Hart’s forehead creased as if he read my every hesitation. “Do you still want to free Kavios from my father?”
For the first time, I understood Hart’s constant refrain, cursing the chaos goddess. Of course I wanted to free Kavios. The humans there were treated as little more than chattel to fuel the Blessed’s magic. As much as Hart’s words angered me, I knew he was right. I had chosen this, and I must remember that. I’d chosen Eris’s calling because Hart needed my magic to survive, yes, but it was bigger than that, too. I’d chosen to accept my calling because Kavios was my home. A home I nowhad the power to save. Or, I had thought I would, once we broke this curse.
“This trial will take what magic I have. How can I free Kavios from Rodric then?”
Charon nudged at the pendant—the adamas.“You can still access magic the same way the Blessed do.”
My heart rate sped up. He spoke of taking. He spoke of stealing emotion and wielding it through an adamas gem.
“I see little choice for you if you are truly Eris’s Champion,”Scarlett said.
What did that mean? She continued before I could voice my question.
“You cannot take the throne with such a connection to Themis’s Champion. Her influence is pervasive. It would seep into cracks you didn’t know existed.”
I sighed heavily, thinking of what Hart had said about his connection to the throne. It felt like my back was up against a wall, but my gut knew that Hart was right. Scarlett was right. I had no other options. There was no other information to pursue. This was it.
The lack of magic would be a problem. I couldn’t take the kingdom without it. Even doing what the Storm did—taking emotions from those who offered them—felt uncomfortable to consider. Adamas had stolen so much from me, from my family. But I didn’t have to decide my position on that now. I wasn’t even sure I could do what needed to be done to lose my magic.
To lose my nightmare magic, I’d have to share my deepest fears with … Hart.
I shook my head. This path did what I needed. It was a way out of the curse. It included a way to take the throne should everything else fall into place, but I hated everything about it.
“We should return to Kavios, Champion,”Charon said into the silence.
“Why? We’d barely escaped and you are too easy to track.”
“You need to feel deeply. I think being here creates too much distance from what is happening at home. You allow yourself to ignore it.”
His words grated on my nerves like nails on glass. Of course I ignored it. The less I thought about Alaric’s loss, the better. The less I thought about the lies everyone I cared for had told me, the less angry I’d be with them.
Hart spoke. “I don’t know about returning to the city, but we should at least return to the Oldwood. The Storm will house us. You can talk to your mother. See if she remembers any of the notes Alaric left for you.”
He paused and held my gaze, like the next words he said might be his last. I sucked in a breath, wondering what other horrors he’d unleash.
“We need to be there to coordinate with the Feared if you really want to free Kavios from Rodric.”
He’d finally said it.
The words I couldn’t unhear. I’d worried about who would lead if I dethroned his father, but not how I would actually do it. Even with magic, I would need numbers.
I had wanted so badly to be free of Hart—of our curse. I hadn’t wanted to consider the Feared. They were so attached to him, Themis’s Champion. Yet here he was, offering them freely. He spoke as if they were a resource already committed to my cause.
The worst part was that I had no good reason to object. He’d proven time and time again that he didn’t want the throne. If we had a path to break our curse, if we were no longer connected, I could take the throne without worry of his magic’sinfluence.
“What do you think?” I asked Scarlett.
“I agree with Charon. I’m intrigued by the depth of anger you have for the Cursed that you were able to light the red gem here. I don’t think you’ll be so lucky with the rest. To feel deeply, as is needed, the location is critical. If you truly fight for Kavios, you must return to free it.”
I let my head fall back and took a deep, calming breath as I stared at the sky. Maybe this was my nightmare come to life, but I had no excuses left. The fate of my city, of my home, rested with my ability to be vulnerable with the man who continued to infuriate me. The man who was a constant enigma. The man who had broken my heart.
Most of me wanted to say that we stood no chance at success, but for Kavios, for everything Alaric had hoped I’d accomplish, I’d have to try.
11
Themis's Champion will be difficult to kill.
— WHAT MAKES A CHAMPION OF ORDER
