“It’s never foolish to dream of your mother.”
Darion smiled at that.He traced his fingers along my shoulder, then across my chest, running them over the chain of my mother’s locket.Up until then, I had taken it off every time we’d been together.I wasn’t sure why, or why I’d chosen to leave it on this time.Perhaps I was finally ready to share that part of me.
“What’s this?”he said, turning the locket over in his hand.It made me feel far more exposed than anything else we’d done together.But I let him do it because I wanted him to know all of me, the good and the bad.
“It belonged to my mother,” I said.
Darion’s eyebrows knitted with sadness.“I’ve never seen you wear it before.”
“I know,” I said, my voice cracking, barely holding back tears.
He could tell how important this was.The care in his expression was palpable.“Tell me.”
“She gave it to me as she and my father lay dying, murdered because they were Emberborn.She told me to keep Elena safe, that it was my job to protect her now.I promised her I would.”
Darion stared, letting the weight of my words sink in.Then he let out a long breath.
“I’m so sorry,” he said as tears leaked down his face.“I’ve always known you loved your sister dearly and wanted to protect her above all else.But now I know the depth of it, why it’s such an important part of you.”
I laughed with no humor, my lips trembling as I spoke.“It’s a pretty big thing for an eleven-year-old to absorb.”
Darion looked pained.“No child should have to live with that burden.No adult should have to carry it alone.I’llhelp you carry it.I’ll help protect Elena.I’ll help you find who did this and make them pay.”
“But I already know who did it,” I said.
“You do?”Darion said.
“I saw him with my own two eyes.It was Orlik Leonom.”
Darion’s eyes burned with a rage I’d never seen before.But there was something else behind the rage.Something deeper.
He looked directly at me.“I promise you this, Cassian Nightbrook: I won’t rest until you get justice.”
Chapter thirty
The Plan
Earlythenextday,I was summoned to Mireth’s office.Kael and Darion were by her side, discussing something in hushed tones.They looked my way as I approached.
A strange twist of irritation batted at my insides, seeing Kael and Darion next to each other.Not exactly jealousy, but a reminder that Kael knew parts of Darion’s life that I didn’t.I wasn’t used to that feeling, and I didn’t like it in the least.It clung to me like sap.
“Cassian,” Mireth said.“I mean, Cas.Thank you for joining us.We have an important matter to discuss.Please have a seat.”
She took out a familiar leather-bound book, the one from The Butcher’s study many weeks ago—the first time I saw Darion, and the moment my life took on a new trajectory.
“You recognize this book, I assume,” she said.
“Hard to forget.”
“And you’ve heard about how Tarnasau is corrupting Emberborn?How he turns them into Sentinels?”
“I’ve heard rumors,” I said.“It’s still hard to fathom.”
“I agree,” Mireth said gravely.“This book contains detailed information about how that corruption happens.The Kingdom created a serum that alters the mind.We think we can reverse it, but we’re missing one key ingredient.We need a compound called Emberbane to make an antidote, but it is only available in two locations that we know of.We need you to sneak into one of them and steal it.”
“And where exactly are these locations?”I asked, not sure I wanted the answer.
“The first is the king’s private citadel at Thornfell Keep, but that’s next to impossible to enter, so it’s off the table,” Mireth said.
