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“Elric and I have some . . . things we need to discuss,” Wren said as he took a small step backwards toward the door.

Pri tilted her head toward him, shaking it as a knowing smile split onto her lips.

“Besides, I know nothing about decor,” Wren said, flashing me a sheepish grin as he gestured his head to Elric, his eyes darting to the door.

“Go,” I said, waving my hand toward the door as I rolled my eyes. “Be free.”

They tethered from the room in the next breath and Andrues chuckled as he stepped between me and Pri.

“Are you sure you don’t want to flee with the others?” I deadpanned as I glanced up at him.

A small smile crossed his lips as he pointed to the den.

“I will take that space.” He was striding toward the steps before I could respond and I smirked at his back.

Who knew Andrues would be into this.

“Obviously, the kitchen is where I will be headed,” Pri sang over her shoulder as she headed across the foyer to the back of the house and disappeared down the hallway that connected the front of the house to the kitchen.

Magic began to flow through the air as the two of them began conjuring items from the crates stacked in the entryway and I sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm the adrenaline still buzzing through my veins.

I should have stayed longer with Taft, pushed him harder for information.

But the longer I stayed trapped in that dungeon with him, the faster my confidence began to drain from me, as if he was sucking it out of my body. There was something darker, more sinister about him than I remembered. An aura of evil that unnerved me.

Maybe it was the prisons, and the horrors those walls had seen, or maybe it was just him, and I was finally coming face to face with the man he truly was.

But I had done it.

And that was all that mattered. I had broken that seal, and next time, it would be easier. For now, I was going to focus my energy for the rest of the day on this house.

Focus my energy on the things—the people—that mattered.

Chapter eight

ATALIIA

“Ata?”Cin’svoiceechoedthrough my chambers and I recoiled at the softness of it. I snapped my book shut and set it on the table beside me, clearing my throat as she entered the sitting room.

“I hear you’ve had an eventful day,” she started, and I rolled my eyes as a smirk crept across my lips. “I’m sure you’ll be heartbroken to know, but the High Priest has healed nicely,” Cin said as she plopped into the chair across from me and pulled her legs underneath her.

“I really don’t know what Landers expected, putting the two of us alone in a room,” I said, picking at the red polish around my nail beds. I glanced up at her as she shrugged, tucking a curl behind her slanted ear.

“As far as I’m concerned, he deserved it after everything he’s done to you.” Her voice was soft as she said the words, but there was an edge to them. I studied her as she watched the flames lick the inside of the hearth.

She never ceased to amaze me.

Somehow, through everything, she managed to keep her kindness intact. She still kept the softness that I loved so much about her. That’s not to say that she hadn’t come into her own, because she had—she just wasn’t afraid anymore.

Wasn’t afraid of herself or her power.

She wasn’t afraid, and I envied her for that. She was so beautifully brutal and loving. After the way I’d treated her since coming to Locdragoon, there were times I questioned how she stayed so patient with me.

“Ata.” Cin’s voice pulled me from my thoughts and I looked over to see her eyes already on me. “I’m not going to ask if you’re okay, because I can see that you’re not, but, it’s time to let me help shoulder the pain you have locked inside you. You made me a promise that you wouldn’t hide it from me anymore, and I’m begging you to keep it.” Her voice started to waver as she said the words, tears filling her eyes.

My stomach knotted as I watched her.

“I can’t lose you. I can’t watch you disappear into nothing,” she whispered as a tear slid down her cheek and I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat.