He’d thought she was just pissed at Gerrart when she’d snapped at him at the auction. He’d assumed she was lying when Serill had asked about the scar in the prison wagon. He’d ignored the slight hesitations from Farrah and Elias when the creature was mentioned in Severina.
It was real, and they’d seen it.
Brela had stared down a celvusa and won. Then, she’d been furious enough to try to steal its power when it attacked.
Four hells, the woman was insane. She had to be, seeing as that Veil shard in her collarbone had made her a target since she was three years old.
To have no magic and be able to do the things she could do… good gods, imagine if shehadmagic.
Fire. Even if she was a Veil Worshipper, that personality was fit to be a fire wielder. She’d even rival Cason’s strength.
Who was he kidding, she’d have stronger magic than him, and even if she didn’t, she already had the brains and stamina to keep up with him.
Brela was so much different than Era. Era had started to resent him as Cason’s strength continued to grow, though he hadn’t helped the situation. It was the first rift in whatever relationship they’d been developing, and part of the reason he had preferred to hide his power. Brela, though. Gods, she was fascinated by it. She didn’t show one ounce of jealousy toward him or the other three gods-blessed in her company.
“I like this version of her. She smiles more, even without a blade in her hand,” Oni observed, running a crystal hand over Cason’s horse as he looked toward Brela.
“You knew her before Farrah and Elias,” Cason said. Little pieces of their timeline were coming together, now that the three were sharing some of it. When they met, what adventures Brela had gone on before and after meeting them, how she had come to be, well,her.
The sand sprite sighed. “I knew a wild sixteen-year-old who had gone from hunted to hunter, but still sought a home where she wouldn’t be feared. Where she wouldn’t have to hide who she truly was.”
“Did Emril know about the shard?”
“There is a reason why she told Farrah and Elias her secrets immediately and not Emril, who she’d known for years,” Oni replied. “Dernian and Ovir may have turned her into their weapon, but they are no friends to the Veil Worshippers. Those men saw something of value and made sure the leash was tight.”
“Debts so massive she could never leave.” Oni nodded as Cason frowned. She couldn’t leave their hold, but she could loosen the chain. “That’s why you shoved her into the pits.”
“Czaraw. Clever. I see why she is attracted to your mind.” The prince’s fangs glistened. “I did not shove her in the pit, though Emril did succumb to some… persuasion on my part.” He chuckled. “My intention was not to leash her as my wife. She never would have stayed, I knew that, but she confessed to saving money for a freedom she’d never achieve. It’s possible I used the opportunity to suggest a different kind of freedom, one I knew she craved more than she realized.”
“A home.”
Cason blinked and stared at Brela who was in an overly enthusiastic signing conversation with Elias, twin grins on their faces as Farrah somehow translated through her laughter for Serill.
Home was a lot more than the cottage they shared in Averlyn.
Oni had seen the flicker of light in Brela and guided her toward something good. He’d nudged her toward the woman Cason… cared for.
Cason wondered if she knew what the sand sprite had done.
He turned back to Oni. “Would Ovir betray her after she pays her debt?”
“Not unless it would give him something in return. I imagine that even with freedom, the man will still keep a claw or two in her. I doubt she will be able to let go either.” The sand sprite stilled for a moment before glancing up at Cason. “Do not punish her for the secrets she must keep. They are the reason she survives.”
“What?”
Oni stepped closer. “Be the man she believes you are, Cason. When the time comes, I hope you’ll understand.Zaxa ri aravkir.”
She is not your enemy.Cason opened his mouth to reply but the sand sprite was already wind.
He glanced over at Brela who was now looking at him, brow raised in silent question. But before she could mouth any words, Oni materialized next to her, his hand dancing in the air as a crystal circlet formed on her white-blonde hair. She hissed and swatted at the crown, but it only made the small glass diamonds glitter more fiercely in the morning sun.
Even with her frantic movements and snarling face, Cason saw it. Perhaps not a Queen, but royalty of her own making. Surrounding herself with a family bound by love and loyalty. A leader, of her friends and her people, even without a throne. A woman with a scarred past who still found a reason to smile. Sharp, beautiful, and violent.
On cue, Brela swiped the circlet from her tousled hair and chucked it at Oni, flashing not one but two vulgar gestures toward the sand sprite who was howling with laughter after catching the crown.
That. That was the woman he wanted by his side. He couldn’t explain the raw attraction to something so fierce, only that he wanted to set the world on fire with her. Two flames of the same fire, and his magic had never felt so free around her.
Not even his magic.Himself.
