Page 58 of Thorns & Fire (The Ashes of Thezmarr #2)

Torj

‘The wisest defence is the one that need not ever be used’

– Mastering the Craft of Close Protection

T HE LAST THING Torj wanted to do was talk shit with Wilder all night. He knew it was only a matter of time until his fellow Warsword started interrogating him about Wren. The thought made his chest tighten, a mixture of anticipation and dread settling in his gut.

The only good news was that Wilder was happy to set up camp in his rooms rather than drag him down to the Mortar and Pestle. Small mercies , Torj thought, grateful to avoid the prying eyes and roaring noise of the tavern.

With a resigned sigh, he stoked the fire back to life in the hearth. The flames crackled and danced, casting flickering shadows across the stone walls of his quarters. The warm glow did little to ease the tension in his shoulders as he returned to his chair.

Wilder, lounging in the chair opposite, pushed a cup of wine towards him. The scratching of metal against the rough wooden table between them seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet room.

‘Marise had this imported,’ Wilder said, taking a long appreciative sip from his own cup.

Torj raised an eyebrow, peering at the dark ruby liquid.

The rich aroma wafted up: hints of dark fruit and oak.

‘How in the midrealms have you managed to see Marise amid all this madness?’ Marise was a wine merchant from Harenth they’d all known for years, who had a reputation for the best wine connections in the midrealms and his infamous ‘Dead Red’ parties – all three of which Torj had attended, but had no recollection of.

‘He was visiting Aveum,’ Wilder replied, settling back in his chair. The leather creaked softly under his weight. ‘Apparently he regularly provides Queen Reyna with consultations on her cellar.’

A hint of amusement broke through Torj’s sombre mood. ‘Of course he does.’ Curiosity getting the better of him, he asked, ‘How is the queen? Has her magic returned?’

Wilder swirled his cup, the wine catching the firelight. His expression grew serious, brow furrowing slightly. ‘From what Thea tells me, Reyna hasn’t had a full vision since the attack. She says that her magic is muted... Still there, but as though there is some sort of blanket over it.’

‘She told you all that?’ Torj was surprised. During their travels, the queen hadn’t seemed like one to open up.

‘Thea wrangled it from her, eventually.’ There was a note of pride in Wilder’s voice. ‘She can be very persuasive.’

‘No shit,’ Torj said. He’d seen Thea’s tenacity in action many a time. ‘You’ve both been in Aveum all this time, then? Guarding the queen?’

Wilder shook his head. ‘One of the newer Warswords took over after I was injured. I’ve been tracking the enemy across the midrealms.’

An icy shiver raked down Torj’s spine. ‘Then why are you here? Thea was summoned, I know that much, but you? Surely Audra would have you continue your mission regardless...?’

‘You know the evidence you searched for at that ball in Harenth? We found it,’ Wilder said grimly. ‘It led straight to Highguard, and it definitely came from someone at Drevenor.’

Torj mulled it over. What had they missed in Lord Hullet’s study? ‘Do you know who?’

‘Farissa suspects but won’t say. Apparently the High Chancellor is refusing to believe it, despite Silas’s affinity for alchemy and the complex resources, tools and equipment he seems to have at his disposal.

Much of which can only be found within these walls.

’ Wilder sipped his wine. ‘All we know for certain is that they have a location in the city and a contact here who’s helping.

You know that Farissa has been feeding out incorrect information for weeks?

It’s managed to make its way into the People’s Vanguard.

Everything points to a traitor in the academy. ’

Torj studied his friend for a moment: the relaxed way he was lounging in his chair, the gentle tapping of his finger around his cup, the gleam in his silver eyes.

‘You’re not meant to be telling me any of this, are you?’ Torj guessed.

‘Nope.’

Throughout their years of training and fighting together, both he and Wilder had always been steadfastly loyal to the guild, had always carried out their orders... but that didn’t mean they didn’t bend the rules on occasion.

‘Then why are you?’ he asked at last.

‘We’ll get to that.’ Wilder frowned at Torj’s untouched cup. ‘You only drinking fire extract these days, Bear Slayer?’

Deciding to go with it, Torj grimaced. ‘Gods, no. Kipp made sure I can’t smell the stuff without my stomach rolling for a good few weeks more.’

Wilder laughed. ‘He has that effect on people.’

‘That he does,’ Torj agreed, finally lifting his wine to his lips. He took a small sip, letting the flavours roll over his tongue. It was good, damn good, but it did little to settle the unease in his gut.

‘What about you?’ he asked, desperate to keep the conversation away from dangerous territory. ‘Are you all healed up?’

Wilder waved a dismissive hand. ‘I’m fine. It was never as bad as you made out.’

Torj scoffed. He hadn’t forgotten the blood spilling down his friend’s arm... or how he’d imagined breaking the news to Thea.

‘Please,’ Wilder scoffed, leaning forwards. His eyes, sharp and knowing, fixed on Torj’s face. ‘You wanted an excuse to get back to Wren and I let you have it, because I wanted to be back with Thea.’

The truth hung heavy in the air between them. Torj’s jaw clenched. He knew the conversation he’d been dreading was now inevitable. He took another sip of wine, suddenly wishing it was fire extract, bracing himself for what was to come.

‘Let’s have it, then,’ he challenged. ‘Say what you’ve gotta say, Hawthorne.’

Wilder surveyed him thoughtfully – and said something he did not expect: ‘I’ve never seen Wren cry.’

‘What?’

‘In all the years I’ve known her – during the war, after it – I’ve never seen that kind of emotion from her. And when I showed up here and Thea was hauling her away, she’d been crying.’

Torj rubbed the back of his neck. ‘As if I don’t feel bad enough, Hawthorne...’

‘I’m not trying to make you feel bad,’ Wilder replied, reaching for the wine and topping up their cups. ‘I don’t really know what I’m trying to do. I guess, maybe make you see that you broke through that exterior. You.’

‘And caused her pain.’

‘No one goes through life unscathed, Bear Slayer,’ his fellow Warsword told him.

Torj drank again and slid his cup back onto the table with a heavy sigh. ‘I never wanted to be the one to hurt her. That’s the last thing I wanted.’

‘Did you finally talk to her?’ Wilder asked.

Torj nodded. ‘Two days ago. I told her everything. Told her why I ended it, that I was trying to protect her.’

Wilder groaned, dropping his head into his hands.

Torj’s gaze shot to his friend. ‘What?’

‘You’re forgetting I’m in love with an Embervale sister too,’ Wilder said. ‘If I recall, Wren didn’t ask for your protection. In fact, she flat out refused it.’

‘That’s not the point.’

‘No, it’s not. But tell me, did you take a choice from her? Did you decide on her behalf?’

‘I...’

‘I’ll take that as a yes.’ Wilder shook his head. ‘You idiot.’

Torj folded his arms over his chest, rocking back onto the rear legs of his chair. ‘I don’t remember you being fucking perfect with Thea during the war years.’

Wilder barked a laugh. ‘That’s why I thought you might have learned a thing or two from my mistakes.’

‘Think again,’ Torj muttered bitterly.

‘Torj, you were the one who told me to be strong for Thea when she was about to walk into the Great Rite...’

‘And I listened to you as Wren partook in the Gauntlet. I let her—’

‘You don’t let an Embervale sister do anything, Torj,’ Wilder said gently.

‘I know.’ He forced himself to look at his friend. ‘I made a decision in a desperate moment – one I’m not sure I’d make any differently, were I to face it again... But I broke her trust. And I can’t get it back.’

Wilder reached across and gripped his shoulder. ‘That’s where you’re wrong, brother.’

‘Oh?’

‘I hear Wren has run out of samples of the enemy’s alchemy for her tests?’ Wilder said, a wicked smile gracing his lips.

Torj felt a grin break out across his own face. ‘Do you have a location in Highguard?’

‘I do. In the old part of town, near the pleasure house.’

Torj got to his feet and reached for his hammer. ‘Then what are we waiting for?’