Chapter Thirty-Nine
THE GENERAL
The air grew warmer and more humid as we neared the city of waterways. We had stopped again for a brief break and to water the horses. I grabbed my horse’s reins to lead it toward a gurgling stream.
Liora had moved up as a top priority, my duty to her rivaling my duty to the realms. The thought of distancing myself from her brought out an unsolicited, feral snarl to my lips.
If she was fire, then I’d burn for her. I didn’t care if I was left destroyed in the wake of her carnage, as long as I got to taste her in the process.
Then there was the issue of my bargain with Liora, and how I couldn’t let her leave when it was done. And of course the fact that I was dying. I needed the cure to this curse. I could feel my blood thinning and time running through my fingers.
I knelt down at the water’s edge, listlessly swirling the cool liquid with my fingers. One thing at a time. I had taken the correct tonic before leaving Vorkut so my blood wasn’t actively poisoning me. It was happening more frequently, though, and I couldn’t be sure how long I had between doses.
Xuri burst through the brush, her eyes searching wildly for me. “Dom. We have a problem.”
I surged to my feet, assessing her for wounds, my senses heightened to incoming danger. My shadows sharpened into blades at my side. Xuri’s stern tone caught the others’ attention and they strode toward us.
She gave Liora a pained look before turning back to me. “One of the apprenticing oracles reached out to me.” She tapped her temple. “Haluma sent a message.”
Liora lost all color in her face. “What did it say?” she asked, dread infusing her delicate features.
Xuri turned squarely toward Liora, grabbing her hands. “They have Delah. Unless you return to Maripol, they will kill her.”
Liora gasped, her head shaking in denial. I reached for her, putting a protective arm around her, wishing I could truly shield her. She leaned into me, her breathing becoming too shallow, too rapid.
I pulled her closer, gently placing my forehead against hers.
“Listen to my breath m’est kisertes. Mimic it.
” Her eyes were glassy as she wrestled with her body’s panic.
We stared at each other until her magic stopped bucking against my own power.
My lips brushed her cheek. “We will get her out. Together.”
Liora paused, assessing me as if for the first time.
Perplexity skittered across her meticulous appraisal.
Her eyes lingered on my lips before inching upward to meet my gaze again.
She stepped closer, tilting her head up.
“Why? This is my battle, not yours,” she whispered, her hand unconsciously twisted a lock of her hair.
I faltered, imperceptibly shaking my head in my own brand of disbelief. “Your battles are my battles now.” She stared at me with surprised confusion, scanning my face for the lie. Foka. How could she not see the truth?
Her pupils dilated as she drew in a soft breath. “I—”
“Dom,” Xuri urgently interjected. “We need to leave. Now.” Her features softened in apology.
“We’re coming, just give us a minute.” I waved her off, fixing my attention back on Liora. “We can put off the library for a while longer. Let’s get back to Aphellion and get a plan together. We’ll figure this out.” Her hands stilled.
“What about your cure? You’re running out of time.” She searched my face, fear mingling with hope.
“I have time,” I lied.
A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She grabbed my hand and brought me back toward the horse. The curse loomed heavy around me, but getting Delah out of Haluma mattered to Liora. So it mattered to me.
We made haste back to Lyrae. Liora relaxed into my chest, and the protector in me relished being able to surround her with my body. In this moment, there were no Nokts, or drekis, or King Nolan. Just the city of waterways ahead and the salty scent of the ocean wafting by.
As we neared the canals on the outskirts of the city, she twisted in her seat. I met her gaze, her doe eyes more lavender than blue in the afternoon light. “I’m scared,” she confessed.
I fixed my eyes to hers. Shadows swirled around me unbidden, tendrils gently unfurling around her arms, winding upward toward her neck, and combing through her mesmerizing hair.
The horse slowed down as I watched my magic tangle with her.
She shifted to face me but the saddle restricted her movement.
“Hold my waist,” she commanded. The horse slowed further behind the others, and I firmly gripped her in the narrow dip of her hips.
Slowly, she made to stand on the saddle, then carefully turned around before reseating herself so that she faced me, her legs straddling my lap.
It was decidedly my new favorite position to ride a horse.
With a hint of hesitation, she reached around my torso, tucking herself into me on the crowded saddle. Her cheek rested against my chest. The trembling note of her released sigh was the only indication of her distress. I closed my eyes, relishing her weight against me.
Nolan dangled Liora’s closest friend as bait.
There was nothing she wouldn’t do to try and save her and he knew it.
I firmly encircled her body with my free arm, the other holding tightly to the reins, pushing my horse to catch up with the others.
Rage at all that Nolan had stolen from her simmered under my skin.
The metal on my fingers flared, ready to melt into a lethal weapon, yet no foe stood before me.
She spoke into my scaled leathers, “Thank you for helping me. I know it isn’t a part of our bargain.
” She grazed her fingers along my vambrace.
I manipulated the metal along it with my affinity, carving designs into the forearm guard.
She traced them reverently. “I hope I don’t wear out my welcome.
” A hint of insecurity weaved through her attempt at humor.
Water twisted out of her fingertips like living ribbons, iridescent in the warm sunlight, curling around me as my own shadows sought refuge around her.
“Liora.” My voice came out hoarse. I couldn’t tear my gaze away.
“M’est kisertes, you have made your way deep beneath my skin.
I will do whatever it takes to keep you there.
The bargain is over, you’ve completed your part.
It is your choice whether you stay or leave.
” That last bit was true, even if it would kill me.
She shuddered against me. “I’ll stay. As long as you want me to.”
The pink flush across her cheeks turned on a switch that had me pulling her impossibly closer, as if an inch of space between us was too much.
My thumb traced the smooth skin of her jawline.
“This isn’t a small thing to me, Liora. The choice is always yours.
I will not be another man to cage you in.
” We studied each other, this moment suspended in time. The clouds above held their breath.
She appeared on the edge of weeping, eyes wide in disbelief.
I forged on. “I need you to understand that I want all of you. Because when you give me that, you will have all of me, and I will never let you go. I will be yours until my last breath.” She nodded, her head heavy on my chest, her arms still encircling my waist.
I held her firmly against me as the horse cantered toward the city gates. I would give her space to process what I’d confessed. She didn’t know that everything I had was already hers. She was everything I didn’t know I needed. She was my light. M’est kisertes.