I turned her back toward the Summer Realm, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and nudged her forward while my mind turned over her words.
She was not afraid of being wrong… or at least, changing her mind. She’d done it several times. And she was the strongest person I knew.
Maybe she would not be as afraid of changing her plans as I thought.
Maybe I could convince her to give up her revenge and let me court her properly.
It was the most hopeful idea I’d had in days.
Chapter 20: Khiona
Istumbled onto the solid, visible stony cliffs on the summer side of the chasm and breathed again.
Turning to look the way we’d come, my heart stuttered. That had been terrifying. I would not have done it without Andar. Yes, I could see the concentrated magic I’d left on the other side, but if I had to cross it on my own…
I shook my head. No. I would not cross it on my own. That was death waiting to happen. I would just have to convince Andar to stay with me until I went back.
He gave me a few seconds to catch my breath and then led us away from the Chasm of Death (as it clearly should be called) toward the line of trees that formed the rainforest’s edge.
Andar handed me a water satchel once we were inside the treeline. The trees here grew four times bigger than most of the trees in the winter realm. We had a few mammoth exceptions, but this forest was full of vegetative monsters. Flowers bigger than my head and trees that would take a dozen, or more, fae to surround. How many of them were edible? Would any make a pleasant tea? I had to peel my attention away from the landscape to focus on Andar.
And it would take focus. He had slipped earlier, and I wanted an explanation. “So,” I started, returningthe water satchel, “what were you saying about not helping me on this trip?”
“Oh, no.” He tied the satchel inside the pack he’d been carrying, and then set the pack on the ground. “I want to help you more than anything.”
I squinted at him. The sun was brighter in the Summer Realm, and I wanted to see his expressions. “So, are you still coming with me into the Autumn Realm to find the humans?”
He winced, opened his mouth, and then closed it.
“You’re constructing a deception?” I gaped at him, not bothering to hide my surprise. “How could you not be honest about this?” I stepped closer to him and pointed at his chest. “The one thing I asked for when I freed you?” I should have made him swear it in a bargain.
He grabbed my hand before I took it away from his chest. “I was not constructing a deception. I want… to convince you of something, and I am trying to organize a persuasive line of thought.”
I wrenched my hand out of his. “You’re not succeeding.”
He spread his hands to his sides. “Will you give me a chance?”
I clenched my fist. “A chance to trick me?”
“No.” He bent his head and met my eyes, holding them with a fiery intensity that reminded me how desperately I wanted him to stay. “I will be completely honest. Ask me anything you like. I will not try to trick or deceive you in any way.”
“Fine,” I hissed, forming an ice dagger out of the moisture in the air. I needed something to squeeze, and the hilt of a weapon seemed appropriate.
His eyes flicked from mine down to the dagger, and he lifted his hand. “May I?”
I narrowed my brows. “May you what?”
“Change it into something more comfortable.”
I squinted at him again, trying to read his intentions. He didn’t explain anything, but stepped closer to me and touched my dagger. The hilt hardened into some kind of wood, simple, but elegant, and the blade gleamed as sunlight reflected off polished steel. My ice dagger had been lethal, but the knife I held now molded to my hand, the perfect blend of reassurance and death.
I pointed the blade at Andar. “This is a risky gift.”
He ignored the knife, studying my face as if he were trying to predict my next move. “It is a gesture of trust and hope.”
Flipping the dagger around my hand, I relished the weight of wood and steel. It had been too long since I’d had a proper weapon, and just handling it made me relax. “Start your explanation, Andar. I’m listening.”
He nodded. “When I met Kortan and Gran, I realized a few things. I was tired of the endless search for power. It hadn’t saved my own grandmother, and I don’t know what became of the island we loved. I let my quest for power to do a good thing grow into an obsession that led to me doing many bad things. Things…”
