Chapter 30
“My Kelvanite Sphere will detect traps and assist you in avoiding all dangers.” Frevella places a pale-blue glass ball in the palm of my hand. “When you wish to activate it, you simply rub it four times and say drusako. Drusako means—”
“To guide,” Thane fills in.
Frevella’s snake turns its eyes to Thane. “You know Thelasian?”
“I’ve studied it,” he answers, as if it’s no big deal. But it is a big deal. Not many people know our originating language.
“Hmm.” Frevella taps her chin. “You’re smarter than you look, boy.”
Based on his frown, Thane doesn’t take her remark as a compliment.
“When you say the proper word, the sphere will spark with an arrow. If it’s green, it means you are in a safe area,” Frevella continues. “But if it sparks red, it means danger is nearby, or you’re already in danger.”
“Sounds easy enough.” I weigh the sphere in my hands—it’s light.
“There is something you should know,” Frevella adds, a finger rising in the air. “All creations, no matter how powerful, have their limits. The Kelvanite Sphere will burn out. Its power usually only lasts about an hour.”
I blink at her. “Only an hour?” I look at Thane, who shifts on his feet. “That’s not enough time to make it through the whole island, is it?”
“No, it isn’t,” he mutters.
“Can you add more power to it?” I ask Frevella.
“That is my limit,” she snaps, waving a flippant hand.
“It feeds off of my magic, and anything more weakens me. I don’t care to deteriorate my energy for people who voluntarily risk their lives.
Use it wisely. Whether you make it off that dreaded island alive or not, the sphere will find its way back to me.
Eventually. Now leave my cave,” she demands with a sniff.
“I’m ready to rid myself of this disturbance. ”
…
I feel nothing but pure relief when we make it out of the stuffy darkness of Frevella’s home.
Thane is now carrying the sphere in one hand and studying it thoroughly, as if he’s trying to figure out how a simple glass object like that can hold so much power.
When the others outside the cave see him with it, they huddle together for a closer look.
“Wow,” Rynthea marvels. “Glad you didn’t fuck it up for us, sorcerer.” She always says that word like it’s a dirty one, which really makes me wonder again what she has against sorcerers in general. Surely, Thane isn’t the only one she doesn’t like.
To my surprise, Thane doesn’t react at all to Rynthea’s comment. Not even one of his habitual grimaces makes an appearance. Instead, he tucks the sphere into the pocket of his trousers while sticking out his other hand. “Give me my weapons.”
Rynthea gives him the vest. Algar gladly returns the sheathed swords and daggers.
“You know”—Kelrean smiles as he looks at each of us—“I was thinking I should journey with you all to the shores, at the very least.”
Still, Thane doesn’t react. Not even to Kelrean deciding to be around us longer? Now he’s scaring me.
“You couldn’t even save yourself from drowning,” Rynthea counters. “Just take your royal, spoon-fed ass back to the castle. We can handle it from here.”
“First of all, I was a child,” he retorts. “Secondly, I am a man perfectly capable of traveling to the shores. You won’t have to worry about saving me.”
“We have orders to return you to Bernwood once the sphere is obtained, Your Highness,” one of the Bernwood guards states.
“I’m well aware, but this is something I’m choosing to do for our friends,” Kelrean asserts. “Something tells me this crew will need my assistance along the way.”
Thane scoffs as he laces his vest. At least there’s finally a reaction out of him, albeit a weak one.
“Tell my father I will return soon.” Kelrean is already walking away from the guards. “I’ve done missions in Ruvain, for Orvena’s sake. I’m certain I can travel around a mountain and take a gander at the Gadonian shores without issue.”
Rynthea follows after him. “I’ll only end up saving your ass again.”
“Or perhaps I’ll settle the score and save yours.” Kelrean grins. “Then you can stop hanging your little badge of glory over my head.”
Rynthea falls into step next to the prince.
Algar and I join them. The guards hesitate as we march past. They blink at each other with apprehension, likely torn between following the prince and ignoring the instructions of their king.
Neither outcome seems wise, especially the latter, because that would mean returning to Bernwood and explaining to the king why they left his only heir unguarded.
“They’re following us, aren’t they?” Kelrean settles the upper handle of his ax on his shoulder, giving me a lazy smile as he moves closer to my side.
I look over my shoulder at the disgruntled guards trailing a few steps behind Thane. “Yep.”
Kelrean groans, tossing his head back. “I’m so tired of being treated like a child.”
“They treat you that way because you are a child,” Rynthea chides. “An annoying, spontaneous child in his twentieth year who can’t stop playing with his own penis.”
“Shadows! She’s so mean, isn’t she?” Kelrean winks at me.
I can’t find it in me to smile as wide as him.
My mind is still racing with thoughts from Frevella’s hot and dark-ass cave.
I glance at Thane again. He’s staring off to his right, gazing at the lower peaks of mountains and forest tops.
I slow my pace, feeling the need to check on him, but Rynthea slows her stride as well, taking up my right side as Algar flanks the left.
“What happened in there?” Rynthea asks in a low voice.
“Secrets,” is all I can manage.
She’s quiet for a moment. “Are you okay?”
I meet her eyes. She studies me with her eyebrows drawn together, seeming genuinely concerned.
“I’m okay. Thanks for asking.”
“What about him?” Algar cocks his head, gesturing to Thane.
“I’m sure he’s fine. Nothing bothers him, right?” I try to divert the question. I want to ask Algar if he knows about Thane having a brother. It didn’t come up in the conversation we had during the fete. Now isn’t the time, though.
“Suppose you’re right.” Algar swings his gaze to Rynthea. “Do we even know what’s on the other side of this mountain, Ryn?”
As Rynthea fishes out a map from her rucksack, I slow my pace to match Thane’s. When the group is a short distance ahead of us and the guards several steps behind, I look at him.
“Do not start with me,” he grumbles, side-eyeing me.
“I’m not starting anything. Just trying to make sure you’re okay.”
“Would be a whole lot better if your little prince wasn’t tagging along.”
“Thane.” He catches the sharpness in my tone, and his chin lowers. When his eyes latch onto mine, he stares into them for several seconds before finally looking away. I want to reach for his hand and hold it in mine but think better of it.
He sighs. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter,” I counter in a lower voice, hoping no one up ahead will hear. “You lost your brother, Thane. That matters a lot.”
“Just stop.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about him last night?”
“Not right now, Zaira.”
“Yes, right now,” I insist. “This is important information, is it not? Why hide it? It’s good that I know now because it all makes sense—why you want the tome and why you want to increase your power.”
His jaw steels. “Just drop it.”
He speeds up his walk again. I scurry to catch up with him. The mountain is finally sloping downward. We’re getting closer to the other side.
“Did Seferin murder your brother?” I ask, catching up to him.
He’s about to pause but keeps his stride steady as he shakes his head.
“If you don’t talk about it and keep bottling it up, it’ll make you rotten inside, Thane.”
I notice one of his fists clenching. This time, he does stop walking. One of the guards almost bumps into him, but the guard catches himself and scowls at us before continuing his trek.
Up ahead, I notice the others have rounded a slight curve in the mountain. They’re nearing the bridge.
Thane turns around and slowly closes the gap between us.
I back away from him, then feel the heel of my foot come perilously close to the edge of the mountain. My heart pounds when all I see below me are rocky cliffs and lush treetops. There would be no surviving a fall like that.
“Look, I don’t need your pity,” he starts. “Right now, all we need to do is focus on making it to Elphar so we both can get what we want. This thing between us,” he says, gesturing back and forth with his hand, “shouldn’t get any deeper because once it’s all over, you’ll never see me again.”
My foot slips, and I gasp.
He clutches my arm and whirls me around, placing my back against the safer side of the mountain.
His body presses against mine as he holds me against the jagged mountainside, and as he regards me, my pulse quickens.
“You started this journey despising everything about me, Zaira.” He studies every feature of my face, starting with my eyes, lowering to my nose, then my lips and chin.
“I encourage you not to forget who and what I really am. I’m no good for a person like you, and definitely won’t be after this journey is over. ”
“What if I don’t despise you anymore?” I ask in a softer voice.
His hand circles my waist before skating up my spine. I feel it press to the back of my head and tug on my ponytail to angle my chin upward. As he hovers his mouth over mine, my breathing shallows. That silly heart of mine races faster.
Suddenly, I’m eager—desperate to know what he’ll do next.
Desperate for him to kiss me once again.
“I suggest you reconsider,” he rasps. “Because in all reality, I don’t know you, and you don’t truly know me. It’s better to keep whatever this is on the surface. No point in taking it deeper.”
All his words go through one ear and out of the other. I can feel the heat of his mouth, his breath dancing across my slick skin. I remember the carriage, his hands all over me, the taste of ale and mint on his tongue…
I want him to kiss me. I want it badly.
But he doesn’t give me the satisfaction. He releases me instead and steps away. I can’t stand how much my body aches at the loss of his touch.
“Let’s keep going. When we cross that bridge, we’ll be in Gadonia before we know it.” He fixes his mouth like he’s about to say something else, but just as quickly, his shoulders tense, and his eyes spark gold.
“Thane?” I call, concerned by his sudden change of mood.
Swiftly, he grabs my wrist and yanks me to the side as something silver and sharp flies through the air.
The sight of the four-sided blade penetrating the mountain right next to my head makes my stomach coil.
The letters TSG are engraved in the center.
I don’t know what they stand for, but I know whoever has thrown it is a real threat.
The air seems to grow stiffer with humidity as Thane turns his head a fraction to glare over his shoulder. That’s when I realize we’re not alone.
Coming up the mountain is Maliek and a cluster of assassins.
Maliek narrows his blazing ice-blue gaze on us, weapons in hand, ready to attack.
With the sound of a growl building in his throat, Thane lifts his mask and draws one of his swords.
He stands in front of me to block me from Maliek’s view.
“Get to the bridge with the others,” he commands, shifting to a defensive stance.
His long fingers curl around the hilt of his sword as he grimaces at Maliek.
Before he can say anything else, Maliek lifts a hand in the air and points two fingers at us.
And with his silent command, the assassins rush in our direction.