Chapter 4
“Wait!” I yell as he guides me closer to the door. I breathe faster, my heart pounding dangerously hard now. My panic has heightened tenfold. I try moving my arms or breaking free, but he has me completely bound. I can’t move—can’t even wiggle out of his grasp.
Oh gods.
“Just let her go, Thane.” Bolivar steps out from behind the counter, squaring his shoulders. “She’s already had a rough day.”
I look from the giant to the stranger and stop struggling against his magical grip. Bolivar knows him? My panic subsides long enough for me to take a deep breath. I lift my chin, trying to look confident—well, as confident as one can be when dangling helplessly above the ground.
“Yeah, Thane.” More like bane of my existence. “Let me go. Now.”
The door flies open, and the handle slams into the stone wall. I peer over my shoulder at the slick cobblestone street and the canal that splits the Commons in two. A screech builds in my throat.
Bane of My Existence doesn’t let me go. Not until I’m completely outside and several feet away from the door. His hot grip vanishes as he plops me on the ground, causing me to land square on my ass.
“Ow! What the shadows is wrong with you?!” I yell, just as the door of the tavern swings shut. The smug satisfaction in Thane’s eyes is the last thing I see. “Oh no he fucking didn’t.”
I haul myself up, push my spectacles back in place, and storm back to the tavern, shoving the door open.
As if Bolivar was expecting my furious return, he stops me with a solid hand to the chest before I can even get two feet in the door.
“Do not go back over there. Do you hear me, Z?”
I maneuver around him and stomp toward Thane’s table regardless of Bolivar’s warning. Thane doesn’t pay me any mind as he wipes the blade of a dagger on the hem of his cloak with an air of boredom.
“Whoa, Zaira. Come on,” Bolivar whisper-hisses as he follows me. “You don’t want to get into it with this one, okay? I’ve seen what he can do, and believe me, that son of a bitch will kill you.” He catches me by the elbow to stop me again.
“So let him! All I did was ask for help!” I shout, directing my words to the masked jackass, not giving a shit who hears me.
At this point, I have nothing to lose. “Everyone around here is so afraid of Seferin, but I’m not, and I don’t care if he has henchmen or snitches in this place to tell him that! All I want is to get my sister back!”
Thane freezes. Then his eyes dart up to mine. I swear his bright irises absorb the fire as they swell with fury.
There it is. His attention. It seems I’m not the only one around here who despises Seferin.
“Orvena’s sake, Z,” Bolivar grumbles.
“Please. My sister is going to die within the next month if I don’t do something,” I plead to Thane. “All I need is someone to look after me—to simply escort me on a brief journey. It’ll take two weeks, max. If I leave tomorrow, I can make it there and back in time.”
“Let her go.” Thane’s voice has a deep, gravelly timbre. I swallow as those fierce eyes scan every inch of me.
Bolivar huffs and then glares at me. “Zaira, this isn’t the way.”
I pull away from him, matching his stare. “I have to try.” Without another word to Bolivar, I turn back toward Thane, this time with more poise. “Can I sit, or are you going to toss me into the fire this time?”
He narrows his eyes briefly before he folds his arms and gives me one simple curt nod.
I sit and blow out a deep breath, rubbing my forehead, as if that action alone will lessen my stress. That’s when I feel all eyes on me now. The weight of them is heavy.
I look around, and of course everyone is watching us.
With what might be a low growl, Thane stares everyone down, his body tense like a predator ready to strike. With some exaggerated throat clearing and shuffles, the tavern patrons melt into the background, resuming card games and overly loud conversations about anything except what just happened.
“How do you know Seferin?” Thane asks, cutting straight to the chase.
“I don’t know him personally. My sister worked for him, but then she tried to steal from him, and matters…escalated.”
He studies me like he’s searching for lies. “Start from the beginning.”
“My sister stole a crystal from Seferin, and now he’s punishing her for it.”
“A crystal?” he questions with a hint of annoyance.
“Yes. She had the terrible idea to sell it, so she tried to steal it. The only reason I know is because I snuck into his keep when I sensed something was wrong. She’s down there…
and he’s placed a curse on her.” I feel eyes on me.
I glance toward the bar, and one of the beastials with feathers on her arms jerks her gaze away when I catch her staring.
“Don’t worry about them.” He takes a thorough look around the tavern. “Even if you scream, they won’t hear you.”
I sit up, confused and, quite frankly, disturbed by that statement. “Why can’t they hear me?”
“Because I don’t want them to.” He waves a hand, and that’s when I notice an almost imperceptible shimmer of gold light surrounding us like a dome.
I gulp. “Oh.” I don’t know how I feel about this, but something tells me I should be terrified by it. I finger the pendant of my necklace as if the action will provide me a bit of security.
He narrows his eyes at my necklace before leveling his gaze with me. “Continue.”
Despite my stomach doing back flips, I do as the man says. “Right. So, um, she’s trapped and cursed and will die within the next thirty days if I don’t do something.”
I expect Thane to say something—to show a bit of sympathy for my woes.
He doesn’t.
He seems rather bored, spinning his dagger in lazy circles on the tabletop, watching the blade whirl.
“Anyway, I’ve asked a few sorcerers for help breaking the curse, and it seems the only way I can break one as powerful as this one is by visiting the Temple of Elphar and collecting a certain stone.”
“A prosperity stone.” He stops the blade’s rotation but doesn’t look at me.
“Yes.” I nod.
He leans back in his chair, spins the blade again, and gestures for me to continue.
“I’ve asked around about the temple, and it’s too far of a journey for me to make alone.” And evidently impossible to reach, but I leave that part out. “I have to go through some pretty rough kingdoms in order to reach my destination.”
A moment of silence passes between us.
Yeah. There’s no chivalrous offer to help me out or anything. Just indifference as he stares at the slowing blade and gives it another twirl.
“I don’t know much about the lands outside of Meriva,” I continue, “so I need protection. If I can get one of the stones in time, I can sneak into Seferin’s keep, give her the stone, and once it’s in her possession, that’ll break the curse. After that, I get her out, and we flee.”
“What was the name of the crystal she touched?” Thane asks, halting the blade by the handle as if none of the other details matter.
“I—I don’t know. It was an indigo color.”
The features I can see on Thane’s face harden.
“A liphanet.” He blinks at me before his eyes land on the bag of coins.
“If Seferin cursed it and she’s mortal, it’s true.
She’ll die, and soon. Liphanets are one-time crystals that bond well with mortal curses and never lift until they’ve absorbed all energy and soul, which usually takes close to a month.
There are crystals out there that can be used to get the job done quicker, but he clearly wants her to suffer. ”
My mouth becomes drier with every word he says. “So she’s in a lot of pain?”
“More than likely.”
“But not dead yet,” I mumble under my breath. Maybe that’s why the pearl is still extremely warm. A swirl of nausea hits me, and I close my eyes. I’ve never been more afraid for Analla than now. “That’s not okay. He shouldn’t be doing that to her.”
“Well, he is. And once the absorption is complete, he’ll most likely take her soul and use it…or sell it to the highest bidding sorcerer.”
“What would they even do with her soul?”
“Use it for whatever they want.”
“Like?”
“Many things.”
“Can you please elaborate?” I ask, trying desperately hard not to get frustrated by his vagueness.
He blows out an irritated sigh. “I don’t know—they could pour life back into someone who may be dying or is already dead. Most would probably just use it to boost their own magic.”
I try not to react externally, but internally my heart is hammering against my rib cage and I’ve become full-on queasy. I grip the edge of my chair to keep myself steady.
“But one of the prosperity stones in Elphar can save her,” I remind him. “It can break any curse.”
“A possibility,” Thane says, mulling it over. “But not likely to happen. Those stones are hard to obtain. Many have tried making it through The Shallows to reach the Temple of Elphar, and most have died doing so.”
“I don’t care.” I push a deep breath out through my noise, quelling the nausea as best I can. “It’s better than doing nothing.” Sure, I can say that, but now my whole body is trembling at the sheer idea of it.
I’ve heard tales about The Shallows. The mere thought of that place is terrifying. So many horror stories circulate about vicious beasts, traps, and other wickedness. There’s a reason that land has been abandoned.
I tuck my hands between my thighs so Thane won’t see them shake. “Can you even fight?”
He frowns, seeming offended.
“I just mean how skilled are you? For all I know, you’re not worth hiring.”
His jaw tightens. “There’s a reason no one in here has bothered looking me in the eye—no one but you, anyway. But you’re naive, foolish, and obviously don’t understand the dangers of this world, so I suppose that gives you a pass.”
I give him my deepest scowl. “So you are the man in black everyone’s been whispering about, then.”
He says nothing to that. He doesn’t have to. I can sense it. There’s danger written all over him.
“So, will you help me get there or not? I just need someone to watch my back. That’s it. Everything else, like lodging and eating, I’ll take care of myself.”
He narrows his gaze just a touch, analyzing me. Then he grabs the pouch with an oversize hand and dumps the coins onto the table. They clatter as they collide.
After counting them, he says, “Double the payment and I’ll assist. And make it gold coin only.”
“W-what?” My stomach drops. “But I don’t have that kind of money.” I gesture to the coins. “This is all I have right now. It’s at least sixty silvers—and look.” I pick up one of the gold coins. “Gold. There are five gold coins in there.”
He reclines in his seat. “If this is all you have, I can’t help you. I’ll need more than that if I’m going to risk my life for yours.”
“Please,” I beg. “This is my sister. I know it’s risky but—please. You asked me for details—for a reason. You obviously hate Seferin, too.”
This time, he doesn’t react to Seferin’s name. Instead, he raises a hand and gestures for Bolivar to come over. The privacy dome evaporates.
Bolivar migrates our way with pure reluctance. “What do you want?”
Thane picks up a few of the coins on the table—my coins—and slides them toward Bolivar. “Ale and broth noodles.”
Bolivar’s jaw works while collecting the coins. Once he’s out of earshot, I focus on Thane again, but he’s already staring at me.
“Double the payment and bring it to me in the morning. This tavern. All gold coin. You do that, and I’ll get you to Elphar for one of the stones,” he assures me. “You don’t, then may your sister’s soul rest in the Crystal Realm with Orvena.”
I shove back in my chair as anger courses through my veins like venom. Heads turn as the legs scrape the floor.
“You’re an asshole, Thane.”
For the first time since he walked into the tavern, he lowers his mask.
I have to stop myself from drawing in a sharp breath at the reveal of his unexpectedly chiseled jaw and full, pouty lips.
A dark scar along his left cheek juts up to his temple, while another marks the right side of his upper lip all the way to his chin.
Ugh.
Of course he’s wickedly handsome. I hate him even more.
“You’re the one who approached this asshole expecting him to risk his life.” Thane’s eyes spark gold, presenting a clear threat to me and only me. “Double the coin and bring it back in the morning or leave me alone.”
Bolivar returns with his ale and a bowl of hot rooster broth with noodles. Thane doesn’t hesitate to pick up the steel mug. Foam spills over his fingers as he tips the rim toward his mouth. He chugs down a few sips, unbothered by my anger.
He isn’t going to change his mind about the coins. Knowing this makes me bite back tears of frustration because I don’t have that kind of money and I’m not sure who else to ask. Who else is there to help me?
Clearing my throat, I rake up all my coins and shove them back into the pouch.
My eyes water again as I grab my rucksack and storm away. Snatching my wool coat off one of the racks by the exit, I rush out of the building before I end up slapping that dickheaded sorcerer.