Bastard. He’d had his ownkyrivnearby, watching us the entire time.
All of us watched Zyre until he and hiskyrivfaded from view, melting into the night.
Then we turned to regard one another.
“What do you think?” Thaine asked. “Can he be trusted? Or will he try to cross us and ally with our enemies across the sea after he takes our resources?”
“Are we going to ignore the obvious?” Lucen growled. “War bonds are made in bloodandin marriage. He knows there’s a lot more to gain from House Kaalium. Fuck him. We have enough wealth, soldiers, and supplies to take on the entirety of Krynn. We have allies off-planet. They will come if we ask for their aid. We don’t need Zyre.”
“Lucen, enough,” I said, nostrils flaring. “This isn’t about our family. This is about preserving the lives of our citizens. Citizens we’re duty-bound to protect!”
Our youngest brother glared. “We all know what he wants. What he’s wanted for years. I won’t allow it.”
“It’s not up to us,” Kaldur pointed out grimly.
Lucen scoffed, stalking away to go clear his head. He only ever got riled up about one thing. Kalia. And Zyre knew how to poke at that tender place.
“His first demands we can meet,” Azur said. Now that Zyre was gone, my twin was calming, the fire in his eyes dulled. He turned to regard me. “Can you secure thedravafrom House Arada? Two hundredtunis a lot to ask of them. But it’s necessary.”
I can secure it,I thought, my gut churning with the inevitable.
But it would cost me Millie, wouldn’t it?
Duty always comes first,I thought. Though for the first time, the thought felt mocking. It made fury burn in my throat. I had given everything for the Kaalium. When would it beenough?
Would it ever be enough?
I thought of Ruaala. Of the trees’ roots feeding from her body, in the cold, hard earth. Sometimes I felt like that. Sometimes I felt like I was being consumed until there would be nothing left but my bones.
Though the words felt like stones dropping from my tongue, I said, “I can get thedrava.”
I pretended I didn’t see the shared, concerned look between Kaldur and Thaine. And I walked away from my brothers before I tore the entire forest apart in my grief.
CHAPTER35
MILLIE
Starlight shone brightly overhead, illuminating the silver metalwork Ruaala had hammered into the trees. It appeared like they were glowing, little rivers of metal flowing within the blackened trunks.
My arms ached. My legs throbbed. My whole body felt sore and tired. Since Kythel had left, I’d worked endlessly at the cottage, mostly in the front garden, digging out stones and fencing, hacking at the overgrown foliage, tearing out the rotted panels from the windows, foraging for stones from Stellara to make a new pathway, lugging them all the way back to the cottage.
Truthfully, I felt grateful for the distraction. The physical exertion felt good, especially considering thebaanyeI’d been taking made it feel like my blood was throbbing beneath my skin. An endless reminder that Kythel hadn’t fed from me in days.
The moon winds were tomorrow. He told me he’d be returning to Erzos this afternoon, but I hadn’t seen him, though I’d been scanning the sky at regular intervals, seeking his familiar figure silhouetted against it. All day, I’d had this gut-churning feeling I couldn’t dispel. So I’d thrown myself into my work, hardly breaking, even to eat.
And though it was after nightfall, I couldn’t bring myself to return to the keep.
Just as I finished scrubbing down the outside of the window panel and coating it withgaanyelpaste to dry overnight, I heard thewhooshof his wings approaching from overhead. Anticipation and nerves rose within me as I swung around, tilting my face up to the sky. Though it was dark, I’d be able to spot him anywhere, and I put the jar of paste down, setting my brush inside, and hurriedly went to meet him.
Maybe my nerves are for nothing,I thought, heartbeat quickening.Maybe he’ll wrap me in his arms and kiss me long enough that I’ll know I worried for nothing.
But when Kythel landed in the clearing and rose to his full height, I saw an expression on his face that I hadn’t seen in a very long time. It froze me right in my tracks, a hesitant smile spreading over my face, hoping I was just imagining it.
“You’re home,” I said, a warm breeze picking up. It had been windier all day, heralding the start of a strong moon-wind storm. I should’ve been relieved. Because tomorrow my father’s and Ruaala’s soul gems would be created. “When did you get back?”
Kythel inclined his head. “Just now. Vadyn said you were still here.”
He appeared tired, and the frown pulling at the edges of his mouth made him appear like he was in a foul mood. But it was the coldness in his gaze, that detachment, thatwallthat made me feel sick to my stomach.
