Chapter fifty
Seren
The morning was soft and still. We woke slowly, drowsily, limbs tangled in the sheets and in each other. Cheeks pressed to chests, and skin on skin on skin. Warmth burrowed within me, so much deeper than the heat of the hearth licking across my flesh. I felt it in my bones, in the steady thump of my overfilled heart.
Breakfast was a hurried affair, sliced fruits and fluffy eggs at the table with Harkin’s family. Yvett and Adina smiled pleasantly—knowingly—at us.
They assumed that Harkin and I were courting. I hoped after the night prior, Harkin had given up on his misguided notion that the council, or anyone else, had a say in who I chose to spend my life with.
“Thank you,” I told him. “For letting me meet your family. For coming back.”
“They loved you, Seren. You will always be welcome there. And, of course, I came back. I’ll always come back.”
I nodded, grateful for the reassurance. “In another life, we might have spent the rest of our days together in Villaz Silven. Breakfasts with your mother, and sparring with Adina…”
“Perhaps…” Harkin whispered. “But this is our life, Ren. Weonly get this one.”
“We don’t know that. After this is all over… Just, don’t give up on me. Not yet, okay?” The need to hold on to him, to make sure he knew I wanted to be selfish with him too, was so strong. It burst forth with every heartbeat.
“Alright,” Harkin agreed.
The forest path felt much shorter than it had the day before, and I could not help but feel as if it were safer, too, with Harkin by my side. The mischievous Tünécris and towering trees of the Váracis Erva were no match for the two of us together.
As the sun crested the clouded expanse of the sky, we rode upon the Acsillan palace. A flurry of activity assaulted us as we entered the palace gates. Our horses were promptly taken away, while Harkin and I were ushered to the royal quarters.
Ayla and Théo waited for us, the former pacing nervously across the plush carpet. She ran to my side, wrapping me in a hug the moment I stepped over the threshold.
“I cannot believe you slipped away without your guard!” Ayla scolded. “What if something had happened to you?”
I rolled my eyes good naturedly. My lips quirked in a smile.
“Yet nothing did.” Ayla frowned at my flippancy. I continued, “Apologies, Cousin, but there were matters I needed to see to in private. I didn't want to be observed, especially given we no longer know who we can trust.”
“Fine,” Ayla relented, looking between Harkin and I with a raised brow.
When neither of us deigned to elaborate, I gestured to the space around me. There were packs for each of us, near to bursting with supplies for our journey. Clothing and food and weapons were visible through their unsecured tops.
“We will have little time to accomplish our goals,” Théo began. “We must arrive back at the palace before the solstice in just under a fortnight. The travel will take four days alone, eight including the return trip. Performing the ritual should not take more than a day, which will leave us three days to spare in case of any unforeseen circumstances.”
I blew out a breath. I knew the timeline would be tight, but the reality of it all was daunting. There was not just little room for error, there was practically none at all.
“Were you able to find more information on Claudian’s accomplice, Théo?” I feared asking the question, but it could not be avoided.
He dipped his head, a grave expression on his face. “I believe so. There was correspondence in a locked drawer of the prince's study. He had been writing to Lady Lydia Adiran. I… looked into her. There are rumors.”
“What rumors?”
“She is a life wielder—that much we knew—but there is talk of her wickedness. Of how she became so powerful. It seems you would not have been her first victim. If the whispers are to be believed, she has stolen the mágik and the life from another before: the life wielder who sat on the council before me.”
We blew out a collective breath. It was not the news we wanted to hear, but at least we would not go in blind.
“How did you come by this information?” Harkin questioned, rubbing a tired hand down his face.
“Safiya.”
“Ah. Yes, there are five packs.” Harkin observed, glancing at each of us for confirmation.
“I take it that means you convinced her?” I looked at Ayla whose face darkened, expression twisting in a scowl.
