I’ve gone to kill Ruark Gilbraith. If I succeed, I’ll be back. If not, you’re free to do as you wish. Well, you’re free anyway. Please look after Daruvar in my absence and extricate yourself safely from our territory if I fail. –T
No salutation, no closing, not even her whole name. He couldn’t cry in wolf form, but he could howl, and he did. Not at the moon, but at the torrent of conflicted emotions rioting through him. He hated her, he wanted her back, he wanted to burn something down and hold her tight, all at the same time.
Why the hell does she do everything alone?
It was him; it had to be him. He’d been too honest about his flaws and, so she knew too much to trust him when she needed someone most. These thoughts were killing him, so he cut them out with ruthless dedication and focused on the wind in his fur, the damp earth beneath his paws, and the myriad scents hanging fresh in the early spring air.
His head finally, blissfully empty, he ran down a rabbit and ate it raw. Then he was calm enough to search the trees in the zones Titus had shown him. The first three spots had no new markings, but toward the border, he found trail sign, recently left, too. He recognized the scent as one of the Animari who had met up with Titus at the cabin, but not a person he’d encountered in the flesh.
It had taken him hours to memorize their code while Sky alternately sobbed and slept, but now he could read the word left behind. Enemy on the move from the east. That would be Gilbraith’s people, maybe coming for Thalia’s head. Just as well she’s not here. Raff didn’t think Ruark would lead the assault. Everything he knew about the asshole suggested Gilbraith was a coward.
First, Gilbraith tried to coerce Thalia into marrying him, then he went after her using a secret, hidden half-sibling. What’s the next move?
Suddenly the idea hit so hard that he practically saw sparks. Gavriel. If he returned now, nobody would question it and he’d have access to anything he wanted inside the fortress. The scenario Sky had glimpsed in her vision might come to pass under one circumstance—if that red-eyed bastard betrayed Thalia and came for her on Ruark’s payroll, he might easily shift targets when he found only Raff instead. Not out of frustration, but to weaken her support.
If I die, Korin will cut our losses and step out of Eldritch business. Leaving Thalia alone against her enemies.
The rabbit roiled in his stomach. Like a dumbass, he’d run off without telling anyone where he was going. Daruvar was essentially open for the taking, if someone had clearance to get inside. But that was probably just Raff’s wild imagination working overtime.
Gavriel loved Thalia. That devotion had been clear to pretty much everyone at the conclave.
Yeah, and watch how fast a twisted love goes bad. Loving someone who didn’t love you back? It could drive you to desperate, unforgivable acts.
Dread gave him wings as he raced back to the fortress, half expecting to find it in flames when he crested the steep hill. It all seemed quiet enough when he crept up to the walls, but caution never hurt. Silently, he shifted and dressed, out of the guards’ sight, before signaling at the gate for entry. They shone a light down and watched for a good two minutes to make sure his arrival wasn’t a trap.
“I’m alone,” he snapped as the heavy iron doors finally ground open. “Has anyone else come tonight?”
“Just Gavriel and Magda,” the sentry replied.
Shit. It’s started. And I don’t even know what chain of events I need to stop.
28.
“I have to go alone,” Thalia said.
Ferith clenched her fists and paced, eyeing her like she wanted to protest. Finally, she answered, “Did you even try to make up a story that included both of us?”
She shook her head. “This was the most believable, and one person seems harmless enough. If I added you to the mix, how would I explain it? You’re not even in disguise.”
“True.” The Noxblade let out a long, exasperated breath, but her eyes were dark with worry. “If anything happens to you—”
“Then I wasn’t meant to lead. Don’t hesitate to swear fealty to whomever emerges on top in the grapple for the throne.”
A sudden slap rocked Thalia back on her heels, and she gaped at Ferith, tasting the blood now trickling from her mouth from where her inner lip split against her teeth. She touched her mouth in silent shock, but there was more startlement to come.
Ferith glared at her. “If you go in with that mindset, you will fail, and you will die. We came to win, your highness. I’ll do my best to get in on my own and back you up, but if I can’t, your brain and your blade will carry the day. Do you understand?”
Her eyes teared up, not from the pain. Nobody had ever cared enough to slap her before. Not even Lileth. Ferith…Ferith is my friend. She’d never had one before, at least not so that she was certain. It was all distance and protocol and etiquette, endless years of it.
She blinked away signs of weakness and nodded.
“Yes,” Thalia said.
She didn’t waste her breath on any last words. Whatever it took, she’d get this done and meet up with Ferith afterward. Raff, too. She felt strong enough for that confrontation as well. Without a single look back, she hurried toward the vegetable truck and found the vendor waiting at the back.
He hesitated, studied her split lip and then said, “Was that one of your boyfriend’s relatives?”
Ah, he saw that.
Thalia lowered her head, pretending to be
