Page 31

She’s leaving.

Shaking away the thought, I trained my vision on Harlen as he took out a triple blade and sliced an orange.

“I should have known this was where you’d want to meet,” he said, handing Vale a piece. “The grove thrives in winter.”

When she bit into it, she hummed, and it went straight through me.

“Fuck,” I breathed, so quietly I didn’t think they heard. I’d never withstand this mission if she kept sounding like that.

Vale straightened, wiping her hands on her skirt and taking a step back from Harlen. Guard up. So perhaps she was a bit more wary about this meeting than she let on.

Vale settled on the grass, not seeming to mind the winter-chilled earth. Silently, I slid down the trunk and propped my arms on my bent knees.

“I wanted to thank you for helping me last night,” Vale began, and Harlen nodded. “How long have you been back here?”

With a sigh, the Starsearcher sat, still swinging his knife between two fingers. He moved gracefully, at one with the sway of the branches. “I never left.”

“You haven’t?” Her eyes widened, and I took in every small movement—every subtle tilt of her head and intake of breath—to gauge how difficult this topic was for her.

“Not for longer than a few weeks. Short trips here and there.”

“Why?”

“Lumin is my home.” He said it simply, as if she’d agree, but Vale’s face remained impassive. “When I turned of age and finished my studies and tests, I found work. I rent an apartment near the market. I travel when I need to. It’s a good life.”

“But the things we experienced…”

“Nothing was worse than the day you left, Vale. After that, I didn’t care about any of it.”

A sharp intake of breath. Behind her olive eyes, her guard slipped. “What?”

“I was a little boy who had only ever known one friend in the world, and one morning, she disappeared. No explanation, no goodbye. After that, all I had was this city and myself. I had to make my own home.”

“You could have gone anywhere,” Vale said.

“I go places.” Harlen shrugged, watching the silver blade swing in his hand. “I feel a sort of loyalty to my younger self. I haven’t wanted to leave.”

A bit of my frustration with the Starsearcher chipped away at his confession. Only the smallest chunk, but enough that I was able to understand what he meant. I’d been just as lost as him before. And I could respect that loyalty—reluctantly.

“But there’s so much more out there,” Vale said, voice layered with sadness for the boy Harlen had once been. “You can get away from?—”

“I don’t want to get away from it,” he roared, and I shifted closer to Vale but didn’t comment. Sighing, Harlen continued, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. But…what are you doing here?”

His eyes flicked between the two of us, questioning.

“I—” Vale began and then froze.

He didn’t know about her sessions, and from the way she snapped her mouth closed, I guessed she didn’t want to tell him. So, I blurted, “Revered Alabath sent us on a mission for the good of the Mystique Warriors and the alliance clans.”

Vale’s head snapped toward me.

Harlen perked up. “The war is over. The battles ceased?—”

“The battles ceased in the southern mountains because the Engrossian queen was killed,” I said, tone not brokering argument. “But the war is far from over. What Vale and I search for is not to be disclosed.”

“Second Kastroff is right,” Vale added, emphasizing my title in a way that made my jaw tick. “I cannot tell you more. But that is why I’m here, and I’ll be leaving as soon as possible.”

Leaving?