Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Evelyn
Kade opened the door to a room Evelyn’d yet to explore.
Specifically, a bedroom—neat, simple, and untouched—awaited them.
A large four-poster bed, layered with white furs and quilts was pushed against the righthand wall.
Beside it, there was a writing desk with a few floating shelves, dead plants wilted against stacks of books.
A vanity made from a redwood tree with a matching stool sat near the large window.
More books, along with dusty cushions sat on a window sill, large enough for one to sit on, like a reading nook.
It wasn’t confusion flushing through Evelyn, but a keen level of interest. Kade had shown it to her for a reason, but he was silent, watching her.
She dropped Kade’s hand as she rushed forward, a glinting hand mirror snagging her attention. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest. She brushed her hand over the letter ‘E’ carved into it.
She stilled, assessing the room again and noticing the small, feminine touches as if—
“The window faces east, so you could watch the sun rise in the direction of home,” Kade said with what felt like the first words in hours.
But the gravity of the space, of the room had simply hit Evelyn, suspended her and left her feeling floaty, elated, and warmly grateful.
Because this was her room. Or, at least, it had been intended to be her room, once.
The wooden walls were different from the rest of the cottage, the clay between stacked logs lighter.
A space that had been added to his already lovely home.
“You built this for me?” It came out like a question, but Kade didn’t need to assure Evelyn that was the case, because she felt the rooms purpose, and she knew him.
Kade grabbed her hand, joining her near the window. “Back then, I didn’t expect us to be married in a traditional sense, so, I wanted to give you your own space, a room that was yours, somewhere you could escape to if you needed.”
Evelyn laughed, and it came out bubbly, thick with tears. “Are you kicking me out of your room, huntsman?”
“Absolutely not, and by the way, the room upstairs is our room, princess,“ he said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“Then why bring me in here?” Evelyn whispered, grasping hold of his hand.
Kade sighed. “To show you and remind myself my intentions from the very beginning. Long before we met, I’d dreamed of us being partners—you and I against the darkness. Yet, the more I fall in love with you, there feels to be more at stake. I’m sorry I left. I let fear get the best of me.”
Evelyn’s heart skipped. “For what it’s worth, I’m frightened, too, Kade.”
His golden stare softened. “Then we face whatever Blair’s theory is together.”
Evelyn nodded, her heart swelling. “Together.”
The grizzly-size fireplace beside the large table for twelve crackled, filling the air with aromas of sweet hickory. Underneath the table, Evelyn held Kade’s hand as the rest of their friends filtered into Lār’s meeting hall.
Tovi stood at the end of the table, hands outstretched as she leaned over the ancient wood covered in maps and missives.
The remnants of battle still stained her leathers and face.
Red soaked her white braid. Nadia stood off to the side, arms crossed and one foot resting on the wall.
At the other end, Eldrick, with his jaw rigid as the surrounding stone, sat with his father and brother, Lorkan, the scholarly Drengr Evelyn had yet to meet.
With her sleeves rolled up to her elbows and forearms stained from ointments, Belle arrived with Todd in tow, his bun slick with sweat.
They sat next to Yennifer and Bétar. They too hadn’t washed after Riven’s attack.
The archer’s bow sat on the table along with her mate’s sword, as if both warriors expected another one.
Last, Linx entered the hall, finding a seat next to Blair, who sat with brow set and hands clasped over a stack of books.
Kade ran his thumb across her knuckles, sending the warmth of a thousand suns through her weary being. She sighed at his touch. Evelyn appreciated the silence and the simple presence of standing by each other’s side, for everything they faced was so loud, booming in her pounding head.
Riven. Circe. The Blood Curse. The Void spreading. The bloodstone—
Blair cleared her throat, and the chatter amongst them quieted.
She gestured towards the prophecy on the table.
“I think we can all agree that in order to defeat the Blood Goddess’s hold on Sorin, we must break the curse.
There are many things left to decipher in the prophecy, but one thing is certain, as it has been for centuries—Evelyn and Kade are essential to whatever that entails. ”
Lorkan nodded. “We’ve all known the last two lines of the prophecy, but the other lines within the stanza suggest weapons to aid in the fight to come, and I know where we’ll find the blade of ancients.”
Everyone straightened, and Nadia peeled off the wall.
Tovi’s eyes narrowed. “Where?”
“Drystan. Riven has the blade.” He flipped open a book and pushed it in Kade’s direction.
Text covered most of the page, aside from an intricate sketch of an all-black sword.
“I recognized it when the prince wielded it during the attack. That is the sword the Moon God fought the Gods War with. It is also the weapon he gifted to the first werewolf. It disappeared eight hundred years ago.”
“How in the hel did a vampyr find the blade?” Todd asked.
All eyes shifted to Nadia. She stiffened. “I’ve not heard him discuss the blade, let alone knew he was after one as significant as this.”
“Ingrid was,” Belle said. “She never mentioned it by name, but she researched weapons for the war to come. Said the gods had left them behind, why not find and use them.”
Tovi hissed. “Goddess, do you think they know which blade it is?”
“Does it matter?” Evelyn asked. “It’s enchanted with dark magic. I felt it when I fought Riven during the Blood Moon.”
Tovi frowned. “I’ve sensed the wrongness within it, too. Is it of any use to Kade now with dark magic? If it’s even the blade?”
“Is it enchanted or draining its wrongful master?” Lorkan raised a brow. “The power of the Moon God, which runs through Kade’s veins, created that metal. It doesn’t belong to Riven.”
Kade stiffened, an edge to him Evelyn had never witnessed before. “Are you suggesting the sword is fighting back?”
“Perhaps there’s merit in that theory. He could barely hold the sword steady when we fought.” Tovi’s gaze turned distant. “He’s tired, worn. I assumed it was the curse getting worse, but maybe it’s the sword.”
Todd studied the sketch. “There’s no denying the likeness.”
“Well, how do we take it back?” Bétar said.
“I’ll retrieve it,” Nadia said. “Its best I leave the village for the sake of the Earl vote, and I’m more use in Drystan, anyway.”
“Alright,” Kade said, addressing everyone. “We have a plan for the sword. What of the ancient bones of an old friend?”
Blair sighed. “I’m not certain yet, but . . . Evelyn needs to get her magic back first and I have an idea.” She looked at her sister, silently waiting for her approval.
Evelyn’s insides twisted. Apprehension bled into her sister’s dark stare, lips etched into a thin line.
She nodded. “Go on.”
Blair circled her hands over an open book. Light shot out of the pages and onto the stone wall, projecting the content for the entire table to see.
“This is our world and its many layers,” Blair said.
A grand tree, root to canopy, stretched from the bottom to the top of the page. Four shaded rings surrounded the trunk, extending to the margins—the Upperworld, the Living Lands, the Otherworld, and, blackened by smudged ink like an afterthought, the Underworld.
Hel as some called it.
“We’re here,” Blair said, pointing to the Living Lands, full of vibrant grass, snowcapped mountains, and a deep-blue sea separating two large continents, Sorin and Torren. She dragged her finger to the Otherworld. “This is eventually where our souls venture—the afterlife.”
Blair flipped through the pages, stopping on a drawing of a heart, a speck of power glowing at the reddish center. Underneath, cloaked figures stood with an illuminated goddess, shimmering suns dotting her flowy dress.
“When I first started researching the bloodstone, my instinct was like both of yours—how do we get Evelyn’s magic out? We’re looking at it the wrong way. Right now, Evelyn’s soul is severed into two pieces. What if we sent those pieces into the same realm, giving them a chance to reunite?”
Evelyn’s brows pinched as she focused on the book Blair held and the ideas she’d suggested. Her thoughts tumbled through her, pulse skyrocketing, but she couldn’t dismiss the theory—something to get her magic back, no matter the fear chilling her to the bone.
“If I venture to the Otherworld, there’s a chance I can weave my soul back together.” Evelyn rubbed the constant ache in her chest.
“That means you’d have to die,” Tovi hissed down the table.
The rest of the team stiffened, staring with wide eyes.
Next to Evelyn, Kade swallowed, jaw ticking.
They shared a wordless conversation, and despite Evelyn’s racing heart, he nodded, silently agreeing with her.
They trusted everyone at this table with their life.
This wasn’t the Council, they were among friends and those they loved.
She swallowed. “We never said anything in our letters these last weeks because we feared the news might fall into the wrong hands: I’m already dying.”