“I understand it is difficult for you to be around your soul-bound mate,”Sama said, his pointed attention on me.“You may stay, Brenton, but I need both Finley and Hoshiko there.”
As if I’d sit idly by while either of them went without me. No, I took my vow as a dragon rider seriously, just as I held Finley’s well-being over my own.
“Why do you need Finley?” I clenched my jaw in anticipation because I knew what the Elder wanted with her. It was the same thing every authority figure wanted of her.
But she was more than her magic.
She was extraordinary with an inquisitive and tactical mind, something I’d been in awe of during our time in the human realm last year. She came up with creative ways to not only search for the fae who’d been abducted but also to keep us warm in a realm whose winter was far worse than ours.
More than that, a tenderness to her was hidden deep beneath the walls she’d erected to keep everyone out. Everyone, including me. Somehow, I’d found my way through and had been given the chance to see she was still that same girl who’d once been my best friend, only for that gift to be ripped away when we found Etienne.
I was glad she’d gotten her intended back. It was clear how much they loved each other. But in the days spent searching for him, Finley and I had become friends again, and I’d foolishly hoped for more than she could give me.
“Her magic does not merely kill with a single strike but allows her to see if magic was involved in another’s death,”Sama answered.
“Which part of her magic are you after?” I asked.
While I couldn’t stop him or anyone else from using her to kill, I wanted to, all the while knowing she’d resent me for it. ButI’d seen the ways her death magic hurt her. It wasn’t only the physical strain of exhausting her magic with one brutal blow, but the way it debilitated her soul.
Regardless of whether the death was necessary or warranted, it ate at her, making her wish she’d follow her victims into the afterlife.
“Whichever is needed,”Sama said.
I clenched my jaw, only releasing it when it hurt. I took my time rubbing my corded neck, noting the muscles that stiffened as my emotions whirled inside me.
Not going wasn’t an option.
I wanted to visit this new realm. I wanted to help the dragons in any way that I could.
But I also wanted to watch over Finley. I wondered how long it’d take for me to fall victim to my own heart and surrender my wants for hers.
Days, mere hours, or a few beats?
Chapter
Four
FINLEY
Etienne shifted beside me,drawing his knees up to his chest as he eyed me curiously. I turned away, not wanting him to watch me too closely, and ran my hands over the tall, unkept grass of our backyard.
He’d noticed my silence when I came home after my encounter with the daughter of the gods. My solemn attitude followed me throughout the day, so when he insisted we eat supper outside, I was all too eager to comply. The way my intended knew me warmed my cold bones. Unfortunately, it did little to stop Zaicha’s words that played on a loop in my mind.
“You, sweet Finley, are so much more than their fear of you.”
As one of Niev’s warriors, my blade, my magic, and my life belonged to the king and queen. It didn’t blot out the truth I yearned to see in her words.
For a few beats, I lost myself to the vibration that thrummed deep in the ground, which I associated with the earth’s heart. It was a silly thought, but it made me feel special. Like the earth had decided to reveal herself to me while she shut others out.
Etienne bumped his knee against mine. “I think I’ll sleep outside tonight.” The words came out slowly, and when his hand trembled, he gripped it in his lap.
It’d been close to a month since his last seizure. Subtly, so he wouldn’t notice, I sniffed the air around him, trying to pick up the scent I’d started associating with his tremors. I didn’t smell anything but the trees and dirt.
If it wasn’t a seizure, then it had to be his anxiety. Even our yard that extended toward the forest, large as it was, could trigger him, making him feel as if the trees themselves were closing in on him.
In the months he’d been tormented and tortured in the human realm, he’d come to loathe closed spaces. While we slept in our home regularly and most times he was at peace, the nightmares that plagued him occasionally caught him by surprise while still awake.
“Why don’t we take our sleeping mats to the river?” I suggested.
