Graviter’s focus flickers to the medallions and for the first time since he arrived, he seems more wary than wrathful.
Still, he’s yet to respond, and his silence unsettles me more than if he’d raged at her.
“We will have a war,” Asha says, her eyes narrowing at him. “Is that what you want, Dragon King? Because if it is, then let it begin here and now. With you and me.”
Chapter 45
Graviter Rex takes a slow step toward Asha.
The tip of his tail swishes against the remaining snowdrifts near the trees at the edge of the forest. The wounds in his side are healing much faster than I thought they would, but I’ve proven I can do serious damage to him if I want.
My claws remain out.
As the heavy silence between us extends, snowflakes begin to float once more through the air, a sign of the receding heat.
Graviter’s lips finally part with a low rumble, but his request is unexpected.
“Wolf,” he says, addressing me, although he doesn’t take his eyes off Asha. “Bring me a leaf from that tree. The one beneath which Milena Ironmeld now lies.”
I don’t want to move too far away from Asha, let alone step all the way back to the tree, which is a good thirty paces behind us.
What’s more, I’m not sure what Graviter’s purpose could be right now.
I expected violence.
Instead, he’s unnervingly subdued. I can’t assume he isn’t trying to lure me into a false sense of peace.
Before I can object, he says, “I give you my word I will not harm Asha Silverspun while you do as I ask.”
I consider him carefully.How can I tell if he’s lying?
His heartbeat is steady, his body language is relaxed.
Fuck. The answer is: I can’t.
Asha gives me a little nod. I don’t miss the way her fist closes around the two black medallions now pressed to her left palm.
I’m also conscious of how bloodless her lips and cheeks are.
The longer she holds that metal, the longer the pain the medallions cause her continues.
I hurry toward the tree but don’t turn my back completely, keeping Graviter within my sights and my claws extended, prepared to use all my speed to sprint back to Asha at a moment’s notice if I need to.
There are many leaves strewn on the ground along the way, caught on the rocky surface, but they’re burned. Some are so blackened that they’re curled into the shapes of cocoons.
I head for the bough that was farthest from the fire where the tree’s bark is un-scorched and a few glistening, blue leaves still hang.
Quickly plucking a single one, I veer toward the trunk and to Milena, where she has remained sitting.
So far, Graviter has been true to his word and hasn’t lashed out at Asha. They aren’t speaking to each other. I’d be able to hear them if they were. But the fragile truce between them gives me the chance to check on the Blacksmith woman.
Crouching to her, I quickly check the cut on her forehead, finding her skin cold.
She’s alive—her heartbeats tell me so. But the beats are weak and stuttering.
She may not be long for this world.
Before the fight with Graviter Rex, it became apparent that Milena’s mind was broken. We have no way of knowing howlong she was encased in the monstrous tree. Long enough that it would have killed a human, but Blacksmiths are stronger than both human and fae.
