“Once again, we're just going to wait around to die?” I retorted in plain disbelief, crossing my rather sore arms around my chest.
Kade stepped towards me, his stare hollow. “If we go to Draemor unprepared, we will all die anyway.”
Chapter
Fifty-Two
“Are you sure about this?”
“Positive. Cut it,” I demanded.
It was only hours after the Hykah attack, and the first thing I did when Sebastian dozed off was let myself into Delani's room, waking her up and begging her to help me.
“But it’s so pretty,” she whined, holding the shears inches away from my hair.
“Delani,” I snapped, reaching a hand over my shoulder. “Cut it, or give me the damn scissors.”
“Fine,” she grumbled. “How short?”
My hair was halfway down my back, and if I wanted to be less recognizable, it would need a good chop. “To the tops of my shoulders.”
With a huff, Delani fussed with the ends of my hair, releasing a deep sigh as she made the first cut. My eyes dipped to the ground, watching the brown waves scatter across the floor. When she was done, I rose to evaluate in the mirror.
“It’s actually cuter than I expected.” I fluffed the ends, the freshly cut hair bouncing off my shoulders. “More wavy than I thought, but cute.”
She sighed and went to her washroom, emerging with a broom. “How long do you think you’ll be gone?”
The ride to Draemor took a few days, and I’d only need a few hours to find a civilian to compel into assisting me. Then killing Beaumont—well, that was the fun part—I might drag that part out.
Ideally, Sebastian wouldn't wake when I returned to our room, and I could sleep for a few hours before I’d made for the stables at the first hint of dawn. There, I’d saddle up Honey and ride as far and as fast as possible. By mid-morning, Sebastian would have a search party coming after me, so the further away from Lumosia I got, the better.
“May I remind you how stupid this is?” Delani griped as she began sweeping up locks of hair.
I took the broom from her, taking over. “No. What’s stupid is that we didn't do this two months ago. This Hykah attack pushed me over the edge. I can’t sit back and let another person die. I’m done.”
Her eyes resembled mine as they condensed into a glare. “You don’t have to save everyone. You can’t.”
“I know that. But for each person that has lost their life because of me, it would be nice to save one, too.”
She moved to my front, forcing a half grin. “Have I ever told you how much I admire you?”
Amidst my sweeping, I let out a small laugh. “Why would you admire me?”
“Why wouldn’t I? I mean, your entire life has been a battle, and I don’t mean that poorly. I just mean that you've always struggled with your thoughts, but no matter what, you always come out stronger on the other end. A year ago, you were terrified of being gifted, now look at you, devising a secret plan to kill a damn king, for fuck’s sake. That's admirable as all hell.”
I choked on a real laugh this time. “Thanks, Delani.”
She stepped away then returned with a pack of gauze and some medical tape, along with extra bandages that she tucked into my rucksack. “Do you have everything you need? Want to go over the list again?”
I took a wad of gauze from her, holding it to my cheek bone while she fastened a bandage over it. “Would it make you feel better if we did?”
“Yes.”
“Fine,” I said flatly. “Hand me the list.”
She took the crumbled piece of parchment from my bag, passing it to me. She tore open the bag, ready to rummage through it.
“Daggers?” I asked.
