PRESENT DAY
Silver didn’t stop until we reached a river that wended through the foothills beyond the mountains. We crossed the border into the Kingdom of Shadow and bypassed Dubnos completely while I tried to explain over my shoulder. Kalen’s arms tightened around me as he listened. He was clearly worried about his people and angry he hadn’t been there to help them through another fight.
Now and then, a screech echoed through the skies. Whether it came from the gods or some other kind of beast, we didn’t stop to find out. We just kept moving with a desperate hope for survival.
When we reached the river, we swung off Silver and waded into the fast-moving water, rinsing off the last remnants of our blood—and hopefully any other scent that might allow the gods to track us. Though by now, they likely knew the residents of Dubnos had gone to Endir. They’d soon realize we’d followed.
Silver clopped along the rocky shore and entered the water, standing fast at the edge of the rushing stream. I swam toward him to splash water along his legs and flank, washing the dirt and grime from his coat.
“Tessa,” Kalen murmured from behind me. I hadn’t heard him approach, but the sudden sound of his voice didn’t startle me like it once would have. If anything, it unknotted some of the tension in my shoulders.
“We need to clean Silver off as well. He’s been near Malroch, and they’ll know his scent.”
“Just breathe, love. Your hands are shaking,” he said quietly.
I glanced at where I’d rested my hands against Silver’s back. Kalen was right. I hadn’t noticed them shaking, hadn’t noticed my entire body was trembling like a leaf. Closing my eyes, I tried to call upon my courage to chase away my fear, but I could find no trace of terror. Not as I’d known it before. Just…exhaustion.
Kalen wrapped his arms around me, tugging me close to his chest. He rested his chin on top of my head, then simply breathed. The motion of his chest against me soothed the frayed edges around my heart. I wasn’t truly scared, not in the normal sense. But I felt stripped raw, like someone had taken a rough brush to my skin and rubbed it so hard it brought upon a wicked, angry rash.
“I don’t know why I’m shaking,” I whispered, leaning into him.
“You have the post-battle shakes,” he replied, his voice rumbling against me. “It happens sometimes in war. You’ve been operating with a heightened sense of danger. It’s kept you moving, kept you surviving. But now that you feel safe, the true depths of what you’ve been through are hitting you.” Carefully, he loosened his grip on me and turned me to face him. His eyes scanned my face, soft, concerned. “I think it’s time you tell me what happened in Malroch. Did they hurt you? Tell me if they even so much as looked at you wrong. I will kill them for it.”
A bubble of laughter popped from my throat. “You’re going to have a lot of death on your hands, then. Everyone inside that castle looked at me wrong.”
“Hmm.” He narrowed his eyes. “And did they do anything worse?”
I sighed, then nodded. As much as I wanted to leave Andromeda’s trials in the past, I needed to tell Kalen about them. Not just to get them off my chest, but so he could understand more of what we were facing. There were things I still didn’t understand. Hopefully, he had answers I hadn’t yet found.
And so I told him everything. I left nothing out. Not the death Andromeda had forced me to inflict. Not the strange ceremony she’d made me perform on Fenella’s cousin. And certainly not the part where two gods had helped me escape. His expression grew darker with every word I said, though I noticed he didn’t seem particularly surprised. Until I got to the part about the Mortal Blade.
He held out his hand, his head cocked. “Let me see the gemstone.”
I handed it to him gladly. He held the dagger up before him and angled it to the side, trying to catch the pale light of the moon. There was no mist here to block it.
“This is odd,” he said. “It’s not the usual gemstone.”
“No, and it didn’t shatter when I stabbed Callisto with it.”
His head snapped up. “You stabbed Callisto? When? Why didn’t you mention that before?”
I frowned at his tone. “There’s been a lot to tell, and I hadn’t gotten to that part yet. Besides, I wanted to see the look on your face. Surprised?”
The tension fell away. He laughed, an easy, full-bodied laugh. “Not in the fucking least. What did it do to her? I’m guessing it stunned her long enough for you to escape.”
“Well,” I said slowly, “that’s where youactuallymight be surprised. She, ah, turned to dust.”
“She did what?”
“She turned to dust. As far as I can tell, this blade actually killed her.”
Kalen frowned, then he held the gemstone before his eyes again. It was a long moment before he finally spoke. “This gemstone, it’s like the ones Andromeda had you use on Caedmon?”
“Very similar, though the coloring is slightly different. What do you think it is?”
“I don’t know,” he murmured, “but I have a feeling the gods are going to want it back.”
Dread tiptoed down my spine. “Then we can’t go to Endir. We’d lead the gods to our friends.”
