Page 49

Archer grabbed my hand, pulling me along. “See, this is how they get you. All he wants is gold.” He tugged me harder, but I would not go. “Severyn, please—”

My boots felt heavier. My eyes laced on the man in sheer delight as he tipped his black hat and smiled at me, raising a glowing palm. “A taste of what you need the most,” he said. “After that, it’s five coins per minute.”

I asked as heat sucked through my lungs, “What do I need the most?”

And nothing could have prepared me to see Klaus standing before me. Klaus . He looked the same as two years ago but wore a Serpent uniform. He crossed his arms, staring at me as if he had no idea he was dead, as if the shock in my eyes concerned him.

“Are you alright, Severyn?” he asked, wavering between Archer and me. “Just ignore Archer. He’s a grump.”

I counted his freckles as if I’d forgotten how many his cheeks bore. I stared into that golden-flecked iris, a broken promise of his northern bloodline that boiled into steam. Oh, Klaus.

“Never better,” I said. With every gulp, my throat dried like shards of glass were poured into my airways.

I wrapped my arms around him, but the empty air ripped through my broken heart.

“You’re not real,” I whispered, stepping back, but something dragged me out of the alley with a tightened, chilled grasp around my wrist.

Klaus waved at us. “But the show was just getting good, Sev. You can’t leave now! I told Mother I’d keep my eye on you,” he yelled, his voice drowning out as the crowd swept him away in a flurry of smoke and ash.

It took going down three alleyways for me to come to my senses.

Archer cupped my cheek, kneeling beside me—beneath me.

He was shielding my mind with shadows. Darkness swirled my vision, stirring his face.

My chest thundered loud enough for him to check my pulse.

His blue eyes held me upright. His lips moved, whispering my name until my hearing was back.

“What was that?” I seethed, catching my stolen breath.

“I warned you. Illusionists can contort your mind in cruel ways. There is no sense in getting wrapped in one. I wouldn’t be surprised if those same people were standing there tomorrow until the soles of their feet were blistered and bloody.

” He hesitated before curling his fingers around my jaw, and I leaned into the coolness of his shadows, knowing if I heated anymore, I’d faint.

“Sometimes we see something we want so desperately it is hard to escape,” he whispered, his voice dropping to a near caress.

“I saw Klaus,” I said through my barred teeth, a lump forming in my throat. “How is that not a forbidden quell?” The air ripped from my lungs fast.

“There is no harm. He did not bring Klaus back to life. You simply imagined him. Some people enjoy being in a dream state.” Archer’s gaze lingered on my face longer than necessary, his thumb brushing just faintly over my cheek before dropping away. “We should go.”

“I feel sick,” I said, clenching my fists. “How many people surrender their life savings to imagine something?”

We stayed in the dark alley for a moment before Archer grabbed my arm and pulled me up. “More than you think. It might take a few hours for your mind to settle. It’s best to sleep it off.”

I nodded as we moved deeper into the city. Townhouses and shops framed the cobblestone streets. Archer turned sharply, leading us toward a narrow building. Above its door, the word INN was etched into a wooden beam, its once-bold letters now faded and cracked with age .

The air inside smelled of dust and wood. A red velvet couch dominated the waiting area, paired with a coffee table at its center. Books, paintings, and tapestries adorned the walls, their colors muted.

Behind the desk, a man with a black patch over one eye glanced up, his single eye darting to Archer. He scrambled out of his chair, adjusting his rounded glasses with trembling fingers as he bowed deeply.

“Mr. Lynch,” he said. “It is an honor to have you here. How may I serve you?” He fumbled for a quill and paper, his hands shaking as he awaited Archer’s reply.

Archer shook his head. “We are here visiting Kian. I should have sent a letter ahead of time. But are two rooms available tonight?”

“Kian—yes. Your family home is quite a way out of town in Grimswire.” He looked down, afraid to meet Archer’s eyes. “We only have one room left in our hostel section. It is not Serpent grade, sir. You understand with the festival how rooms fill up in Ravensla.”

“Lynwood, it is fine. I don’t expect to be treated differently now that I am a Serpent. We will graciously take whatever you have.”

“Very well, sir, and?” He glanced toward me with such genuine delight I swore light rippled from his iris.

“Severyn Blanche. My Father is the Northern Serpent in Colindale.”

That light seemed to fade. “Fallon Berret, is that your mother?”

Archer raised his hand. “Lynwood, we have traveled far today, and Severyn was caught in the illusionists’ wield. We can all get to know each other tomorrow.”

Lynwood nodded as he went behind his desk and fumbled in the drawers before grabbing a rusted key and handing it to Archer.

“Very well, room sixty-one. It is down the hall and to the left. Make sure you drink water. Those traps can be exhausting. Your mother must have warned you of them. I always found her lost among their wield.”

“She never mentioned them,” I said, wanting desperately to stay five minutes longer and speak with Lynwood. But another patron entered seconds after Archer opened the door to the hall.

We went through the tight halls, where a rusted sixty-one plaque hung above one of the various painted doors.

Archer turned the key, and we both stepped into a narrow room, small enough to fit only one bed with a bright patterned duvet and a yellow-painted armoire that looked a hundred years old.

Inside, no extravagant tapestries covered the cracked walls.

While the city noises were faint, there was no sign of settling even as midnight struck.

Wait—

“There’s only one bed,” I whispered.

Archer unsheathed his daggers and bow, placing them atop the armoire. Then he went to unlace his boots, nodding toward my stare. “It’s one night, Severyn. I promise I don’t bite.”

My throat tightened. “Oh, I don’t mind.” I shared a bed with Myla for two nights on the trails. Sharing with Archer couldn’t be any different. At least, that’s what I told myself.

Archer studied me, squaring those broad shoulders as he pulled off another layer of protective leather garments that fell to the wooden boards with a clunk.

“We can be friends, Severyn. You know that, right? I told Klaus I’d protect you, but you do not seek comfort in others.

You… do not trust willingly, and I know I haven’t put myself in the place of that position. ”

I shrugged off my leathers, eyeing him down as more of his clothes seemed to strip from him. How many layers was he wearing ?

“You want to be my friend? Now, after you lied to me for weeks, claiming I was poisoned.” I nearly scoffed at the idea of a Serpent being my friend.

I didn’t see him as Klaus’s friend, and if I did, would it make me admire him more?

He prided himself on being something great, and there was no concealing what people would do for power.

The more clothes fell to the floor, the more bare muscles I saw. I didn’t know skin could be beautiful and that a wicked man could wear it proudly. Why is he so attractive?

“We don’t have a choice. Either you hate me, or we make this work. I apologize, Severyn, if I’ve overstepped.”

I waved a hand. “You’re a Serpent. I would have to oblige if you demanded that we be friends.”

His eyes went up and down. “You’re quite flushed. Are you overheating?”

“I’m fine, but clearly, there is a power dynamic here.”

His cold mask slipped briefly as something distraught narrowed in his blue gaze.

“I see you as my equal. And if our places were switched, I would expect the same.” He sprawled onto his back, leaving space for me beside him.

He even dared to pat the bed as if I was a begging dog seeking his approval, his affection.

I hesitated, shrugging off the final layers of my leathers before slipping beneath the woven blanket. Curling up, I rested my head against the pillow, letting the tension ease from my body.

“Equal,” I hissed under my breath. “You only want to control me.”

“What I want, Severyn… is not to control you. I feel very protective of you.” I felt his bare back against mine, the shudders of his breath as he faced the wall. And I swore I heard our faint bond rippling between us.

“Goodnight, Archer,” I mumbled, unsure if the sound reached him .

That night, I dreamt of growing up in Ravensla and living in a towering building made of sand.

I saw winded streets fluttering with tapestries as I stepped through the narrow alleyways.

I dreamt of the heat on my body as a silvered mask concealed my face.

It wasn’t my life, but it was enough to feel as though this should have been, that I’d been trapped in a frozen castle, not knowing what the sun felt like.

I had seen the clouds, not knowing the sun existed.

The moon seemed to hover longer as if the strained sun wore itself out from the festivities.