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It worked ridiculously well.
‘And the right thing to worry about,’ Tared said, acid in his voice, ‘is, according to you, whether you’ll get your fun duelling godsworn mages?’
No.Creon’s smile was like a dagger, ready to slice through skin and muscle.The real question is if we’re going to keep those nymphs on Tolya alive. Or if we’ll ever get ourselves deep enough into the Crimson Court to throw the Mother off her throne. Which is going to be significantly easier if the most powerful mage on our side isn’t bound, if I need to remind you.
Which made sense – enough sense to make even Tared grumble a few words of unwilling agreement – and yet I doubted whether the greater good was the first thing on Creon’s mind here. There had been too much wicked amusement in his smile at the thought of me besting him. Centuries of dealing with unmatched powers … and now who knew what I might be able to do?
And just like that, apprehension turned to excitement, the dark road ahead suddenly a realm of unexplored possibilities. Damn him and his demon eyes; he’d managed it again.
‘I’m nowhere near winning any battles,’ I said, straightening my shoulders as I turned to face the other two. Time for a little diplomacy. ‘Or binding or unbinding anyone, for that matter. I’ve barely figured out how to move something, and I’ve never tried to use the other two types of magic, because Zera wouldn’t let me possess her chickens. So …’
Tared chuckled – a joyless chuckle, but enough for the circumstances. ‘Disappointing.’
‘Oh, don’t worry, Em,’ Lyn said, waving some invisible concerns aside with a brave attempt at a smile. Thank the gods. ‘Of course we’ll help you figure it out. It’s just …’
Just that I was now wielding the same powers that had taken her freedom, her fertility, and her friends’ lives. I grimaced and said, ‘I know.’
‘Yes.’ She groaned a sigh, running her chubby fingers through her wild red curls. ‘Hell take us all, and I thought this morning couldn’t get any wilder. So what do we do now? Do you think you can manage Tolya in this state?’
A question that would be easier to handle if I had the faintest idea of what was waiting for us – a few innocent skirmishes or a full-blown battle of the sort we’d barely survived at the Golden Court? I glanced at Creon, who raised an eyebrow in return, the question obvious in that one little gesture.
What did I want?
‘Are you coming?’ I said slowly.
His scarred fingers tensed a fraction.Depends how much we can afford to anger the nymphs.
‘I prefer their anger over their deaths,’ Tared said. It was no longer just curtness in his voice, that cold distaste that had brewed there for months. This was outright lust for murder, kept in check only by the thinnest veneer of civilisation and self-restraint. ‘Your pretty face may lose us Tolya, but if they survive, at least we still have a chance to mobilise the rest of the world. So if it’s not too far beneath your station …’
‘Tared,’ Lyn grumbled, gaze shooting between the two of them.
I braced myself for Creon’s explosive reaction, but it didn’t come – nothing but a look of mild pity at Tared and a resigned shrug at me.Looks like I’ll be there.
I drew in a deep breath, granting myself a glance at the temple wings around us, the forest stretching towards the horizon below the hill. We were done here.Iwas done. And as hard as it was to wrap my head around that thought … Would Zera really want me to loiter for another week while an island full of innocent nymphs was about to be slaughtered?
‘Give me a moment to see if I can get that magic under control,’ I said weakly, gesturing at the fallen bag. ‘An hour, maybe? Then I’ll come with you.’
‘Alright.’ Lyn jumped up, all breathless agitation. ‘We can wait a little, if Beyla is keeping an eye on things. Tared, I want to go take a look at that tree – coming with me?’
He looked like he was about to object – something about Creon, doubtlessly, and about my fragile state and that fae bastard laying hands on me once too often already this morning. But Lyn scowled –don’t start that shit again, that look said – and he got to his feet with nothing but a muffled curse and a nod.
I watched the two of them walk off in silence, Tared’s strides long and tense, Lyn jumping over every loose branch and rock. Creon moved only when they’d both disappeared through the broad temple gate, offering me his left hand as he gracefully rose to his feet.
‘I take it you apologised to Lyn?’ I said, wrapping my fingers around his.
He grimaced but nodded as he pulled me to my feet.
‘What did she say?’
That she’d tie my wings in a knot if I ever tried something similar again, he signed wryly,but that she’d probably forgive me for your sake this time.
I managed a laugh. ‘Tell her she’d have to get in line.’
Already did.His lips trembled.I’ll behave, Em. No more stupid letters. Can’t start pissing off godsworn mages, after all.
The spark of amusement in his eyes was unmistakable, but something far more profound brimmed beneath that emotion – another glimpse of almost reverent satisfaction, as ifIwas the goddess at the heart of this story. My lips faltered halfway to the retort I’d been planning to utter, words sputtering out on my tongue under that gaze.
He released my hand to slip his fingers around my waist instead. Golden warmth radiated through me, a perfect comfort, a smouldering temptation. I swallowed, threw a look at the empty temple gate, and breathed, ‘What if Tared—’
