Page 28

Erisen continues chattering, describing our escape in the fragmented, breathless way of children.

Esalyn helps me as he does, making sure that my wounds are taken care of and helping me clean up with water she's brought in.

I'm almost good as new, and clean thanks to some clothes that were in the carriage, by the time Erisen starts to run out of energy.

I notice his eyes growing heavy. He sways slightly where he stands, exhaustion finally catching up to his small body after the terror and excitement.

Esalyn notices too. "Time for sleep, little one."

"But I'm not—" His protest is interrupted by a massive yawn.

"You're asleep on your feet," I murmur, the corner of my mouth lifting despite the pain throbbing through my body.

Erisen blinks up at me, then turns to his mother. "Can Domno help tuck me in?"

Esalyn hesitates for just a heartbeat before nodding. "Of course."

Together, we guide him to the nest of blankets she's prepared. I kneel beside him, ignoring the fresh wave of agony from my wounds, and pull the blanket up to his chin.

"Will you stay?" he whispers, small fingers catching at my wrist.

"Yes," I promise, brushing dark hair from his forehead. "I'm not leaving."

His eyes drift closed almost immediately, the day's horrors no match for a child's exhaustion. I remain kneeling beside him, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest, until I'm certain he's deep asleep.

When I finally stand, Esalyn is waiting near the temple entrance. "Outside," she says softly, gesturing toward the fire. "We need to talk."

I follow her into the night, the cool air a shock against my fevered skin. The fire throws dancing shadows across her face as she settles beside it, and I lower myself carefully across from her, my body protesting every movement.

"Thank you," she says after a long silence, the words hanging between us like smoke. "For bringing him back."

"I didn't do it for thanks." My voice comes out rougher than intended.

"I know." She stares into the flames. "You did it because you love him."

My wounds throb beneath the bandages she applied, her touch clinical and distant as she worked. I welcomed the pain. It's familiar territory, unlike the ache spreading through my chest that has nothing to do with physical injury.

I nod, unable to find words that don't sound hollow. What does a man like me say to a woman like her after everything that's happened? After the lies, the half-truths?

"He wouldn't let go of that wooden bird you carved him," she continues, a slight tremor in her voice. "Even after everything."

My throat tightens. "Esalyn?—"

"Don't." She holds up her hand, the firelight catching on old scars across her knuckles—remnants of her life before, of survival through servitude. "I don't know what to say to you, Domno. I don't know how to make sense of any of this."

I lean forward, ignoring the protest of torn muscle and sinew. Blood seeps through one of the bandages, but I don't bother acknowledging it. "Then let me speak. Please."

She doesn't answer, but she doesn't walk away either. I take it as permission.

"I was sent to hunt you. That is true." The words scrape my throat like broken glass. "The price on your head that would've set me up for life. Five hundred novas. Enough to drink myself to death in relative comfort."

Her face doesn't change, but something flickers in her eyes—a wounded animal recognizing the shape of a trap long suspected.

"But I told you that as soon as I saw you, I knew I couldn't do it." I run a hand through my slightly wet hair. "I didn't have a plan after that. I just knew I couldn't harm either of you. Couldn't walk away either. So I stayed. Watched over you both from a distance."

"Until you didn't." Her voice is quiet.

"Until I didn't," I agree. "Until I couldn't bear to just watch anymore."

I already told her some of this, but I think she needs to hear it again. Hear it when she is really listening and not just shoving me away.

The fire pops, sending a shower of sparks into the night air.

"I've killed more people than I can count, Esalyn.

I've spent my life taking bounties, hunting targets.

Never questioning, never caring." My hands hang between my knees, stained with dried blood that will never truly wash away. "Until you. Until him."

She stares into the fire, her profile edged in dying light. "And now?"

"Now?" I laugh, the sound harsh even to my own ears. "Now I'm terrified. Not of any repercussions for killing a lord. Not of what I've done or what I would do again. I'm terrified because I've fallen in love with you. With Erisen. And I have no fucking idea what to do with that."

Her eyes snap to mine, widening with shock.

"It's the truth." I hold her gaze, refusing to look away even as vulnerability flays me open. "I don't know how to be anything other than what I am. But I know I'll spend the rest of my life choosing you. Choosing him. Every day, without question or regret, if you'll let me."

I reach for her hand, stopping just short of touching her.

"I should have told you about the bounty.

I know that. I know I've given you no reason to trust me.

" My voice drops lower, rougher. "But if there's any chance—any way you could find it in yourself to let me try to earn your forgiveness—I'm asking for it.

Because the thought of being without you both.

.. it's worse than any death I've ever faced. "

Esalyn doesn't move, doesn't speak. Firelight dances across her face, revealing nothing of what she feels.

A hollowness spreads through my chest. Maybe I've destroyed whatever fragile thing was growing between us. I wouldn't blame her. Trust is a luxury for people who haven't been betrayed as systematically as she has.

But as I look at her across the dying fire, I know with absolute certainty that I'll find a way back to her. To them. Whatever it takes.