Page 19

CHAPTER 19

Innes pulled the hood tighter around her face, grateful the cool ocean breeze meant her disguise was at least temperature appropriate.

She’d managed to sneak past her guards by using a temporary invisibility wreath.

The magic had been hard to wield, and her breath came in pants as she slipped out of the palace.

She felt bad for disobeying the queen’s orders, but she needed information, and she wasn’t willing to put anyone else at risk.

She strolled through the open market, firelights glinting in the evening air.

The sizzle of fish and people hawking their goods echoed in the night, and she lost herself in the crowd and normality of it all.

Her invisibility charm had faded, the Ever too weak to maintain, but on the docks she was just another punter, just another person looking to find a good deal.

She moved slowly, letting herself follow the snippets of conversation that caught her attention.

‘... have a look, have a look... the haul was less again today... we’re yet to receive the goods from Clochain.

.

.

fresh fish for dinner!

.

.

.

’

None of the conversations yielded any information, but she didn’t feel too worried.

It was hard to care about anything that wasn’t Remi at the moment.

She ambled over to the next table, seeing an assortment of knives for sale.

Her gaze immediately fell to a hilt with mother of pearl, its glossy finish alluring.

She picked it up, feeling the weight.

Her knowledge of knives was rudimentary, but even she could feel it was well balanced.

Her mind went to Remi’s bookshelf, stacked full of knives, and she wondered whether the warrior would appreciate another one, or if it would collect dust on the shelf.

She bought it anyway, placing two silvers on the stallholder’s outstretched palm.

So what if it collected dust?

At least Remi would have something to remember her when she was—

She blinked back the word: gone.

She couldn’t let herself go there right now.

She put the knife in her cloak pocket and kept walking, trying and failing to dispel the clamour of her mind.

She shouldn’t be thinking about Remi at all; she was supposed to be searching for answers for Briony, not buying gifts for her beloved.

She groaned, nearly missing the snatch of conversation between two people.

‘Some say he’s already returned.

’

‘Do you really think she ,’ the second man said, lowering his voice, ‘would still be playing lap dog if he had?’

‘Just because he’s back doesn’t mean the lost lovers are reunited.

’

Innes slipped behind them, walking as close as she could without being obvious.

Who were the lost lovers?

‘She’s been waiting for centuries; if he was back I think we’d know about it,’ the older man said, dodging a roaming street vendor selling tea.

‘Unless this is all part of the plan,’ the younger man said when they had reunited, their heads bent close together.

‘You know as well as I that the Ellarch is a thing of the past. These conspiracies are making you sound paranoid.’

‘But imagine if the rumours were true! The lovers reunited – two prongs of the Ellarch treaty unified. It would only be a matter of time until the north joined.’

The older man sighed.

‘The north will never side with the gods again.’

‘But if Tassos—’

‘Tassos hasn’t returned, you idiot.

’

‘But the whispers said he would.’

‘The whispers are the work of people too scared to face reality. It’s a ploy to capture—’

A shoulder bumped into her and Innes stumbled, catching herself on a nearby table.

She straightened, heart hammering as she tried to find the two men in the throng of people.

But the street before her was packed, their silhouettes disappearing into the crowd.

She pushed herself off the stall, ignoring the person’s apologies, and continued walking, her head swivelling like a bird as she tried to find her prey.

‘Buy one get one half off... get your grain here...’

The men were gone.

She stopped near the water and cursed, her heartbeat hammering in her ears.

The lost lovers .

.

.

he’s back .

Surely they didn’t mean Tassos had actually returned?

He had been slaughtered at the hands of Caius in the final battle – his carcass left to rot for days afterwards, a sight Caius had forced all of the Ellarch loyalists to behold before beheading them.

She didn’t know how this information would help Briony, but it did give her an avenue for the summoning.

Because there was only one god who could be meant in reference to ‘the lovers’.

Suddenly Caius’ wife was more intriguing than Innes had first thought.

Innes knocked on Remi’s door, her mind consumed with thoughts of Aurelia and Caius.

The lovers must be in reference to them.

.

.

but then how did Tassos’ return fit into it?

And was such a thing even possible?

Witches’ lore held tales of reanimating the dead – but every story ended badly.

Mabel’s own sister had attempted this type of perverted magic once before, and was cast out as a heretic to the Ever, never to be heard from again.

Not to mention there was no world in which Caius would allow his wife to survive if the rumours were true – was it all a ploy to try and catch Ellarch loyalists?

So consumed with this line of thinking, it took minutes for her to realise that Remi wasn’t answering.

She took the dagger from her pocket and placed it at the foot of the door.

She felt guilty keeping her heritage from Remi a secret, and while the dagger was a poor placeholder for honesty, she wanted to give her something in recognition of their bond.

She felt like a witchling around the warrior, hormonal and wide-eyed, at the behest of her emotions rather than logic.

She tried to wrangle her thoughts back to the task at hand, but this close to the warrior’s bed, the memory of Remi’s lips was all she could imagine.

She clenched her fist, nails cutting half-moons into her palm.

She needed to focus on Tassos, on the ceremony and her Passage, not on Remi’s velvet eyes or the way the curve of her neck met the curve of her shoulder in a slope that Innes wanted to dive down headfirst.

But it was impossible.

Her priorities were shattering before her very eyes, and every shard that fell left painful splinters.

Her choice was obvious, and yet she couldn’t bear to make it.

She left before Remi returned, scared that one look at the warrior would break her resolve without room for repair.