“So, do you think Ravin has the real Death?” I ask instead, my cowardice winning out. I need him to arrive at certain conclusions to maneuver my way out of this without damaging this trust we’ve built—trust I want to keep.
“Maybe…But we’ll have to proceed with caution. He’s hunting you, so any movements made will need to be from me—not you. I will not risk him getting close to you.”
“If it’s too risky for me, then it’s also too risky for you.” I keep calm. “Let me ask the Worldkeepers to search for it.”
“You trust them now?” His brows lift.
I can’t believe it’s not a lie when I say, “I do. They’ve earned it.”
Kaelis glances away. The idea of trusting them makes him visibly uncomfortable. My hand rests on his knee, and I tilt my head to catch his eyes.
“I’m still skeptical of them in many ways, but I also trust them.”
A sound somewhere between a scoff and an incredulous laugh escapes him as he works not to look at me. “Much like how you feel about me?”
“I trust you.” That brings his eyes to mine.“I trust you,”I repeat, for emphasis. It’s easy to say, easier than I would’ve otherwise imagined. “We are in this fight together, and we are going to win.”
He nods slightly and says nothing. I wonder if I’ve shocked him into silence with the admission.
“And I also trust the Worldkeepers. With their help, Gregor has already infiltrated more than one of Ravin’s strongholds as he’s been searching for Silas’s family—I’ll go to him if you’re skeptical of the Worldkeepers. If Ravin has the golden Death card, Gregor will find it, I’m sure.”
Kaelis sighs softly. “All right, then.”
I squeeze his knee and don’t bother to hide my relief. “Good. I’ll tell them, and we’ll sort this. Before you know it, I’ll be bringing you the real card.” Gregor will cover for me if it ever came to that. Then it will be like this never happened at all. I can fix my error before it’s ever a problem.
“Good. Now that is settled…” Kaelis tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and caresses my cheek. “Tell me, why were you so invested in Liam at the soiree?” The way he asks has me wondering if this was another significant reason for him summoning me.
“I was helping Luren.”Is he jealous?It’s very nearly adorable.
“Why?”
“I can’t just want to help a student and former friend?”
“You can, but I know the look you get in your eye when you’re scheming.”
“Fair.” I lean into his touch and allow my eyelids to grow heavy for a moment. “You know me too well.”
“Yet getting to know you even better is my singular obsession,” he murmurs.
My eyes flutter open, and, for a breath, I savor the way he looks at me, knowing the moment is about to be ruined. I’ve lied to this man enough; beyond fixing my mistakes, I’m not going to dodge the truth from here on, even if it’s uncomfortable. “Liam knows my true name.”
“What?” Kaelis sucks in a breath, gaze hardening. He leans away ever so slightly.
“I’ve reason to believe he still is in possession of letters or notes that might have it written upon them,” I explain. “Given that Ravin knows Liam and I were once entangled, I deemed it too dangerous to be left dangling. I’m sending Luren to find them—though she doesn’t know their significance.”
“I can just go to Clan Star, kill him, and then rummage through his things until I find anything of yours he’d dare keep,” Kaelis says simply, almost tenderly.
“Kaelis—”
“There is only one way to truly silence a person, and you will not be safe unless—”
“We need him alive,” I interrupt firmly, stopping him with a glare. “He knows where the letters are. Luren needs to use him to find them.”
“After, then.”
“He wouldn’t have any reason to tell anyone. He doesn’t know the importance of my true name.”
“You said it yourself, Ravin knows he was close to you. If Ravin has any reason to believe Liam knows your name, my brother will stop at nothing to squeeze it out of him.”
