Chapter 46
“Please tell me we get to sleep in tomorrow.” My body laid limp, the sheets still tangled between us.
“Well, you do.” Laryk chuckled softly.
"Wonderful," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "Because obviously, my only purpose is lounging in bed while the fate of the world hangs in the balance."
“You’ll need your rest after the night we had.” I could hear the smirk in his voice, satisfaction lacing his words as it always did when he gloated.
His copper hair was sprawled across the white linens, tickling the edge of my arm. His face was the usual shade of flawless, now accentuated by rosy cheeks and a glistening forehead. He cracked that knowing grin at me, and I thought I might just melt all over again.
But it was time for answers.
“Be honest with me… why am I here? Our faction could be walking into certain death as we speak.” Even with exhaustion weighing on my bones, I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering to my friends .
“Wraiths shouldn’t attack for the next few days.” He was staring at the ceiling, arms folded behind his head.
“How can you be sure?”
“They’ve never attacked twice in a week. Of course we can never be certain of anything, but it's been the case thus far.” He blinked slowly, fighting off sleep.
“But why am I here with you and not the rest of the team?” I asked again.
He kept avoiding the question. But not tonight.
Not after everything that had just transpired.
Not after his hands had finally touched me in all the ways I’d dreamed of.
Not after he’d finally discovered all the places I’d yearned to feel his breath.
Laryk pondered for a moment, hiding his expression behind long lashes, the kind that would make most girls green with envy. “I have more than one answer for that.” He inhaled deeply and reached out, running his finger along my arm, leaving a trail of delicious heat in its wake.
“Firstly, you’re too valuable to send to the front lines. Your focus continues to get stronger by the day. We need more time to figure out exactly what you’re capable of.”
I let the words sink in.
I wanted more. There had to be more.
“And the second?” I prodded.
“Unfortunately, I’ve found it just about unbearable to be separated from you.” He sighed, running his hand through his hair. “It’s quite an annoying situation I find myself in.”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my lips.
“So irresponsible, General Ashford,” I teased, rolling onto my side to face him.
“Absolutely reprehensible,” he agreed.
A moment of nauseating bliss slipped past as he pulled me towards him, melding his lips to mine once more. His chest heaved below me, sending sparks flying through my entire body. I melted into the heat of his touch. Could we just stay in this bed forever ?
The thought sent a sour pang into my stomach as the reality of our situation rushed back in. I pulled away and sighed.
“As much as I like to hear you say that… I can’t help but feel like I could be doing something to help.” My face found the pillow and I huffed a breath, sending a white curl spiraling into the air.
“We just have to get through the King’s briefing tomorrow, and then we’re off to Stormshire. Just be patient until then.”
I reached out, running my fingers across the scar marking his right eye. It was raised, and cold to the touch. He clenched his jaw.
“Tell me how you got this,” I said, biting my lip. I wasn’t sure if this was another topic he would rather avoid.
“You know how. The Wraiths.” He sighed, taking my hand and lacing his fingers through mine.
“I just haven’t seen anyone else with a scar like that. Was it done with a weapon?”
He paused for a long moment, seeming to hold his breath. I felt my pulse quicken. He was clearly uncomfortable discussing this. But I had to know.
He finally exhaled. “It felt like a dagger.”
My brow furrowed, and I flipped over to get a read on his expression.
“How can a shadow attack with a dagger?”
“You’re guess is as good as mine,” he murmured, bringing my hand to his lips and kissing it softly. “I don't know how they could wield anything at all.”
“You think there might be something more to them?” I asked. I couldn’t help but feel we were moving into dangerous territory.
“I’m not going to question those who came before me. I’ve only ever seen the shadows. The beings that look like ink droplets…” Laryk trailed off. “But I could have sworn I hit something solid once. In the darkness.”
Silence took over the room as we both digested the implications of his words. Nothing made sense.
“Mercer said something about their strength diminishing the further they get from the tear. Do you believe that to be true?” I swallowed hard.
“Our focuses only exist because of Sídhe’s essence. If we were depleted of that, they would be rendered useless. Perhaps it is similar for the Wraiths.”
Suddenly, my heart was racing all over again.
“If they can get to the arcanite…” I whispered.
“We certainly don’t want to wait around to find out. I have specialists at the ready in Stormshire. If we could just capture one… we might figure out how to stop them,” he said, eyes taking on a new intensity, locked and burning into mine.
Oh.
“You think that I’ll be able to do that.
” Clarity washed over me like a tidal wave.
My power relied on something tangible. These Wraiths, although creatures of shadow, possessed a flicker of consciousness, a vulnerability we could try to exploit.
This is what he'd envisioned for me all along, even before the full scope of my abilities had unfolded.
A weapon, yes, but a weapon wielded with purpose.
"Never in my life," he admitted, "had I seen anything like you. Different, The most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on…” He trailed off, and I thought my heart might just explode from my chest. “Even when we wanted to kill each other, we pushed forward. Even when the path seemed as bleak as the void, even when it was impossible. I couldn’t sense anything within that curious mind.
I had no idea what you were thinking, what you would do next.
You were a complete mystery to me, yet I believed with a desperate kind of longing, that you were what I had been searching for. You had to be."
His words seared into my skin, incinerating any reservations that still clung to my mind, any distrust that lingered. I was his, utterly and irrevocably. His weapon. His lover. His salvation. And then I knew. I would cripple armies and break minds if that's what he desired .
A small tinge of guilt slipped through me at not telling Laryk about my broken oath. A part of me wanted to tell him now but the words never formed.
"Sleep," he murmured, his voice a low rumble that sent tremors through me. His arms looped around my waist, drawing me into his orbit once again. The heat of his body chased away the chill of the evening air. “The ball is tomorrow night.”
"Ball?" I echoed, my voice a startled hiss. I shot out from his grasp, pulling the covers over my exposed skin. "A celebration while the world crumbles around us?"
Unbelievable.
A flicker of something unreadable crossed his face. "It's tradition," he said, his voice clipped. "The King and Queen attend. No getting out of it."
"Tradition," I spat. "Sixty lives lost last week, and we twirl around a ballroom in their memory?"
He sighed, the sound heavy in the quiet room. "There's more to it than that, Fia." A moment of silence slipped by. “You should find some nice gowns in the chest I had delivered to your room,” he added.
“I was wondering what that was.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m dying to see what you chose.” The sarcasm was slick in my voice.
“I have impeccable taste. Besides, do you remember what you were wearing the first time we saw each other? I could never risk you embarrassing me like that.” He grinned.
“You know I wasn’t expecting to attend that particular soiree,” I mumbled, remembering my stained apothecary uniform and how out of place I’d felt that night. How terrified I was. How out of control. So much had changed since then.
“Well, I’m not taking any chances. I’ve arranged for a few attendants to help you get ready for the event,” he stated, shooting me a wicked smile.
“Is that really necessary?” I groaned, sinking back down into the bed .
“Undoubtedly necessary, I’m afraid.” He pulled me back to his chest and kissed my forehead. “I want you primed to perfection for what happens after the ball,” he murmured against my hair, sending a shiver down my spine.
“I guess that doesn’t sound so bad.” I sighed, fighting back a smile as I wrapped my arms around his chest.
“There might be another surprise awaiting you tomorrow. But first, sleep,” he said with a yawn.
I didn’t even try to argue. My eyelids had grown heavy, and it felt way too good to be in his arms. I pushed away the sinking feeling that doom was looming just over the hills to the West.
Darkness. Overwhelming, suffocating darkness. It was everywhere. The only light I could see came fromthe few stars that spattered the sky, but even they were distorted by a black haze that moved through the night like smog.
I heard a hiss, and my head shot to the left. I squinted, adjusting as I saw the wisps of an inky black shadow twisting and warping beside me, racing forward into the night.
I felt desperate, like something important was going to happen. There was also fear… a maddening fear that enveloped me. Like I was risking everything I knew. Everyone I loved. But I didn’t have a choice.
Beyond the shadow, I saw the spire of a tower that had fallen to ruin. Holes were dotted throughout the structure, and crumbling stone littered the ground around it. A broken window in the shape of a crescent moon sat halfway down.I didn’t recognize it.
The hisses became louder. Shadows trailed back as far as I could see. My heart began to race furiously in my chest.
I shot out of bed and gasped for air.
The Wraiths.
They were coming.
Laryk stirred, reaching for me.
“Wake up, the Wraiths are going to Stormshire. Now,” I nearly shouted, throwing the covers off of us. “You need to tell someone. The factions need to be alerted. I don’t know how much time we have.” I frantically searched the ground for my clothes.
“Fia, what’s going on?” Laryk asked, standing up and walking towards me, confusion etched into his features.
“I saw them in my dream. The Wraiths. They are going to Stormshire. Right now,” I urged, pulling on my trousers.
“You’re sure about this?” His eyes were wide open now.
“I guess I can’t be sure, but are we really willing to take the risk?” I begged.
“Stay here. I’m going to alert the other Generals. We’ll see if there have been any disturbances at the border.”
I nodded, handing him his shirt.
“I saw them passing some ruin… a tower with a crescent moon-shaped window.”
Laryk pulled me in, kissing my forehead before storming out of the room.
I sat on the bed, still shaken from the dream. My mind was stuck on my friends. I pulled myself into a ball and tried to steady my breath as I awaited Laryk’s return.
I couldn’t tell how much time passed before the door creaked open. I shot out of bed as Laryk rounded the corner.
“There have been no disturbances at the border.”
“But I saw them,” I said, furrowing my brow. “Are we sure? What if they slipped past somehow?” I crossed my arms.
“The entire border has been crawling with Base Guards since the last attack. For miles and miles. They would have been noticed,” he said calmly, stepping in my direction.
“But the ruin, I saw it so clearly,” I said, shaking my head. None of this made sense .
“Crescent Tower is too far south. It wouldn’t make sense for them to be there,” he assured me. “But we still have troops stationed in that area along the border.” He took my wrist in his hand and pulled me against him.
“I don’t know…” I murmured. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen.
“Perhaps it was a memory. Not from tonight,” he whispered, pulling me back into bed.
It was possible. My dream about the river was clearly someone’s memory. I exhaled deeply. Laryk was right. If there were no disturbances at the border, then we were safe. For now.
I tried my best to convince myself, but the dark presence in my mind remained.
My eyes closed once again, and I forced myself back to sleep.