Chapter 20
KORMAC
Those sobs…
They were painful to feel.
I heard it all. Every dirty word.
Betrayal. Cruelty. Gods! That grandmother of his. What an evil bitch. What a coward to come to this side… My unseelie side.
Damn!
And then him speaking my name, his soul calling out to mine.
I got up, full of frustration. I had to get down there. Save him. Soul bond or not, this was disgusting. Did I hear right that the blame for everything was on him now? The curse buried? Sounded like it.
Whatever monster I saw Valance as, this wasn’t right. A trial would put him to death, no matter the other horseshit options.
I returned to the vent. “I’ll save you.”
The sobbing. That terrible sound.
“I’m coming for you, Valance.”
“Kormac?”
By the gods! I didn’t expect him to respond.
He sniffled. “Is that you?”
I pressed my lips right up to the vent. “It’s me.”
“I’m not imaging your voice?”
“No. It’s really me.” My body flared with happy heat.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“In some room above you.”
“With light?”
“Yes.”
“And comfort.”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“What’s it like down there?” I asked.
He sniffled again, his sobbing done for now. “Dark. Cold.”
Like the cell you put me in…
…sorry.
“I’ll get you out,” I said.
“How? There are Gentry everywhere.”
“I’m thinking on it.”
Another sniffle. “Did you hear my grandmother?”
“I did. I’m sorry.”
“I told you she was a terrible person.”
“No one should have to suffer that from a grandparent.”
“Such is life.”
Not good enough… “I’m sorry.”
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
“Because you have to be.”
“Because I am, Valance.”
I’m thinking outside of magic…
“Well… Thank you for the kindness I don’t deserve,” he replied. “Maybe this is all for the best.”
“Don’t say that. You can’t give up.”
“Give up on what?”
“Your destiny.”
“We don’t know what that destiny is,” he said.
“So?”
“So this is your chance to be free now, Kormac. I’m sure Lasair is here to help you achieve that.”
“She doesn’t want me dead. She wants me back on her side.”
“There you go.”
“Valance…”
He coughed.
“Are you okay?” I asked, worried.
“I’m so tired, Kormac.”
“I’m—”
“I want you to be free. Let her kill me. There is no way out of this.”
His words hurt me as a thousand bee stings. “Please…”
“Let them do it. Let them give you peace. I’ve hurt you beyond repair. We can never be anything but men in forced proximity. No more beyond that.”
“Valance, don’t say these things. They hurt.”
“They hurt me, too. That’s the magic.”
Why were my eyes wet? He deserved…
…he deserved to try for the north.
Gods! My head!
“I’m saving you,” I said. “Deal with it. I won’t let you give up. This isn’t you.”
“You don’t know me well enough to understand my heart.”
“I do.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
I felt my brows knit together. “I’m not. You wouldn’t have got this far by giving up. The mer betrayal was a hole in the road. This is a diversion. We’ll get out of this. We were seen in the stars, remember? We have to carry on.”
Did I really just say that?
“In the stars,” he said, barely audible.
“I don’t care if we hate… I can’t say it. I don’t care what happened between us. Fuck it all. Let’s get out of this hellpiss. Together.”
“Do you mean that?”
Yes…
No…
“Does it matter?” I asked.
Silence.
“Valance?”
“I can’t move. I’m afraid it is on you to figure out.”
Thank the gods he saw the fucking light! “I’ll do it. Wait.”
“I have nothing else to do.”
“Hold on.”
“Kormac?”
“Yes?”
“What if we’re being listened to?”
“Then they’d be bursting into our rooms, wouldn’t they?” I said.
That’s what I told myself.
“I suppose so,” he answered.
I got up, hands balled into fists as I paced the room.
He wasn’t dying and giving up. I knew he didn’t want that hellpiss.
What to do…
I paced, I pondered, I kept wondering how hard it would be to kick down that door and fight my way to him. I was on the verge of doing just that.
Until the door opened, and the old woman barged her way inside.
I jumped back in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
She pressed a finger to her cracked lips. Her silver eyes moved to the vent. She pointed at it, the grate sealing over with a film of cloudy darkness.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“We need to talk, Kormac. I’m taking no chances.”