replied.
His shoulders moved up and down as he let out a disgruntled sigh, then unclasped the cloak from his neck. All he was wearing underneath was a thin button-down shirt tucked into black pants. The muscles in his arms strained as he gripped the cloak in one hand.
“Here.” He held it out to me.
I blinked. “Wh-what’s this f-for?”
“It’s called a cloak. You wear it.”
When I continued to stare at him, his lips thinned into a straight line. With another sigh, he stepped closer to wrap the thick cloak around my shoulders. My breath hitched when he moved to secure the clasp at my neck. It always surprised me howmassivehe was. His frame towered over me, easily a foot taller, his broad shoulders blocking the view of the dreary landscape.
His warm fingers grazed my collarbone. “Your teeth are about to fall out of your head.”
“W-would make it hard to talk. M-maybe then you’d like me better,” I mumbled, the tremor in my limbs already beginning to settle with the weight of his cloak. That sweet and spicy scent, like amber and smoke, enveloped me when I took a breath.
The corner of his lip twitched, but he flattened his expression into a glower once more. “Are you ready for this?”
I raised an eyebrow. “To find my family, learn magic, or be your bait?”
“Take your pick.”
“No,” I said. “To all of the above. But I will be. I won’t let you down, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He hummed and turned to the side, crossing his arms over his chest. I reached out without thinking.
“Hey.” I grabbed his forearm. He pulled away so quickly, it was as if I’d burned him. “I’mnotgoing to betray you. That person you think I am…” I shook my head. “You don’t know me.”
His eyes landed where my hand had touched him, then back up to my face. I hastily pulled both my arms back inside the cloak.
“We’ll see,” was all he said. He looked like he was about to go back to his horse, when he pursed his lips and added, “You have eight days here. That’s all I can give you. Eight days to train and hunt down whatever you can find about your past. Then we head back to Drakorum to get ready for the ball.”
I nodded, then something occurred to me. “Does he know you’re here? Scarven?”
He ran his tongue along his teeth, as if contemplating whether he would even bother answering me. I knew I was being nosy, but trust went both ways. Scarven had Noxkillingpeople for him. I hadn’t forgotten about that Lightbender rebel leader they spoke of. The others may stand by and blindly trust him, but I needed more than that. I needed to be able to ask questions and make judgments for myself.
“Yes,” Nox finally said. “I made him think it was his idea to send me. There have been whispers coming from Tenebra of an embargo against Drakorum. They seem to be suspicious of what Scarven’s been doing. He wants me to…take care of it.”
I ground my teeth together in frustration. “So you’re going to kill them. Like you did before.”
He took a step toward me, and I could’ve sworn his dragon glared back at me from his navy-and-silver eyes. “Why are you so convinced you know what happened, Devora, darling?”
“I heard what you all said.” My shoulders straightened. I refused to be intimidated, even if my heart was racing. “That Emberfell would feel this loss. That Scarven wanted him gone, and that you’re good at making people disappear. What wouldyouthink if you’d heard that?”
“I would think,” he said, his voice low, “that I was somewhere I shouldn’t be. A habit you seem to havea difficult time breaking.”
