passed representing the thousands of lives that would be affected by his decision.
'He lives.'
'Your debt has been forgiven,' Michael whispered into Garren's ear. Garren was too overwhelmed to say anything.
Michael turned to Jenner, 'I'll address the people of Cyphrus this evening. Please send messengers with the news and have a feast prepared.'
Garren couldn't tell from the elder Adorian's face how he felt about it.
Michael turned back to Garren. 'Turn around and I'll unfetter your hands.' He could barely hear Michael over the scuffle of feet and the flurry of speech that erupted as the assembly was dismissed. No one left right away.
Garren, without lifting his eyes, turned to face the wall. He felt the binds loosen, and the cords fall. He rubbed his wrists were they'd been tied.
'I don't understand.' He turned to see that it wasn't Michael who'd untied him, but Ariana. Michael, after making the offer, now stood off to the side of the platform with Jareth, whose anger was evident on his face, and Roahn, whose expression was indecipherable.
Ariana flashed Garren an insincere smile. 'You should count yourself lucky.' There was an unmistakable coolness in her voice.
'Ariana, I — '
'There's nothing to discuss. I wasn't the one who spoke for you. You have Roahn to thank for that.'
He couldn't help the smile that tugged at one corner of his mouth. She was even more beautiful when she was flustered.
'I'm glad you find this amusing.'
He grabbed her by the arms as she started to walk away. 'Don't you understand the purpose behind what I said to you?'
'You believed me some frail creature, unable to wield her own emotions? Perhaps you were under the impression that I would wither into a deep despair over your loss, never regain the motivation to eat or drink or subsist again?'
'If your feelings were even half as strong as those I carry for you, then what your brother had to do as a sovereign of Adoria would have caused a rift between the two of you that I couldn't bear to leave you with. As your brother, you would've eventually accused him of knowing your heart more than any other, and ending my life despite its affect on you.'
He could see the expression on her face change. This was something that she had obviously not considered. Still, she refused to answer him.
'If I didn't have affection for you, would I have stayed awake the night I released you in Palingard, worried for you? Or spared Michael his life after learning that he was within reach of our borders, simply because he is your brother? There hasn't been a single moment since my return from Palingard that I haven't thought of you. Even my wedding night, I couldn't…' He watched her expression change yet again as the words fell from his lips. He hadn't considered how they would sound to her.
'You are married.'
He took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to respond to such a statement. 'It's not what you…'
'It's exactly as I think.' She pulled herself from his grasp and sat down on one of the chairs behind her. The color drained from her skin.
'How long — when?'
'I swear to you that I've never laid a hand on her, not in the way you're thinking. It was after Palingard's fall. My confession, though, is that I chose Sara for Aiden. The only consolation I can give you is that had I not, she would've been sent to the outer regions and would've been one of the humans left at your borders.'
Tears had started to well in her eyes, though they remained unshed. He sat down in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders.
'I can't get the image out of my head — what she must be enduring. Garren, they are still aware of what's going on around them. They are still conscious. Every time he touches her… she can't even close her eyes to escape it. I can't…' She lowered her head again and he could no longer help himself.
He pulled her into his arms. 'Micah, the boy who helped you in Eidolon — I swore that if I were allowed to keep my life I would go back for him. I fear for his life, just as you fear for Sara's. I don't know how, but we will find a way to bring Sara back here. As soon as I get a chance, I'll speak with your brother.'
'But what of her soul? Will she re — '
Garren clenched his jaw. It wasn't a question he wanted to answer. 'It's never been done, but because I was the one who took her soul, I may be able to restore it.'
She surprised him by taking his hand in hers. 'Then there's hope.'
He placed his other hand over hers and rubbed her wrist where he'd grabbed her in the cell. 'I didn't hurt you did I?'
She shook her head. 'My pride maybe, but my wrist is fine. I knew you were being untruthful. I just didn't fully understand why.'
'And how were you able to tell?'
She held her mouth in a tight line as he finished his question. 'Wouldn't you like to know? You'll have to earn that next kiss, Garren. And considering that you had to save my life for the last one, I'd say you have your work cut out for you.'
He smirked. 'Indeed.'
Roahn came to stand beside them and started to rest a hand on Garren's shoulder, but clutched it to his breast instead. His features turned in pain and he cleared his throat. 'I adored Indeara and it's her life and love for you that's saved you. Please, don't ask anything else of me. I have nothing left to give.'
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Bronach sat in his chair in the library, the Book of Life open before him. He'd had no need to attend the execution, for he could watch words appear on the pages, as if penned by an unseen hand, recording everything as it happened. His presence there would have been for naught, since the covenant forbade him from interfering with the due consequences of Garren's actions. He couldn't have stopped it had he wanted to.
But what Azrian didn't know was that Bronach had already been told by the seventh Laionai, who had foreseen it, that Garren would be pardoned.
A draft swept through the room, flipping the pages of the book. Bronach glanced up to see the light from the candle flicker, casting shadows across what might have been the darkest mistake he'd ever made.
And so, with the covenant in place, Irial and Eanna were sent to the created realms; Irial born into the cursed lineage of the Ereubinians, Eanna born into the blameless blood of the Adorians. Unaware of who they really are, or of the weight that rests upon the outcome of their lives, they will come face to face as strangers in the mortal world.
He could hear the sounds of preparations being made to accommodate the crowd that would gather for Michael's address that evening. The elders had decreed the age of guardians had come to an end. They felt secure behind the divide, but Michael was right. This wasn't the end of anything.
'It is just the beginning.'
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
