Page 118 of Keeper of the Word

You are the keeper of the word. You cannot stray again.

“The StarSeers have used that phrase, but no one will tell me what it means.”

But in your heart, you know ’tis important. Or we would not be having this conversation. And the time is close. There has been a ripple in the stars, and the moon goddesses weep. You need to make haste in your return to Asalle. Someone needs to do something.She gave a half-smile at that remark.And that someone is you, Tolvar.

A gaze lingered between them.

I shall be waiting.

She stretched out her arm but couldn’t reach. He, too, stretched out his arm. The space divided them. Sloane gave him one last glance.

Tolvar opened his eyes.

And his body screamed in pain.

Chapter

Forty-Four

ELANNA

It rained the entire day.

“It will cease,” Tara said. “We’ve already Seen this night’s fortune.”

But Elanna drank in dread all day. One chance. One half-moon before Dashiell’s wedding. It had to be tonight.

And yet she feared it all the same. Especially after reading what scrolls they could find in the Royal Library.

Moreover, the grey rain clouds choking out the sky reminded Elanna of that night in Tam’s Ford. The stars had made effort to warn her, but she hadn’t been able to See them. She paced, her fingers grazing her neck.

Who would harm a StarSeer?

But at seven past midday, the rain ceased. And by dark, the clouds had scattered. Tara was correct.

After returning from the Delara, they’d spent the remainder of the afternoon in Tara’s apartments, rooms that were larger than Elanna’s. The six guards took turns trading off who stood sentinel in the corridor.

“When will you acknowledge that?” Hux asked quietly whenhe’d drawn her into a corner while the others dined on their supper.

Elanna didn’t feign confusion about what he meant. “We’ve already had this discussion.”

“We must acknowledge our traumas. How can we make it into the future otherwise?”

“There’s naught to acknowledge.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Why do you not show some acknowledgment? What was your argument with Daved about in that corridor?”

“I’d rather not say at present, Lady.” He eyed the others in the background.

“Very well. Suit yourself.”

Hux upturned his lips and winked. “It certainly will be lovely to leave this tension-filled apartment. What a bunch of nervous lambs everyone is.”

Elanna could not disagree.

Despite Dashiell’s disappearance, ’twas made widely public that King Rian’s nightly court feast went on as usual. The sovereign was keeping up pretenses, ’twas certain. An hour into the feast, when most of the castle’s guests and retainers were entertained and deep into their wine, the party of eight made their move.