She placed the glass on the table, arms crossing in front of her chest. “That’s not true. I’m just saying—”
“What?” My hands dropped hard against my thighs. “Because he’s handsome and strong, I should forgive him,trusthim? He’s going to save me, save us all?” She shrunk from the fury on my face. “This isn’t a fairytale, Elvira. He’s not climbing our tower. This isreal. You can’t just trust everyone who smiles at you. You can’t just trust that everyone doesn’t want youdead.”
I knew the voice ripping from me was not my own. The darkness was more than awake now; it had stolen my tongue this time.
Her lips pursed, head shaking in disagreement. “That’s not at all what I was saying, actually.” But it didn’t matter, she was already stepping around me, toward the tent door. With her hand on the flap, she glanced back. “I’m saying he’s here. That he made a choice that hurt you before he knew you. But now he’shereand everyone deserves a second chance. You’d wish the same for yourself.” She nodded to the viper inked across my skin. “You’ve been given the same.”
A muscle twitched in my jaw. “So Obrann and Perseus, they’d deserve forgiveness and a second chance as well?”
Red rimmed her eyes as her mouth thinned, a flush creeping up her neck where she clutched the pendant.
Too far, Verena.
I’ve wanted Elva to find her bite, but instead, I’ve been backing her slowly into a corner where she never even grew her fangs.
“Feeling all this—” She waved her arms around me. “This emotion and vulnerability, it means you’re alive. Not weak. Not unworthy. But living. Something I haven’t had the chance to do. So I’ll forgive,” she spoke gently. “If it means I can move forward. If I can finally prevail.”
A single tear fell before she turned and left.
My spine stiffened as I approached Ronan where he sat perched against the base of a tree. His knees were bent, arms hanging loosely over them as he used an arrowhead to chip away at a chunk of bark in his hand.
Thearrowhead.
His fingers moved like he knew it well, as if versed in its edge. They stilled as I stepped closer, though he ignored my presence.
The armor was gone, replaced with a black tunic unbuttoned at the throat. Leaving the bruised bite marks evident. Not fully healed, but no dark sickly veins.
A good sign.
I cleared my throat when the space between us stayed muted.
“Viper,” he said at last. “Come to claw my eyes out next?”
How could I when they hadn’t even looked at me?
“I’m making sure I didn’t poison you.” Feigning concern I said, “It would be awfully annoying to have the dragons hunting me too.”
The bite was there, though beneath it all I hadn’t meant to attack him so viciously in front of everyone. But seeing him again had rattled the darkness inside me.
He hadn’t just taken my snake from me, he’d taken it from the Viper. And it too, sought revenge.
A smile brushed his lips as his fingers traced the arrowhead. Barely, he tilted his head, baring more of his neck still without looking my way. “No poison. All good.” Curls swayed against his forehead as he straightened.
My fingers twitched as I pictured myself pulling one taut, wondering if it would coil back into the perfect spiral as it snapped into place.
No, bad Verena. Picture his blood spilling the same color as them when you succeed at poisoning him next time.
“Wonderful.” I turned to leave, his lack of seriousness irritating me.
“Viper—”
Huffing, I paused, turning to face him.
I was met with eyes that caught not only the light, but me. As if the brilliance pouring out flowed into my own.
He held up the arrowhead. “My token.” A real grin broke wide. “For surviving your wrath.”
A smile threatened, tugging at the corner of my mouth before I could stop it. “That was hardly my wrath.”
