CHAPTER 17
There were a hundred other things he should have been doing, but instead Tyghan poured himself a drink and stared out his window at the skies, watching for Bristol, and then down at the path that led to Judge’s Walk, watching for Kasta.
Waiting. Waiting for the whole world to stop.
Or to move faster. To make sense, if that was even possible.
Let him go? Have you completely lost your senses?
He probably had.
I’ve had a life now, Tygh. Three beautiful daughters. What about Bristol? Do you think she’s a mistake?
Nothing about Bristol was a mistake. He couldn’t reconcile the two opposing facts: Kierus had brutally betrayed him, but had also given him the most perfect thing in his life.
He stole the trust of an entire company of knights.
Kasta’s arguments were sound. The betrayal had devastated them all.
Had he made a mistake? He’d been shaken by Kierus’s pleas.
Had he succumbed to Kierus’s golden tongue?
To the deep-rooted feelings of friendship that he couldn’t put behind him?
He touched his side. They weren’t friends anymore, and he still had the scar as proof.
Was meeting with Kierus face-to-face his biggest mistake of all?
Tyghan eyed the mouthful of amber whiskey left in his glass.
Kierus’s favorite. The whiskey they used to drink together.
I saw the knight in me, inside you. I knew what you had to do.
And now, Tyghan had done what he needed to do.
Kierus was out of the picture for one month so he couldn’t go fuck things up again, and when this was all over, he could quietly return to his old life in the mortal world without the council ever knowing.
Bristol would have her father back, and Tyghan wouldn’t have to think about him ever again.
He just needed to keep this all quiet for a few more weeks, which was no easy task.
He swigged the brew back and had just poured himself another when there was a knock.
He ran to his door and threw it open. It was Melizan.
“Is there news? Is she back?”
Melizan shook her head. “No. Nothing yet.” She walked past him to the sideboard where his glass sat next to the whiskey bottle and poured herself one too. “You met with Kierus?”
He nodded. “A little while ago.”
She brought his glass over to him. “How did it go?”
As badly as anyone would expect, Tyghan thought. Worse. “Not well,” he answered. “We only met for a few minutes, long enough for a drink. No one else is to know that we have him, not even the council.”
“Good idea. If the council starts celebrating his capture and word gets back to Maire, we may have a whole new wave of beheadings.”
He didn’t tell Melizan about the abbreviated sentence. When he told Kasta that no one else was to know, he meant everyone. It was one more thing that would create an uproar, and with the clock ticking, he had no time for chaos.
“Kasta is taking care of the sentence.”
“As she should,” Melizan answered. “It’s the First Officer’s job, and you’ve wasted enough time on him.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Besides, I’ve heard the process is quite gruesome.”
“More gruesome than enduring the torture of a demon blade?”
She shook her head. “No. Nothing is worse than that. For two months I watched a strong, stubborn knight reduced to a weak, tormented—”
Tyghan put his hand up in a stopping motion. “I don’t need to hear.”
She sighed. “For you, this torture will never be over, brother. We just watched you suffer through it again last week. It will always be lurking. He deserves what he’s getting. Don’t agonize over this.”
This.
Don’t do this, Tyghan. For Bristol’s sake. She will never forgive you.
“Let’s talk about something else,” he said, turning back toward the window.
“Happily. I actually came to discuss another matter. I’ve asked Cosette to marry me.”
A fist tightened in his chest. It was the last thing he expected her to say. He spun to face her. “What—”
“We plan to wed before the Choosing Ceremony.”
Now it seemed it was Melizan who had lost her mind. He rubbed the back of his neck. Now? Of all times? “What’s the rush?”
“There’s a very good chance we’re all going to end up dead. If we do, Cosette and I would like to walk hand in hand into Paradise. We want you to perform the binding ritual.”
Tyghan shook his head in disbelief. He didn’t need this right now. “When did you get so sentimental?”
“When I met Cosette. It’s called love. I thought you had become acquainted with it—”
“Don’t bring me into this. There isn’t time for a wedding now. After—”
“Is your objection to the timing or to who I’m marrying? Not that she needs to, but hasn’t Cosette proven herself to you by now?”
Tyghan sighed. “Yes. She has. But—”
“There are no buts, Tyghan. Yes, she is merkind. Yes, she still has family in the waters of Fomoria. But she is not them, not any more than Bristol is Maire.”
His stomach clenched at the comparison. “I know,” he said. “I know that, but the preparation—”
“The whole ritual takes fifteen minutes. Less than the length of a meal. And I presume you still plan to eat before we meet Kormick in battle. I’d like my brother to do the binding, but if you’re too busy, I’ll find someone else.”
Her gaze rested on his, steady as stone, like she had already prepared herself for a clash with him.
Was he just used to going to battle with her?
Had it become habit? But there was something else in her eyes too, something he couldn’t ignore.
Joy? He wasn’t sure, but something hopeful shimmered in them, something that was not like Melizan at all.
Now that her decision was made, had she suddenly embraced the whole idea of caring too deeply that she had rejected only weeks ago?
This meant more to her than he had thought possible.
“Brother—”
“All right,” he answered. “I’ll do it.” A wedding. Another thing to add to his list.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
He grudgingly stepped forward and kissed her cheek. “Congratulations to you both. I suppose it will be good to have something to celebrate for a change.”
A puff of air escaped through her teeth. “Look at you. Now who’s being sentimental?” She gave his cheek a peck and walked to the door. “I’ll let you know when,” she chirped over her shoulder.
“Don’t tell Eris,” he called after her, but she had already slammed the door.
Eris and Ivy would turn fifteen minutes into an all-day affair.