Chapter 28
Emmeric
WhenZaneandTalonreturned, Emmeric felt like he was able to finally exhale a breath he’d been holding for several hours.
“You found them?They’re okay?”he asked as he hugged his best friend.
“They’re fine.Scuti took them to the border of Nyr.They say hello and want me to tell you to be careful.”
Emmeric chuckled, missing Talon’s parents with a fierceness that surprised him, then sobered.“Can we trust Scuti?”
“I don’t trust anybody,” Iyana chimed in from where she sat on the floor.Her back was leaning up against the wall, her arms crossed across her chest, her eyes closed.Emmeric had honestly thought she was asleep.“But I’m happy to hear your parents are okay, Tal.”
Emmeric guided Talon away from her with a hand on his shoulder.“Doyouthink we can trust him?”
Tal ran a hand through his hair and sighed.“I don’t know.It seems like he’s telling the truth about Rigil killing his astalle.He told us that he plans on helping the stars to be banished and then killing himself so he can be with her again.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, it was heavy stuff.He sounded really sincere, though.And I’m pretty sure he actually took my parents to Nyr.”Talon frowned.“Though they could be in a dungeon somewhere right now and I wouldn’t know.But my gut is telling me they’re safe.”
Emmeric nodded.He had been thinking the same thing.Scuti seemed much more forthright than Altair ever had.So either he was much better at hiding his true intentions or he was an unlikely ally.
Hopefully, once they left Athusia, they wouldn’t require the assistance of any stars at all.Hopefully the Istorian queen would offer them her army so that Nyr would part with theirs.Hopefully they would figure out how to banish the stars again.
If Emmeric was being honest with himself, they were basing most of their plans onhope.It didn’t exactly instill him, or anyone, with confidence for their future.Odds were they would all die.
His gaze stuck on Iyana again—this time she was actually dozing against the wall.Emmeric would do everything in his power to keep her alive, to make sure she got through this intact.Because while she was confronting Altair, he’d heard something that gave him some sort of stupid hope for the future.
She had told Altair, “When you made the decision to steal my magic that day in the Dead Lands, you broke us.I can’t be with you.”
But Emmeric had heard her thought right after she made that statement.
Not when I have Emmeric.
It had been quiet, and brief, but he heard her think it.His entire brain seemed to shut down, and he looked at her with his eyes wide.Not only because he’d actuallyheardher thoughts, but because ofwhatshe’d been thinking.
Emmeric was utterly and completely hers.
There would be no denying her after this.Emmeric had to hold back at the time to keep himself from crushing her against the wall and kissing her again.He missed the feel of her lips, the taste of her tongue.He was desperate to have her underneath him.But he had meant it when he said he wouldn’t fuck her until she wanted all of him.It was only fair to himself.
He’d never had a broken heart before.He was always the one to use women and leave them.Emmeric knew, though, that if he gave her the chance, Iyana was capable of completely eviscerating him.
Still…
Not when I have Emmeric.
His heart swelled and his stomach swooped every time he replayed those words in his mind.It was something they would need to discuss, but not right then.He was exhausted, and they’d be sneaking back out of Athusia in the morning to begin their trek to Istoria.Emmeric sat down, and sleep took him under immediately.
The next day, Emmeric opened his mouth no less than three times to talk to Iyana about what he’d overheard, and each time he closed it again without uttering a word.It didn’t help that they still shared a horse.His arms were around her waist, her ass was pressed into his crotch, and her smoky lavender and coconut scent wafted into his nose.It was enough to drive a man insane.
In the end, he decided to simply test a theory.
Mouse.
She jumped so hard, Emmeric had to wrap an arm around her middle to keep her from falling off of the horse.Iyana’s head whipped around, and she stared at him with wide eyes, fear seeping from her pores.
“What the fuck was that?”
