Page 29 of Heir of Broken Souls (HOBF #3)
Chapter 29
Delilah
L ying in Knox’s arms, we talk for hours, keeping that silencing shield around the room, along with the door firmly locked in place. We remain in our little bubble of happiness, pretending that the world outside of this room isn’t falling apart.
I can’t help but burst out laughing at what he said. “You used to put chocolate in her shoes? Gods, why would you do that?” I sigh deeply. “The poor chocolate.”
He lets out a derisive snort. “In my defense, I was only eight and I thought it would be the funniest thing in the world to watch my mother’s face scrunch up in disgust as she shoved her feet inside them.” He lets out a low chuckle. “She would pretend to scold me for wasting such delicious food and how it took so long to clean her feet, but even as she was scolding me she was trying not to laugh. She always failed at it in the end.” He grows quiet. “I loved her dearly. Even as a little boy I did anything to make her laugh.”
“She sounds like a wonderful mother.”
“She was,” he admits, his voice thick.
Propping my head up on my fist to face him, I see the faraway look in his eyes and quickly change the topic, not wanting him to bask in his sadness for long.
“Have you heard from Nolan?”
His gaze slides back to mine, the fog clearing as he runs gentle fingers down my cheek. “Yes, not much has improved. The front lines are an active war zone but they’re holding…for now. The people of Azalea are spread throughout, some in the Air Court, others in Onyx. It’s—” He sighs heavily. “It feels as if everyone is separated during a time when we should be united.”
Returning the gentle gesture, I run my fingers through his hair. “We will be. We’ll get back to them with tangible answers, if this prophecy turns out to be right.”
He blows out a breath. “Here’s hoping.” Clearing his throat, he asks, “Did Elysia open up to you much that first night?”
Shaking my head in bewilderment, I flop back on the bed. “It’s awful, Knox. Once the wine was flowing so was her tongue and she couldn’t stop.”
“Is it bad?” he asks.
“Atrocious. She thinks the men that were after her are working for Peter, that he has a seer in his ranks again and that’s how they knew of her.”
“It makes sense. I mean, if he had Eleanor for nearly twenty years without anyone knowing she was a captive, it’s not that far-fetched to assume he has already replaced her.”
My jaw clamps shut, my teeth grinding. “She walked for hours. She’s lucky she didn’t die. She has no training, only the ability of sight. Even her air magic is small comparatively.”
Knox is shocked at that. “What, she only has a little?”
“I don’t think she even has that. It sounded like she only has her sight.”
“She must be a mighty seer then, for her magic to be wholly wrapped up in that ability.” He frowns. “If she doesn’t have any training, why was she covered in black blood and carrying a sword when we first met?”
Rolling onto my side, we gaze into each other’s eyes. “Like I said, she got lucky. There was a lone demonic hound fleeing from the city, and when it attacked her, she fell atop a soldier who had just died.” My stomach churns at the image she painted for Harlow and me. “She grabbed his sword and swung with her eyes shut. It’s the luckiest swing of her life.”
Knox rubs his hand over the stubble on his jaw. “We need to train her. It’s dangerous with what’s ahead, especially with a supposed battle at dawn if the prophecy rings true.”
“I wouldn’t be taking Axel off her detail anytime soon.” We grow quiet once again, more pensive before I whisper, “She walked for hours, Knox. She didn’t stop. She looked over her shoulder every step of the way and once she reached what she thought would be safety?—”
“Axel tried to kill her and we interrogated her.” He runs a hand down his face. “Gods, what is our life?”
Sitting in weighted silence, I break it by asking a question that has been hounding me. “How did they get through the wards?” Knox’s body tenses but he remains silent. I narrow my eyes at him. “What is it?”
He takes a deep steading breath. “You don’t want to know.”
“Oh yes, I most certainly do. What did Nolan find?”
He doesn’t look at me, instead facing the ceiling.
“Knox?”
The fight leaves him as those sapphire eyes slide to mine and make me freeze.
“They performed dark magic sacrifices with demonic hounds along the border. All at once, a hundred demonic hounds sacrificed themselves, their power leaking into the ground and effectively snapping the wards.”
At my horrified look, Knox gives me a small sad smile. “I told you, you didn’t want to know.”
“They really will do anything to destroy us…won’t they?”
At Knox’s shallow dip of his head the heaviness of it all brings me flat on my back beside him.
Now I’m the one staring at the ceiling.
“Tell me something good,” I whisper. “Tell me something that will make the hole in my heart ache a little less.”
Knox laces his fingers with mine and without missing a beat declares, “I know where Harlow stashed all the faerie wine.”
Our gazes collide.
And then we’re scrambling off the bed, Knox’s hand in mine as he pulls me out of the room and through the ship. He leads me to the lowest level, in an alcove of the storage room. He opens up a sack and at first, all I see are red apples.
That is, until he shoves his arms into the sack and comes back with bottles upon bottles of wine.
“Which one first, Angel?”
“Which one will get me drunk the fastest?”
A wicked grin spreads across his lips as he bows, holding out a bottle of dark amber. “Your wish is my command.”