"Maybe he's withholding information for a reason." I narrowed my gaze at the emperor.
"Perhaps, but I truly doubt it, Fawn. He's as trustworthy as you, and I do trust you. Matthieu has been on our side for a long time. Don't discount him because he's a little...off." Emperor Lloyd shook his head. "I'll send him to your cottage in a day's time. Whether you trust him or not, I'm telling you he's a part of this. Ask him about your suspicions, and if you still feel off about it, we can dig into why. But I need to handle some things. Give Matthieu the potion vials and documents you found. He'll bring them by. He's headed toward our castle, anyway. Call me if you find out anything new."
"Fuck." I ran my hand down my face as the summoning faded.
"It's okay," Jas murmured, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me back against his chest. "We can always kill him."
"We can't kill him," Silas sighed, running a hand through his purple hair. "The emperor has a serious soft spot for the guy."
"Torture him?" Cas offered.
Silas let out an exasperated sigh but nodded. "Sure. If he's a dick, go for it."
"No complaints here." Bastian shrugged.
"I agree with the torture," I grumbled, crossing my arms. "But if he's a danger, I'm the first to say I told you so."
"Fair enough." Silas's lips quirked into an amused smile before he cleared his throat and glanced around the cave. The screeches from the dementids had died down, and the bone mage's spirit was no longer with us. "Should we stay here tonight and let Aimon rest?"
"I think that would be the best. He's never died and come back before. Both his spirit and body need to rest after unleashing that much power." A shiver shuddered through me at the memory of the first time I had died. I hadn't had a moment to rest, though--even though I desperately needed it.
Aimon had the chance to rest after his first death, and I wanted to give that to him. He deserved it.
"Wanna cuddle?" Jas whispered in my ear.
"Of course she does. We're in a creepy cave with dementids around us." Cas scoffed, laying down on the moss-covered cave ground. "I definitely need us to dog pile in and sleep around each other."
"I'm down for that." Jasper led us over to his brother, and we laid down between Casper and Aimon's sleeping form with me between Aimon and Jasper.
Bastian lay on the other side of Aimon while Silas lay down next to Casper.
I summoned a few logs of firewood and lit it on fire a little ways into the cave as a fail-safe in case Casper's light went out, but I had a feeling that wouldn't happen.
I'd been much more conscious about using fire around Bastian since his fear had been more noticeable, but it was necessary to sleep without the fear of us being torn apart and eaten by dementids.
Revival would've beenhellto go through if that happened.
"I'm glad we can't die," Bastian broke the silence with a low murmur. "Seeing Aimon die... Ever since we became the shield of the Lethium Empire, I've feared one of us dying. Fawn, you changed that for us.Thank you."
Grief and relief mingled in my throat as I let my eyes flutter shut. "Thank all of you for taking the curse in stride. It's a lot less lonely this way...and for the record, I'm so thankful you five can't die anymore."
"We feel the same way," Silas said, and the rest of the group chimed in with their agreements.
My heart swelled with appreciation and excitement for what was to come. There was a war on the horizon and insane potions being brewed, but with these five mages, I looked forward to the days to come.
3
AIMON
A dull throbspread through my chest.
I had been stabbed in my heart by my own rib bone. Bone mages were creative, so I shouldn't have been surprised by what happened to me. But somehow, I still was.
Floating in between life and death with the glowing pool of Hexarium's power was a lot more comforting than I could've hoped for. But reviving back to my family had been even better. I wasn't ready to leave them, and I never would be.
With Fawn's bond connecting us to Hexarium, I didn't have to fear leaving them or them leaving me.
We would be a family forever, and that thought filled me with ease.
