“You speak of the Lady Caramyn?”
“Unfortunately.” The words drifted from Asterious’ in one breath like smoke in the dark as he clutched the withering rose in his hand. “I don’t understand what she’s done to me.”
Azell stepped closer. “Your mother once confided in me about a similar feeling,” she said. “About the consuming passion she’d felt for King Vaerwynd before Daemar killed him, and how it ached like a hole in her chest every day that she had to live without him.”
“Yes, but of course she would feel that way. He was her mate,” Asterious muttered, shaking off the thought before it could take root. Mates were rare. A fated Lightborn bond created only when two souls carried fragments of the same god’s heart from the divine Shattering. And there was no possible way a Shadowblood could be his mate, if he even had one.
He sighed and hung his head. “What I feel for Caramyn has no explanation.”
As he concealed the rose in a closed fist, he thought of his last words to her, and still felt their bitter sting on his tongue.
I never want to see you again.
When he’d said those words, he didn’t know that despite what he thought he wanted, heneededher to stay. He hadn’t known how he would break for her when she was really gone. Had he known the anguish her absence would bring, well…
He didn’t know what he would do—because no matter how badly he wanted her, he couldn’t let himself destroy her.
All he hoped for now was the reassurance that she was safe.
“There’s...there’s something...” Azell’s voice quivered but strengthened as she spoke. “There’s something I need to—”
The rapid beating of wings above interrupted. Asterious looked up to see a raven—Caramyn’s raven—sweeping downto them with its talons curled around something sharp and metallic.
“That damned bird.” He clenched his fist, and his voice lifted, suddenly filled with hope that she was near. “That’sherbird.”
The raven swept down near to the ground, as though it had used every last bit of strength to perform the maneuver. Azell gasped as the creature ruffled its feathers and stared upright at the prince, dropping the object at his feet. A dagger.
Asterious reached down to pick it up, but then remembered the jolt of pain he would feel if he so much as grazed it with a fingertip. So he crouched down instead to get a better look. It was a hunting knife with the unmistakable craftsmanship of rural mountain folk. Marks of frequent use stained the well-worn black handle, but the blade was just as sharp as new.
“What is this supposed to mean? Whose is this?”
The bird fluttered to his shoulder and immediately began to preen its feathers. Asterious cursed under his breath and shook his head. Whatever puzzle this strange, confusing creature had delivered, it was quite unclear…and he didn’t have time for more puzzles.
“Did someone hurt Caramyn? Did this belong to her?”
The raven poked up its head to let out a caw and then went back to preening nervously.
“Someone hurt her? Is the dagger hers? Is that a yes or no, damn it?”
“It is hers.” Azell added suddenly.
Asterious turned to her, his face wrought with surprise.
“I noticed it strapped to her leg one evening when I was preparing her bath, and she began to undress behind me. I never let her know that I saw her in the reflection of my silver pitcher.”
“You knew she had a dagger? All this time? She could’ve tried to kill me with it.”
“But she didn’t. And we both know she would’ve had quite the difficult time trying to kill you. I wasn’t worried.” Azell’s voice held firm with a hint of a laugh as she met the prince’s gaze. “Don’t you see, Asterious? You and her aren't so different. You both hide beneath these hardened exteriors, both terrified of someone looking closer and seeing your true heart.”
“The only thing true about my heart is that it would destroy both of us. It’s for the best that she’s gone.”
“Is it?” Azell raised an eyebrow.
Asterious stood, catching a brief glimpse of his hated reflection in the blade. “If she wanted to betray me, she could have done it long ago. She had every reason to hate me from the beginning.” He gently poked the bird to get its attention, hardly believing he was desperate enough to be asking it questions. “If this is her dagger, then why isn’t it with her now?”
The bird lifted into the air and clamped its beak around Asterious’ coat lapel, tugging insistently. “I think he wants you to follow him,” Azell said, a twinkle in her eye.
“I’d say so.” The prince remarked, stepping forward as the bird flew off, soaring into the palace halls.
