Page 41

COUSIN

SERYN

U nbothered, Breena slapped her thighs. “What a bloody travesty. Well, I’m going to freshen up and nap before I cease to exist. Toodles.”

“Wait a moment. I’ll come with you,” I stated, rummaging through my belt satchel until I found the last vial.

Turning to Kaden, I put the powered tonic in his hand. “This is for you. Mix a drop of your blood in and drink it within the next couple of days. All your memories from previous Dormancies will come back, but it’ll knock you out for a bit.”

“Don’t forget the headache. And the regrets,” Breena chimed in.

“You’ll have a raging headache afterward. Likely not worse than when you’ve enjoyed a night of mead.”

His smile didn’t reach his eyes as he lifted the container to his eyes before tucking it into his pocket. “Thanks, Ser.”

My mouth tipped up at the corners as I looked at Gavrel.

It seemed a lifetime ago since I’d felt his skin against mine, even though it was just yesterday.

But so much had happened in such a short amount of time.

I reached for his hand and ran my thumb over his rune tattoo.

It warmed under my touch. “Why don’t you two catch up? ”

The weight of Kaden’s glower settled over me as he followed my thumb’s path, and with a sigh, I reluctantly released my hold on his brother.

I’d have to speak with Kaden about Gavrel and me. About any lingering resentment he might have. I wanted my friend to work through whatever he needed to, but I wouldn’t hide what I felt for Gavrel either.

The commander closed his eyes for a moment, arm dropping, before they moved toward the food table with Rhaegar.

Marek went toward his room, a deep frown furrowing his brow, his footsteps heavy on the cobbles. I watched him walk away, our unspoken thoughts fading into the distance. Was he thinking of what had happened to Yaya?

I’d no doubt that she was culled or imprisoned. My hands fisted at my sides.

Another wrong. Another fresh wound upon my already lacerated heart. During the last Dormancy, Melina had laughed as she likened Elder Strom and Guust’s minds to scabs she kept picking, as she erased their memories over and over.

She enjoyed causing pain.

Delighted in the suffering of others.

But what did it say about me that I understood?

That I would relish Melina’s agony?

By the Ancients, I didn’t bloody care what it said about me.

“I’m going to end her,” I snarled.

Breena’s brows rose. “I thought Wren was quite nice. Eh, well, I’ll help you hide the body, but the wings might be a problem. Maybe she’ll just turn to dust.” She tapped a finger against her mouth in thought.

I cuffed her on the arm with a wry chuckle. “Appreciate the support, Bree. But I’m talking about Melina.”

“Ah, even better. That twat-wafer needs to go.”

My shoulders sagged, and Breena wrapped her arm around my waist as we moved toward the tower before us. “Yaya is the toughest broad I’ve ever met. She’ll either berate her captors to death or haunt them into eternity. Either way, she’ll make them pay.” She squeezed me tighter. “As will we.”

With a watery smile, I paused and wrapped her in a hug. She rubbed my back and then turned me by the shoulders, pushing me through the entrance to the building.

Our rooms were on the ground floor down a long hallway that curved along the circular bend of the tower. The floors were made of smooth opal slabs.

“Do you think of your Gran often?” I murmured.

The hollows under Breena’s cheekbones sucked in as she nodded. “Yeah. She would’ve liked this place. I’m sure she didn’t go down without a fight either.”

I thought of my friend’s ashen face in the Stygian Murk last autumn as she’d mentioned finding her grandmother’s husk.

A shade had consumed the poor woman before she could find her way to the Surrelian portal.

It was likely that her astral body eventually turned into one of the shadow beasts as well.

“If she’s as fierce as her granddaughter, I’ve no doubt.” I took her hand in mine, and one corner of her mouth lifted.

The Dreamreaper’s angry red claw marks still scored each of Breena’s shoulders—four vertical lines on either side.

“Why didn’t you let Kaden heal you?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I’ve had worse. Makes for a good story, eh?”

She looked up, blinking away the subtle wetness lining her lower lashes. “So, how are things with Kaden, the man-child?”

Snorting, I lifted my shoulders. “I’m not sure. He says we’re fine, but I know he’s lying. He still hadn’t forgiven me before the end of the Winnowing Trials.”

“You’re a good friend, Ryn, but don’t get lost in the muck. Is it a shame your relationship didn’t grow into more than smooshing private bits?”

“I—”

“No. The correct answer is no. You and Gavrel give off more heat than a fecking volcano. And while I can understand how that’d be a tug on the bollocks for Kaden, he’ll get through it. You can feel however you damn well want to. Derya wasn’t wrong. Living is messy. Love is messier.”

A flame wavered within me, and I pressed my tongue to my inner cheek.

Breena smirked. “Yeah, I said love. You bloody know it deep in your womb.”

My eyes rolled as I waved my hand at her. “Tell me about what’s going on between you and my cousin.”

Her mouth went taut, eyes looking down the hall.

“Ah, dodgy. Well played, my friend. But the answer to your question is nothing. Our brains loathe one another, but our bodies … not so much. We haven’t introduced our bits, if that’s what you’re thinking; more like wrestled until we came to our senses. ”

One of my eyebrows rose, my mouth twisting. “And what’s the story behind this extreme aversion?”

“Damned if I know. I’m fecking delightful.” Her bottom lip pushed forward. “I met him turns ago when Rhaegar recruited me to the cause. Riled up is Marek’s constant state of existence. As soon as I enter the room, the stick up his arse shoves deeper.”

I turned, laughing. “Perhaps you should make it your mission to find out why.”

“He can keep his stick and his secrets,” Breena huffed.

“Whatever you say, Bree.”

My room was a few doors away from Breena’s. I pulled out my room coin and slid it into the glowing slot above the metal knob. With a click, the door unlocked.

Before heading to her accommodation, Breena squeezed my fingers. “Ryn, I’m happy to know you. To remember you.”

Before I could respond, her chin dipped, and she marched off to her quarters.

A grateful smile lingered as I went into my room.

It vaguely reminded me of Morpheus’ palace, but with a fireplace, a small sitting area in front of the hearth, and black silk sheets on the four-poster bed.

The opal floors and walls shifted in the sunbeams in shades of coruscating aqua, pinkish-orange, and chartreuse.

It was like walking through a refracted cloud of rainbows.

Tranquility enveloped me, pushing on my muscles from all sides. As if floating, I moved to the nacreous tub in the corner and turned on the faucet.

There was a hazy white globe hovering next to the basin, and I didn’t hesitate to brush my fingertips over it.

A gentle, pulsing glow suddenly emanated from the orb, and a hauntingly beautiful melody echoed in my mind. Its otherworldly chords flowed through every part of me, as if a celestial enchantment were seeking out the bruised areas of my soul that needed healing.

With a shuddered sigh, I undressed and sank into the fizzing bubbles. A slightly citrusy, floral aroma drifted through my body as I washed. I reclined, letting sleep take me while the ethereal harmonies, scents, and water soaked into my aching limbs and ravaged soul.

Within the hour, I awoke, rejuvenated. After drying off, I wandered over to the armoire nestled in the opposite corner near the bed.

Not one to question the mystical ways of Aion, I shrugged and opened it.

Inside were various pieces of clothing, all in my size.

I chose a silky copper-colored slip dress and sighed as the cool fabric slid down my body.

I turned toward the door at the sound of someone knocking. Thinking it was Gavrel, I opened the door with a bright smile, but the sullen line of my cousin’s mouth met me.

“Marek, how dashing you look with clothes on,” I teased, repressing the outward expression of amusement. I reached for him, resting my fingertips on his forearm. He flinched at the contact, so I withdrew my hand. “Come in.”

He hesitated, stepping back into the hall. “No, I …” He looked do wn, his ruddy waves curtaining his high cheekbones. “… I just came to check on you.”

My arms wrapped across my middle. “That was kind of you. I’m all right. What about you? Are you thinking of Yaya?”

He winced. “Yes, but I’ll be fine. With all the things you’ve learned in the past days, I can imagine it’s been … difficult.”

My heart cracked a bit as I studied him. My family . I still couldn’t believe it, but it was burrowing within the concept of my identity. Who I once was, and who I was becoming.

I gathered a lungful of air and let it flow from me slowly. He waited patiently, eyes assessing me. Like he did everything. He was all sharp edges and pent-up shadows, but he was here, making an effort.

For all we knew, I was the only family he had left. “It has … been trying, but it’s the same for you. For all of us.”

His jaw ticked, and he held his tongue to the inside of his cheek as if to stop the pulse of it. “She’ll make it. I know she will, and we’ll be there to see her free.”

Swallowing, I offered him a weak smile, and I swore the seam of his mouth wobbled. “Marek, I … I am thankful to call you my kin, and I hope … I hope to get to know you and our family history better. Would that be all right?”

His shoulders slumped. It was a rare bit of softness in him. “In time, cousin. I will share what little I know, but for now, let’s focus on surviving the next part of the prophecy. I can almost hear Yaya chastising us for dragging our heels.”

A wry chuckle left me. “Same, and if one of us is the Scion, my vote is for you.”

His eyebrows furrowed. “I would gladly give the honor to you.”

“We’ll let the Fates decide. If they’re in their cups like you often think they are, it’ll be entertaining to see what happens.”

He shook his head, the side of his mouth finally curving upward. I wasn’t sure if it was the start of a smile or a grimace, but I’d take it. As he turned to leave, my heart flipped, and I had the strongest urge to hug him. To seal whatever invisible bond had taken shape.

Before I thought better of it, I cast myself into his arms, giving him a tight hug. For a moment, his large body stiffened before he tentatively wrapped his arms around me.

“See you soon, cousin,” I said, squeezing his arms before releasing him. This time, he didn’t flinch.

He pulled at his collar, nodded while looking down the hall, and then strode away, tugging at the sleeves of his tunic.