Page 144

The silver flecks that first appeared in Ravencross have spread, creating rings of metallic light around her pupils, brightening whenever she loses control during training. Another sign of her deepening connection to this world's magic.

She crosses to the water pitcher and pours herself a cup, the familiar gesture oddly domestic in the midst of war preparations. Her eyes move over the equipment and papers scattered across the table.

My shadows reach for her before I can stop them. I pull them back.

“We leave for Ashenvale tomorrow.” I speak before she can, keeping my voice neutral.

“Ashenvale? That's—” She turns, water forgotten.

“The Authority's base, yes.” I meet her gaze steadily. But it’s more than that. More than she understands.

“Why?” She sets the cup down, her full attention on me now.

“I need to retrieve something. We leave at dawn.”

“Wait …we?” Her gaze flicks to the table again, then back to me, silver flaring in her eyes. “As inme?”

“Your abilities are too unpredictable to leave you behind.” The lie comes easily.

She turns to face me fully, silver-flecked eyes studying me withuncomfortable intensity, as though she sees what lies beneath, the things I have spent a lifetime concealing.

“That's not the real reason.”

“No.” My jaw tightens.

She saw too much during that kiss—glimpses of truths I have locked behind years of control. The shadows in the room deepen in response, shifting restlessly along the walls.

“Your safety is better guaranteed by my side.”

“Don't you trust your people here?” She steps closer, her voice lower. The silver in her eyes catches the lantern light.

“I trust them to act in their own best interest.”

I don’t move as she approaches, though every instinct tells me to move away. Even the smallest step back in retreat would be surrender.

“They had to survive without me. They made necessary compromises. Their priority is survival now.”

“And what'syourpriority?” The question hangs between us, too perceptive, too close to the truths I've buried. Her gaze doesn't waver from mine.

I don’t answer immediately.

Once, my purpose was clear. Dismantle the Authority, protect the Veinbloods, reclaim what was stolen, rebuild what was broken.

But twenty-seven years is a long time. The world I once swore to defend no longer exists. It has hardened. Become desperate.

And so have I.

“To finish what I started.” There's more I could say. Therealways is. But silence is a discipline too deeply ingrained to betray now.

She sighs, a soft exhalation that speaks volumes. But she doesn't argue or press further. A mercy I don't deserve. Instead, she moves closer, close enough that I can see the faint freckles across her nose. Her fingers brush the fabric laid out on the table.

“What are these?”

“Authority uniforms. We'll wear them to blend in.” I hand her one of the bundles, taking care not to let my fingers brush hers. “In three days time, Ashenvale will celebrate the anniversary of my execution. The Day of Order. It gives me the opportunity I need to get inside.”

“Won't they kill you, if they discover you're there?” Concern creases her brow, genuine in a way I've rarely encountered. “What is worth that kind of risk?”

I consider how much to tell her, weighing truth against strategy. “Before my capture at Thornreave Pass, I divided my power between two objects.” My hand moves to the sword at my hip, shadows curling briefly around the hilt before fading. “The sword held part of it. And a ring holds the rest. That is in Ashenvale.”