Chapter 41 - Glory
Glory
XLI
We reached the top of the hill and stared out over the rises and falls that stretched before us.
The scene was beautiful. Magical for being untouched by any kind of industrialization.
The king hadn’t bothered to do anything with it, the region too far from civilization to be useful, and no groups had claimed it except for the animals and beasts that called it home.
I wished I could take the time to appreciate it. Or that my thoughts would allow me to focus on it with the serenity it deserved.
But all I could think about was the incredible richness of Cammon’s blood, so much more distinctive than before. And of the fire of his rage when he’d realized what was wrong with me. The desperation in his voice when he’d urged me to drink.
Would it be the worst thing, being bonded to me?
The question wouldn’t let me go. The wry smile on his face when he’d asked, the pinch of sorrow that he thought my hesitation stemmed from anything other than an effort to protect him.
The smoky black ink drifting across his crimson eyes that told me how much he already craved what he demanded of me.
Did he realize how much he’d given up by letting me drink from him?
We’d talked about it after the first bite, so I knew he understood in theory, but the reality would now haunt him.
He would leave me, head off for his own future, and even while he tried to form a new life for himself, the feel of me would always be under his skin, calling him back, begging him to seek me out.
The guilt over what I’d done tore at me, but it was too late to change anything.
If I could have, I would have gone all the way back to those days under the mountain and triple-checked my supplies.
I could have swallowed my pride and told him what was wrong.
In failing to do either of those things, I’d damned this beautiful man for the rest of his life.
How could I live with that?
I swore to myself I would find a way to break the bond. It had to be possible. Magic. A spell. A ritual. Some way to release him from this unwanted connection.
A sharp pain stole my breath at the idea of dividing us, and I accepted that what made the guilt so much worse was that I didn’t want to break the connection.
On the contrary, I wanted more than some one-sided bond.
I didn’t want him to leave. To suffer without me.
To suffer at all. I wanted him here with me, or me with him.
I wondered what Karhasan was like for non-demons. Would he want some magicless vampire following him to his father’s court while he fought to reclaim his position as heir?
The thought was enough to make me laugh. Likely not. I would be in the way, and frankly, I wanted more for myself than to be some demon prince’s consort, or for him to be my living blood tap. It wouldn’t benefit either of us in any capacity.
In almost any capacity.
Yet I couldn’t deny my palace library would feel empty after this.
“Based on the map, the Widow’s Hood is northeast,” Cammon said, pointing with one hand while his other remained tight around mine.
He spoke as casually as if we’d spent our day the same way we had from the beginning of our journey. As though nothing earth-shattering had happened. I admired him for it and resented it. I didn’t want to be the only one spinning. Yet maybe he had the right of it. A distraction did sound nice.
“Unlikely we’ll make it there today,” I said, assessing the distance and the position of the sun.
“No, but if we reach the next hill, we might have a better idea of where we can set up camp for the night.”
I nodded my agreement and tagged along as we started down the hill I’d struggled to climb.
The fresh blood pumping through my heart made the trek much easier, and Cammon showed no obvious ill effects from the drain.
I felt them, though. His fatigue, the weight in his limbs.
He hid his discomfort well, but the bond allowed no secrets between us.
Something I would need to remember in the days ahead.
Not only would I have to be conscious of what I said, but my heart had to be on guard if I didn’t want the situation to become more muddled than it was.
If I didn’t want to risk having the fractures contained within my rib cage break into a million pieces.
Cammon looked at me over his shoulder, and I pressed my lips into a thin line. I was clearly off to a great start.
In an effort to control my thoughts, I asked the first question that came to mind. “If Evaniel hadn’t asked you to go on this mission, where would you have headed next? Not traipsing across the country with a vampire, I’m sure.”
He chuckled. “No, not exactly.” He glanced at me again, his crimson eyes bright under the sun. “There was a sword I was considering.”
His eyes twinkled, and my jaw dropped. “No. You can’t mean the sword of Calanthruin?”
“None other. After what we found in the cave, it’s hard not to see it as the Fates approving my choice.”
“Do you really think you know where it is?” What were the odds? I couldn’t allow myself to consider the possibility that everything about this mission, about Cammon and me, had been designed by some all-seeing weavers of destiny, but in the face of this coincidence, I found it harder to deny.
“Like I said, the story tells us that, after the battle, King Melat threw the sword into the Never Sea, and there’ve been rumours that suggest it washed up on the Sun-Touched Islands well off the northern coast. I’d planned to set out with the turn of the season.
Would have been gone about six months or so. ”
My eyes widened. “For a sword? I know it has huge historical value, but that sounds…”
“Excessive? Maybe, but considering the history for my people, not to mention the nature of the blade, it’s almost my princely obligation to retrieve it.” He grinned. “Imagine me returning home wielding the Demonsbane as my weapon. The traitors would scatter before me.”
His gaze lit with the fires of vengeance, but when he blinked, the heat was gone, and he shrugged.
“There’s also the fact that by all accounts it’s a stunning blade.
Dragon steel with a dragon-scale hilt. Nigh on indestructible.
Lightweight, beautiful. Worth the entire island it’s supposed to have landed on.
With all that weighing down the scale, it would definitely be worth my while to lay claim to it. ”
“Is dragon steel important?”
His grin widened. “You’re such a book person.
” The warmth with which he said it transformed the usual accusation into a term of endearment, and I basked in the glow.
“It’s a gorgeous material. Changes colour with the sun, and some people believe it’s mildly sentient, forming a bond with its bearer. ”
I narrowed my eyes. “Sounds incredible. Literally. Hard to believe.”
“You’re a tempest mage with vampiric blood on the hunt for a life-saving amulet with a demon prince. You’ve faced shifters and mutts and dragons. Yet you can so easily discount the possibility that magical metal exists?”
He gripped my waist and lifted me over a large boulder lying in the middle of the path. My stomach fluttered under his touch, and my heart followed its rhythm when he kept his arm around my shoulders after I touched down.
“Oh, I have no doubts about magical metal,” I said.
“I believe all sorts of impossible things. What I have trouble believing is that you would disappear for six whole months to track down a blade, historical significance or not. You’ve already proved yourself capable of defending yourself without one. ”
He nudged me with his hip. “I’ll accept the compliment, as hidden as it was.” His smile faded. “I might not need the sword—I might not even have kept it if I’d found it—but I wouldn’t have said no to the journey.”
“For half a year? You wouldn’t have missed your…”
“Home?” His shoulders slumped, and his voice was heavy as he said, “Ah, Buttons, I have no home. Not really. I have a house. I have a friend. But this has never been my home. Not when I’ve been so focused on returning to Karhasan.”
I cleared my throat, my heart squeezing at the loneliness vibrating through the bond. “What about when you do? Return, I mean. Do you have plans for how to take back your position?”
He nodded. “I’ve given little thought to anything else for the past ten years.
With the evidence Evaniel’s spymaster gives me, I’m going to march into the throne room and hand it to my father.
Simple as that. He might have exiled me, but he was always a fair ruler.
” He frowned. “Usually.” His throat bobbed.
“At least, he always struck me as fair. He could have killed me when my siblings failed their coup, but he showed mercy. To a point.”
I sensed his doubt, a rising uncertainty that carried the sharpness of something new, as though he’d never considered anything to the contrary before.
He shrugged off his dark thoughts and continued.
“Assuming he takes the new evidence in stride and slays my siblings where they stand—if they’re still breathing after I’m through with them—I’ll take my place at his side.
Get to know my people again. My land. I can only imagine how much things have changed since I left. ”
Again that uncertainty, filled with longing and a sense of fear that reminded me of a child on the cusp of stepping into the world on their own for the first time.
I slid my arm around Cammon’s waist, wanting nothing more than to brace him with my strength. My confidence in his success.
“They’ll be lucky to have you. You’ve managed to build yourself up from nothing in the ten years you’ve been here.
You’ve shown restraint, creativity, a willingness to do what was necessary, and a single-mindedness to achieve your aims. If you bring that to the ruling of a country, I think you’ll be an amazing prince. ”
Gratitude swelled between us, and I rested my head on his shoulder before pulling away to walk around another large boulder that had rolled into our path.
Cammon claimed my hand again and didn’t let go until we reached the top of the next hill and decided to stake our place there for the night, somewhere we would have a good view of the surrounding areas in case any enemies came to call.
He stayed close while we set out the bedrolls and stirred up a low fire to cook the dregs of our food.
With my bloodlust sated, I didn’t need much in the way of another meal, but we’d need to rectify that tomorrow.
I hoped Cammon was right that once we passed out of dragon territory, we’d have a wealth of opportunity to resupply.
Even after we ate our small meal and watched the sun set over the hills, Cammon never left my side.
He sat with his arm pressed against my shoulder, his fingers twined with mine.
As though he couldn’t bear to stop touching me.
And I would have cried if he had. We lay down beside each other, not a tangle of limbs as we’d been under the mountain—as though we both accepted that to do so would lead to more pain—but unable to stay apart.
The stars brightened, and I wondered how many more nights we had like this. How much everything would change afterwards. How much everything would hurt when it ended.
After an almost sleepless night, I blinked my eyes open to an irritating vibration coming from my bag.
I rubbed my eyes with one hand and pawed through my increasingly meagre belongings with the other.
My fingers wrapped around the messaging crystal tucked into the pocket, which had miraculously survived every one of our losses, and I withdrew it to find a message waiting for us from Evaniel.
We must have just missed his summoning, and I was relieved I’d caught the message before the surge of magic waned.
“Princess Brynna has worsened.” His cold voice rang out over the hill, dipping into every curve of the grass and following the waving line of the horizon.
“The healers say we have less than two weeks before she’s too far to save.
Somehow Soldara has already been informed and their armies are mobilizing.
The ship is waiting for you in Blue Harbour.
You have three days to find the amulet and board.
If you fail, you can come home prepare for war. ”