“Did you hear what happened... to the others...”
“Everyone survived,” Taven said. He gestured toward the chair, but she stayed put. “What is it? Something’s happened, hasn’t it?”
“I came to say good-bye,” Elloven said quietly. A strange sadness stole over her. She would miss Taven, in a way, but it needed to happen. Jesstin’s “gift” to her was more blessing than not, but doing it without asking if she even wanted it was no different from how everyone else in her life had always decided what was best for her. “I don’t know what time they’ll... They said supper, but I can’t even tell time in this place.” She looked to the sky with a helpless shrug.
“It won’t happen, my love.” Taven set his drink on the porch and headed her way, his face moving in and out of the lumens’ illumination. Light. Dark. “I assure you, the pretor put him off until supper to appease him, but he has no intentions of banishing me.”
“How can you know?”
“Acheron told me.” Taven smiled. “They want us together, Ellie. Plans have been in place for years for us, long before we arrived.”
They’ll never let you leave. Jesstin had been right about most everything else. “But he won the challenge, Tav. Their own rules state they can’t deny him anything.”
“They cannot deny a living man anything. A dead man is owed nothing.”
Elloven took a step back. “Are you saying they’re going to kill him?”
Taven tented his fingers under his chin. “Ellie, he’s not one of us. They wanted you here, and they wanted me here. Jesstin was a complication. He was marked the moment he passed into Rivenholde.” He sighed. “He’ll be dead long before mealtime.”
She stumbled sideways, headed back toward the path. It made sense now, why Taven hadn’t been banging down her door. An esguard wouldn’t have been enough to send him away unless he was confident he’d see her later. “I need to get back to him, to warn him.”
“Ellie. Listen to me.” Taven grabbed her. “We can still stop it. You and me.”
“I can stop it by telling him he needs to leave now!” She twisted away, but his grip was iron.
“As long as he’s bonded to you, he’s a problem for them. Here. Out there. It’s all the same because the bond is the same wherever you go.” Taven nodded behind her. “There’s nowhere Jesstin Skylark is safe, love, not until your bond is broken. I’ve been... thinking. Tonight. Been thinking about us, but also about him.”
“Taven—”
“Even I can admit,” he said, pushing on, “he’s been looking out for you, in his own way. I may wish he’d never stepped in your path, and I know damn well he doesn’t deserve you, but he also doesn’t deserve to die. I see that now.”
Elloven laughed bitterly. “You see it now, do you?”
“Will you listen?”
“You’re distracting me so he’ll be alone when they come, aren’t you?”
“Ellie.” He buried his face in his hands. “It’s enough for me to have him out of your life. I don’t need him to die. It would break your heart, which would break mine. But they don’t care about any of it. Killing him is a much more efficient means to an end.”
“Then I need to go to him!”
“Elloven.” Taven squared up. “We can fix this. Now.”
“If you were so concerned, you’d have found a way to warn us. You wouldn’t be sitting here so casually.”
“You’re deluding yourself if you think Jesstin would listen to me.”
“Then what? You want me to bond with you?”
Taven flinched as though slapped. He rubbed his cheeks with a pointed glance away. “I talked to Lexsea. She’ll help.”
“When? When did you talk to Lexsea? What does she mean, help?”
“This all transpired while Jesstin was challenging the maze. She’ll remove the bond. Then we can go home. The two of us.”
Elloven laughed. “If Jesstin helps Ryquin.”
Surprise clouded his expression. “No... No, that’s done and over.”
