The words were raw but firm.
“And the oath you swore to Duron is broken now?”
“Yes.” The word came out rough. He looked away, toward the darkened windows. “I’m free.”
I wasn’t sure if freedom was supposed to look so haunted. But I only looked at him, this warrior prince with shadows in his eyes and scars on his soul.
“And now?” I asked quietly. “Where do we go from here?”
“Now we go to the river people. We forge this alliance. We save Lesha.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.” He sighed. “But it’s the only answer I can give you.” Something dark flickered in his eyes. More secrets, I realized.
No matter how many truths he gave me, there were still more he kept for himself. The fact was, I trusted Rydian Nytherra with my life—but I couldn’t trust him with my heart.
“I should prepare for tomorrow,” I said, my voice flat. “Good night.”
I turned to go.
“Aurelia.” My name was rough in his throat. “We’re going to save her. Lesha, your people, all of them. I swear it.”
I nodded once, not trusting myself to speak. Despite everything—despite the betrayal and the hurt and the complicated mess between us—I believed him. Maybe that made me a fool.
I made it to the door before his voice stopped me one more time.
“You weren’t just a job,” he said hoarsely. “Not for a long time.”
I didn’t look back. Didn’t let him see how those words affected me. “See you in the morning.”
I slipped into the corridor before he could say anything else. Before I could do something stupid like ask him to define “a long time.” Before I could forget that I had bigger things to focus on than whatever this thing between us was or wasn’t.
Tomorrow, we’d go tothe river people.
Tonight, I’d remind myself that hope was dangerous. Especially when it came to males who dealt in shadows and secrets.
Chapter Thirteen
Aurelia
The mountain wind smelled of frost and pine sap, the cold sharp enough to sting my lungs when I breathed. The sun hadn’t yet cleared the peaks by the time I’d gathered my things and emerged from the cabin, but its soft light caught on the edges of the valley below—casting the world in soft gold that made the haze-wrapped Midnight Court look deceptively peaceful.
I joined Amanti near the stone circle, my swords strapped to my back—both returned to me this morning by Daegel—and a small pack of supplies in each hand.
“Did you get any sleep?” I asked her, noting the dark circles.
“Some.”
“I dreamt about Lesha,” I admitted.
“As did I.”
Worry coiled inside me. I shoved it away.
“Where are the others?” I asked.
I’d wondered if they would even join us. Keres and Thorne, especially. But every single one had heard our plans and jumped right in with their own preparations. No one had blinked an eye or bothered to make a pronouncement; they’d just jumped into action. Like a unit. Like there was never any question that where one went, the rest followed.
