Page 8 of The Midnight Death Match

He glances at me then, eyes dark and unreadable. “I mean your mother dreamed in ways most don’t. She said her visions came wrapped in fire and silence. Symbols instead of answers. I didn’t know what to make of them. And I knew never to push.”

“She said a word.” I step closer. “In my dream, I mean. Just one word.”

He sets the book down and looks directly into my eyes. “What was it?”

“Loophole.”

That gets his attention. His expression shifts—his brows tightening, jaw flexing as if the word stings more than it should. “She said that to me once,” he murmurs. “But not like that. It was an argument.”

I wait for him to continue.

“She was angry. It wasn’t long after we met, while she was still healing. I asked her about the hunter’s curse because I wanted to know if she believed there was a way out of it. She seemed to know a lot about that type of thing, and I thought the only way we could have a future together was if I broke the blasted curse.”

“What did she say?” I realize my fists are clenched and relax them.

His voice lowers. “She said there’s always a loophole. But someone always pays for it.”

My mind reels. Sitting across from him, I swallow a thousand unasked questions teasing the tip of my tongue.

He shakes his head slowly, looking lost in an old memory. “I thought it was just deflection. But now…”

Now he’s wondering if it wasn’t.

The fire snaps between us.

Finally, I speak. “Do you think she found one?”

He meets my gaze, and this time, there’s no distance in his eyes. Just quiet grief.

Something we share, but for a different past. Different experiences with my mother.

Einar clears his throat. “I think she spent much of her life looking. She wouldn’t have kept you and me apart if she hadn’t been. Tyra wanted us to know each other, I’m sure of it. But she didn’t want us to face the curse.”

“Yet here we are.”

He nods. “Yes, we certainly are.”

Chapter

Five

The air stingsmy face as we descend. Sapphire’s wings beat slow and steady, each gust rippling through the trees below. The forest gives way to farmland, then rooftops. Skoro crouches beneath the early morning firmament, bustling and busy with village life.

I shift my weight, pressing closer to Einar’s back. Harek rides behind me, silent as always. Beneath us, the village looks the same but it feels different.

Harek and I no longer belong.

Smoke billows up from various points. Not just hearth fires, but bonfires. Everyone is busy at work.

Behind us, Vash is following. He’s high and distant, a black shadow pacing our flight. Watching, waiting.

Sapphire circles wide, low and slow, staying out of sight, before landing in a clearing just beyond the village wall. She lets out a low, guttural sound that curls through my bones. I’m not sure I’ll ever fully get used to the beasts.

Einar dismounts first. He doesn’t say anything for a long moment, just watches the village from the tree line. Then he patsSapphire’s flank. “If you need anything, she and I will be waiting here.”

I nod, already unclipping my harness.

“But if anything goes wrong,” he adds, voice low, “send a flare. Or scream. We’ll come in a heartbeat.”