Page 5 of Fate of Echoes and Embers (Heirs of Elydor #3)

If I could have trusted myself to say goodbye and not stay.

A weaker version of myself would ask what Marek meant by those words.

“Were you injured?”

I followed his gaze to the hem of my tunic. If it were anyone but Marek, I’d have apologized for receiving him in such a state.

“Trexan blood,” I said instead.

“Sir Warren still spending his days attempting to persuade you to remain inside the castle walls?”

I would not be lulled into conversation. I refused to be charmed a second time.

“Aye,” I said simply. “How do you envision me helping your mission?”

Marek sighed, apparently resigning himself to my refusal to engage in anything but discussion of the Wind Crystal’s retrieval.

He placed the wine goblet on the wooden table my father had hand-carved himself, an embodiment of one of the many reasons I could not leave Estmere, even if adventures like the ones Marek promised called to me.

“I plan to drop Mev and Kael in Aetheria before sailing to the Gyorian coast.”

“Why?”

“Mev will continue to learn Aetherian ways and train with her father. Kael has been working with King Galfrid and his elders to unearth vital knowledge about his own father and the Stone of Mor’Vallis.

Once the Wind Crystal is returned, such knowledge will become vital as he takes it back from Balthor. ”

“And the rest of your crew?”

“A crew requires provisions, accommodations, and time. All luxuries I cannot afford.”

No. Absolutely, no.

“You travel from Aetheria to the Depths alone?”

“Alone. Or with you. I will rendezvous with Adren first and then take you as close to the Depths as possible without putting you in danger. Once you confirm the Crystal’s presence in the caves, I will enter them alone.”

And likely die before he reached it, but I kept that to myself.

“The Maelstrom Depths are unpredictable,” he continued. “Even on the outskirts. The air itself carries a charge, the water churning as if it was alive. If the Wind Crystal is inside, its magic will amplify the chaos. You should be able to sense it several leagues out, perhaps more.”

“You are overly confident in my abilities.”

His brows rose, Marek’s skepticism apparent. “You sensed the amulet I carried before I stepped into your hall. If I remember correctly, after I learned of your abilities, you told me you’d sensed it well beyond Hawthorne’s gatehouse.”

He’d almost pulled a smile from me at the memory.

“The amulet that nearly had you detained for smuggling?”

“Not smuggling. A strategic relocation. That relic would have been locked away in a vault, forgotten, if not for me. Besides, it served its purpose.”

I had no wish to revisit the day we met. “I would imagine,” I said, concentrating instead on the task at hand, “I could sense the Wind Crystal from quite a distance away, notwithstanding the turbulence of the Maelstrom which will surely complicate matters.”

Marek rubbed his thumb across his lower lip, something he did when deep in thought. I remembered the movement well. Suddenly, the wine in my goblet became the most interesting thing in the chamber. I stared at it, cursing myself for allowing, again, the thought of kissing him to enter into my mind.

“I will not be sailing anywhere near the Maelstrom with you on board.”

I was forced to look up, but thankfully, Marek’s hands were now occupied as he reached for his wine.

“How can I sense it, then?”

“Perhaps you cannot. But I will not take that chance.”

He didn’t wish to put me in danger. “Then it seems my skills will be only marginally useful. I cannot guarantee sensing even the Wind Crystal from such a distance.”

“I do not ask for guarantees. Just a chance at ensuring my mission will be executed with just cause.”

There were many reasons not to agree to accompany him, besides my limited capacity to help and the most obvious one…

traveling in tight quarters with the man who awoke a passion within me I didn’t know existed and then left, without word or warning, breaking my heart and leaving me on a longer path to healing than I could have imagined.

To even consider such a thing was madness.

And then there was Hawthorne Manor.

“I have little wish to leave my people at such a tumultuous time, though I could appoint Lord Draven in my stead.”

When Marek had first come to Hawthorne Manor, Draven was in Aetheria so the two had never met. He had been my father’s right-hand man and had held Hawthorne in my name when I’d traveled before. Even so, our Gyorian borders were as turbulent as ever.

“It will be a sacrifice, for certain. We do not ask you this lightly, Issa.”

“Whose idea was it?” I asked, suddenly curious. “To come here?”

His gaze did not waver. “Mine. I realized only this morn Kael knew you as well. He admitted considering asking for your aid but thought it was too dangerous.”

“And you do not?”

“No, because I have no intention of putting you in danger. You will remain with Adren on the Gyorian shore during the mission.”

A human in Gyoria could be a danger in itself, but not nearly as much as the one Marek intended. But it wasn’t that danger that held me back. Draven was here and would be as good a substitute for my presence as any. Truly, there was only one reason I hesitated.

But that was not reason enough to deny Mevlida and Kael. My sacrifice would be small compared to Marek’s and there was really only one answer I could give.

“I will come with you,” I said, “if you promise not to make any mention of our time together.”

He paused. Gritting his teeth, Marek clearly unhappy with my request, he opened his mouth and then closed it.

I waited. That concession was not negotiable.

“You have my promise.”