Chapter 29
By morning, I’ve packed the few things I brought and meet Jace and Yaris in the foyer. The opal remembrance token, purchased from the dragonstone carver on our first day here, is tucked safely in the interior pocket. A blanket of things left unsaid sits heavy on each of us.
“Ready?” Jace asks, the gruff tone of a sleepless night rough in his throat.
“I guess so.” My satchel strap burrows into my shoulder, suddenly weighed with regret. Yaris’s eyes soften in the early dawn’s light, reflecting shades of pinks in swallowed tears.
“Remember what I said, Nova. There’s a home for you here always,” he whispers.
I glance at my boots, shielding myself from the well of grief building in my belly.
Maybe it’s the shared trauma of losing our home or the comfort in knowing he’s upheld my mother’s memory, but I sputter up a quiet sob before falling into his outstretched embrace.
His arms around me are both warm and welcome. I’m a child again, curled up on my father’s chest, the rise and fall of peaceful breaths soothing the heartache of innocent mischief.
“Thank you, Yaris. For everything,” I whisper. My tears stain his linen tunic with droplets of a loneliness I’ve barely allowed myself to feel.
“Keep practicing.” He slips something in my pocket. “Only you decide who you are. Never forget that, Nova.”
I take a lingering breath before ripping myself away.
“Thank you for your kindness, Yaris.” Jace glances between the pair of us.
His inky eyes are somber witnesses to our gut-wrenching goodbye, but I’m grateful for his interruption.
We have to go now, otherwise I may never leave.
One more second and I’ll find myself back upstairs, refolding clothes back in their now empty drawers.
“The Ashborne crown is indebted to you. If there’s anything I can ever do to return your favor, please, just send word.”
“Keep her alive,” Yaris says as he dips his chin in a stiff nod.
Jace takes my hand. His touch is a spark of reassurance through me, like he sees my conflict and makes it his own.
A glimpse of understanding flicks through the stoney expression etched in his features.
I know this is hard, his eyes seem to say.
One more glance over my shoulder sends a slice of finality through me, and we step into the foggy morning silence.
The city sleeps under a blanket of mist as we near the faction’s outskirts.
Heartbreak claws its way through me, stealing any words I’m capable of mustering.
Most farewells have always been met with my blade or the spilling of blood, but this one hurts.
My mind can’t fathom the utter grief of walking away from a life I begged for, so I stay quiet.
“He was right, you know,” Jace says finally, the words a low murmur.
“What do you mean?”
“Our agreement isn’t worth your life.”
I catch myself before stumbling over a loose brick in the cobblestone.
“Yes it is,” I say, choosing my words carefully. “Only the rich live well on this continent. You should know that better than any of us. If I’m to build the life I deserve, I need that payout. Besides, Finnick wouldn’t simply forgive my absence…nor my debt.”
“When the time comes, Nova, I’ll handle that fucker myself.” He grits his teeth. The tracking link ripples down my spine, like the old mercenary can hear our conversation from across the continent.
“But this payout ensures you won’t have to. I just want a clean slate, a life without any more bloodshed, and if this is the only path to it, so be it.”
Jace watches me with intentional reflection.
There’s a shadow around him I can’t quite pinpoint, like smudged ink or faded language.
It’s faint, but my heartbeat roars in my ears.
Is he having regrets? Is the King of Shadow, heir to the midnight throne, reconsidering our bargain?
Is he one pinch point away from letting me walk free?
“I’m not rescinding our deal so wipe that expression off your pretty little lips, starling.” And as quick as it came, the moment’s gone. “I need your help. No Sovereign survivor is going to willingly speak to me. Silver hair aside, you can be quite convincing.”
I scoff and fall into line beside him. “You’re insufferable, King Ashborne.”
Between strides, he leans down and brushes his lips against my ear. My throat goes drier than the desert when his breath tickles my jaw. “And yet, you can’t keep your eyes off of me.”
Half desperate to jab an elbow into his chest, I pick up the pace. “Keep dreaming.”
“My dreams are always of you, Nova Lindwen.”
My traitorous fucking heart flutters like a hummingbird. No, I won’t fall victim to his smooth voice and perfect lips. Not today. Not any day. I’m finishing this mission, collecting my payout, then riding off into the sunset with my middle fingers raised right toward him.
Footsteps behind us pound on the cobblestone with frantic urgency. I whirl around, catching a glimpse of an emerald cloak and short, blonde hair. “Thaye?! What are you doing here?”
“You didn’t think I’d let you go with a measly note for a goodbye, did you?” She steadies herself against a stone wall. “Damn I haven’t run that fast in years. I hoped to catch you before you were over the border.”
“You sprinted all the way here? From the temple?” I cough up a laugh at the vision of Thaye, donned in her priestess attire, flying through markets and narrow streets just to wish me a safe farewell.
“Of course I did, but don’t ever ask me to again. I forgot how steep the hillside gets up here.” She glances around, scanning the quiet homes and broken merchant carts. “Obdiris above, it’s gotten worse in these parts. I haven’t left the lower districts in a while, but this place has changed…”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, priestess, but our border crossing is within the hour,” Jace grumbles. Gone are the empathetic expressions or smug little jests.
The whiplash of his transformation is damn near palpable against me. “We’re nearly there, just give me a minute.”
He looses a long, drawn-out sigh, but nods and paces a few steps away.
“I wish I didn’t have to leave like this,” I whisper to Thaye, reaching a hand toward hers.
She takes it, interlacing our fingers with a shocking display of affection.
“But I’ll be back, and if there’s still room for me at the temple…
” I don’t need to finish the question. She nods and pulls me into a gentle embrace.
“Those seeking knowledge always find their way back to Obdiris. Of course there’s a place for you here. ”
She offers a sad, fleeting smile, replaced by something serious and grim when her gaze lands on Jace’s tunic, catching on the embroidered signet stitched over his chest. “I didn’t know you traveled with those from Shadow.”
“Thaye, I…” My words trail off, deciphering her tone a minute too late.
“This is dangerous, Nova,” she spits. “You can't trust him.”
“So I’ve been told, but I assure you Thaye, you can trust him just as you can me.” I shift the all too heavy satchel strap to the opposite shoulder.
She curls her palms at her sides, refusing to return her eyes to mine. “Have we met before, sir?”
“No,” Jace replies, clenching his jaw.
“I swear I’ve seen you before…” Thaye’s eyes narrow into mere slits.
“How did you know where to find me?” I interject, desperate for a subject change before the growing tension buzzes to life.
Her eyes snap back to mine. “What do you mean? Your travel companions didn’t tell you of my visit?”
“Companions? Do you mean Yaris?”
My heart skids through my chest as she shakes her head.
“No, I went to Lightbrood’s home looking for you when you didn’t show this morning. Your other companion answered the door, saying you’d gotten a head start to the border.”
A wave of ice crashes through me. “Thaye, it’s just us. Who did you speak to?”
By Astora’s grace, please let this be a simple miscommunication. She crosses her arms, squeezing her biceps with long, slender fingers.
“He said he was with you. I just assumed it was true because of the Smoke insignia on his jacket. Nova…”
I don’t wait to hear the rest of her response before crashing back down the road.