Cassiel
Cassiel listened to the gallop of the horses as the dark carriage rocked and rattled over the bumpy road. Silvery moonlight trickled in through the small, round windows. Night had arrived and the late autumn chill fogged the glass. Lucenna kept Rawn company in the coachman’s seat as he steered the carriage at a steady pace. Zev ran alongside them somewhere in the wilderness. He’d opted for the outdoors rather than the cramped quarters.
A lantern hung on a rusted hook from the ceiling, creaking as it swayed back and forth. It was for Dyna’s sake, but he couldn’t sleep with it on. She lay curled against the carriage wall with her head pillowed against her forearm. As soon as the sun sank on the horizon, she had fallen asleep. Cassiel guessed they would arrive in the Port of Azure by morning. They’d ridden non-stop since leaving Argos Valley yesterday.
They were fortunate to have a moment of rest. It wouldn’t last. Too much had happened in the near month since his journey began. And Tarn wasn’t the only hindrance in their way.
“Cassiel,” Dyna murmured and blinked drowsily at him. “I sensed your worry in my dreams. Are you having trouble sleeping?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. Gods. It shouldn’t surprise him she could feel him in her sleep when he could feel her fear during nightmares, too.
“A lot burdens my mind.”
Dyna stretched her lithe arms above her. “Tell me.”
“The odds are against us. Each of us has a threat hanging over our heads. Tarn is after you, Red Highland hunts Rawn, Zev is in the depths of despair, and Lucenna is on the run from the Magos Empire.” He nodded at the alarm appearing on her face. “A lot impedes us from reaching Mount Ida. I don’t know how long we can avoid—”
“What do you know about Zev?” she cut him off. “Did he say something?”
A part of Cassiel wanted to tell her what Zev had asked of him, but it didn’t feel right to share it. He knew Dyna had noticed, seen the signs of Madness—the moments when Zev was more animal than man.
More dangerous.
Dyna read his grim expression, and her face fell. “At the fjord, he chose to stay, hadn’t he?”
It wasn’t really a question.
“The anniversary of his father’s death is in a few days.”
Well, now it made sense why Zev was more erratic. He seemed better recently, but it would be foolish to trust it. Zev stood on the edge and anything could push him over.
“I thought … if I promised to chain him for the rest of his life, he would live,” Dyna murmured.
“The guilt is too much,” he murmured.
It was hard to live when you couldn’t breathe, and guilt was suffocating.
Something Cassiel knew all too well when the deaths of the Raiders had weighed on him like an immense boulder he carried everywhere he went. But Rawn was right. He’d done what he had to do. This journey would likely put him in more situations where he would have to protect Dyna at the expense of others. She was his bonded. He would keep her safe, and no one would impede that.
“But how do I take it away?” she asked. “I’ve told him several times it wasn’t his fault.”
“It is something he has to forgive himself for.”
It had been years since Zev had accidentally killed his father. He had held onto the blame for so long, maybe he couldn’t forgive himself now—and it may be the death of him. Cassiel wasn’t cruel enough to tell Dyna that, but he didn’t need to. She already knew. The moonlight shone on her misting eyes.
He shifted in his seat, scratching at his chin. Not knowing what words of comfort to say to her or how to find them, he leaned his head back to watch the sway of the lantern. They sat in silence as the carriage rocked them along the road. She attempted to muffle her sniffing as she wiped her face with the sleeve of her dress.
By the gods, he should at least offer her a handkerchief. But his fingers brushed along the trimming in his coat pocket, remembering he didn’t carry one.
“What is the threat hanging over your head?” she asked after a moment.
Cassiel frowned. “Well, is it not obvious? Should poachers capture me, not only would I lose my life, the discovery would lead to Celestials being hunted again.”
“I’ll ask Lucenna if she can spare some stardust for your clothing,” Dyna said. “Its magic is rather versatile. Lucien says it can do more than create space. They also use it to light their homes in Magos.”
Cassiel rolled his eyes as she rambled on about how great the mage was. Since their meeting, Lucien always called through the orb to speak to her in the morning and evenings. She appeared to enjoy his attention, always giggling as they conversed for hours. Having agrandtime.
“You are quite taken with him,” he said aloud, much to his horror.
