Brela grinned. “I know. I think we needed the reminder.” She reached out and squeezed their hands. “I love both of you.”
“We love you,” they replied in unison. Farrah planted a kiss on Brela’s cheek and whispered, “Be safe.”
It was an effort to let go of her hand as she walked over to Serill and Cason who had tugged the horses out.
Elias, still lingering, turned back to Brela, his face solemn. “Use it if you have to.”
She raised her brow in question.
“Shadow magic.”
Her eyes widened. “El, I can’t—“
“If there isn’t hellthorn to stop you, use it. How long has it been since you’ve used your magic? The inn?” She nodded. “Remember the last time it built up like this?”
Lord Ihon’s manor. As if the shade affinity hadn’t already been hard to control, that magic had spilled out of her so strongly, she’d knocked her sense of taste and smell out of whack for two months. And then…
Calcheth.
And she was starting to feel that itch again, made worse by the Veil wall being so close.
“If it will save your life,” he continued, “if it will buy you time to escape, use it. Please. Just…” His jaw worked for a moment. “If Cason sees it, he’ll hesitate. I can see it in the way he looks at you, but if not… at least he’d make it quick.”
A quick death. Unlike the one she’d get if she were captured. Maybe Elias had a point.
Brela could only wrap her friend in a hug again. “I won’t need to use it, El. This will work and I’ll get out of there alive.” She leaned away and gripped his cheeks. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Bre,” he replied, pressing his lips to her forehead before walking off to his horse. “I will see you in six days.”
Brela watched Serill and Cason shake hands and a quick embrace. Once mounted, the prince’s horse stalled next to Brela.
She bowed dramatically. “It’s been a pleasure, Prince Serill of Severina.”
“I knew I liked you, Brela,” he said with a grin, then jerked his chin toward Cason. “Take care of our fire breather, okay?”
“Of course, Your Highness,” she replied with a wink. Her smile faded. “Tell Oni that I’m sorry I couldn’t help more… and tell him… never mind.”
Tell him thank you for showing me freedom when I was sixteen, for keeping my secrets, for turning my life around. Tell him I’m done running this time.
Serill’s brow raised in confusion, but he shuttered it quickly. “See you in six days.”
She nodded, giving him a half-hearted smile as Cason strolled up with their horses in tow. “Ready?”
Brela sighed and ran her hand over her chest, watching her friends and the Prince of Severina head east. “It’s not too late for you to back out and go with them.”
Cason paused. “I’m not letting you go alone.”
She sucked in a breath and faced him. “Then I can’t put off this conversation any longer.” Swallowing the lump in her throat, fighting the pain in her chest, she steeled her features. “I need you to promise me something, and you have to agree to it. No bargains, no buts, just agreement to my conditions.”
He frowned and shook his head. “Brela, I can’t agree to something—“
“Cason.”
The fire wielder pinched his lips closed in frustration, but remained silent.
“There are things I need you to do if I am caught while we are spying.” Cason stilled, eyes widening. “If you get the opportunity, I need you to kill me.”
“Brela—“
