NEIRIN
I could becomeaccustomed to waking with Evera in my arms. My mate. My love. My everything.
A soft whisper of a snore escaped her lips with each exhale. I grinned at having something to tease her for later. Brushing a kiss to her forehead, I woke her.
“We’ve slept in,” I whispered.
The light of late dawn illuminated the room. Downstairs, Maerel moved about the kitchen, no doubt making more noise than necessary to wake me.Evera stirred and pouted. With a stretch and a yawn, she curled back into me, wrapping me with a leg and holding me in place.
I chuckled. “Your brother will be worried, love. It’s time to get up.”
Outside, a raven cawed, an ominous sound like the threat of a choking fog rolling in. I frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Evera smoothed out the creases of my brow with her thumb.
“I do not know what I will do if Nox does not return. Each day that passes, the danger to my brother grows, and the deception within the castle goes uncovered. I must reveal the threat.And with the two huntsmen under Astraea’s hire in town now, everything seems all the more fragile.”
“It is not your job alone to protect your brother, Neir. There are other guards.”
Nodding, I cast my gaze aside. “I cannot risk losing another brother.”
“Alright.” She cupped my cheek, drawing me back to her. “Then we will leave today.”
“How—”
“Your fox.” Scooting back, she sat, leaning against the headboard. “It will work. I know that it will. Once we pass the bridge and the checkpoint, we can further devise a plan. Is there a concealed way into the castle?”
“There is.” I sucked in my cheek and chewed on it. Giving in to the monster still unsettled me, though Evera had proven that he listened to her, at least to an extent. I feared how he may react to Calix, or to any other who approached him. Deflecting, I voiced another hesitance—Calix’s friend. “What of Eaumond?”
Evera sighed. There was no good answer, and I knew that. But what could the boy expect? I could not take on another child. Already, I’d taken on one, which was more responsibility than I ever intended to have.
“What is the risk in retrieving the boy from the huntsmen?” she asked.
“Considerable.” And giving myself willingly over to my fox hadn’t given us a magical solution to our problems. The unsaid words held in the air.
Evera wet her lips. “I will talk to Calix.”
Cupping her cheek in my palm, I lowered my forehead to hers. Never had I known someone so selfless, so determined to help others. If only there were some way I could alter our reality, aid her in her goals instead of holding her close, holding herback. Being the voice of reason left a bitterness in the back of my throat.
Together we walkedthe main road and turned right, heading toward the market. Despite my foreboding, the morning was fair. The sun, still low in the sky, sent long shadows and warmth in our direction as we made our way along the cobblestones.
Calix had stayed at the inn, claiming he desired to aid Maerel in some of her morning tasks. I believed he lied. After Evera spoke to him about leaving Eaumond behind, he distanced himself, hardened his eyes, and withdrew from me. I could not expect him to understand, not when I asked him to risk his life—to be in the presence of my fox—so I could save my brother. Yet he had no choice in the matter, and he knew this. I suspected it made him bitter, which I could not fault him for. To be fully reliant on someone was a hollowing thought.
“Do you think Calix will forgive me?” I asked Evera.
She squeezed my hand but did not answer right away. When she did speak, her words were measured, considered. “It’s not a simple situation. He understands that. He seems to hesitate between speaking his mind and remaining obedient, though. Like, there is something he is holding back.” She halted in her steps. “Also, Neirin … he told me that the Queen offered to let you live out your life in one of her estates outside of the capital, and let the messengers take what they need from you there.”
“To accept her proposition would remove me from my brother indefinitely. In addition to that, you would not be safe among those children, should she even allow you to come withme. Astraea is controlling. It is why, I believe, she feeds from me in the places that she does. It is a mark of ownership. I suspect she would not take kindly to me having formed a mate bond.”
“Do you think she is capable of violence?”
“Of killing, you mean?”
Evera nodded.
“If it were a matter of her magic alone, yes. But Astraea is thoughtful, considering. I do not think she would act upon impulse or kill with her own hands if she could have another act in her stead. That is, when my blood is helping her control her powers. There is no way to say what her current condition is, and I will not risk you spending your life there. The woman is, most certainly, capable of violence. I believe she takes a thrill in the ‘lessons’ she forces on the messengers, that she forced upon me as a child.”
“Do you believe she could be behind your father’s death?”
