Page 144 of To Scale the Emerald Mountain

A flash of guilt works across his face. “Yes. I retrieved it immediately after you had your vision.” Alec then recounts to me the story of him collecting the emerald.

“So, that’s how you got these?” I trace my fingers through his torn flesh as he finishes his tale.

Alec nods grimly. “The lonyx, said to be the personal companion of Dhystros. It is dead now. I stabbed it between the eyes with a very important tool, but the beast managed to wound me first. I simply pried the gem from the cave wall after. I did not want to tell you the story of how I got my scars until you already had your staff. For years I had planned to give it to you as a mating gift.”

“I suppose it would have diminished some of the drama if I already knew you had the emerald.”

“Exactly.” Alec struggles to hide a prideful smile. “The healing process took torturous months. That is one of the longest stretches we have gone without seeing one another. I had never been unable to heal myself before. The best Healers of The Capital were at a loss. It held fever and bled black from the wounds. It stunk terribly—like fermented death.”

Alec’s body shudders, holding me tight while he grimaces.

“I became certain that I would not survive the wound. I started having obsessive fever dreams while I was unable to sleep during the long nights, when the sickness hit hardest. I would thrash and sweat and fixate on the idea of gifting the gem to you in a grand gesture. It became all I could focus on until I thought thatthe madness of the Vahnsing’s had finally come for me. I barely remember the night I stumbled to my study and came up with the design for that.”

Alec indicates his head towards where my staff is propped in the other room.

“I had it commissioned with my smith shortly after that night. It took years to get right. The smith was not happy when I sent it back to him two moons’ ago to add some embellishments.”

Alec leans into me and breathes me in. I smile and trace my fingers over the deep gashes in his shoulder again.

“You never tried to wield the power of it?” I ask curiously.

“No. I had never considered any option other than giving it to you.”

Studying at him inquisitively, my face shifts into a scowl before I punch his shoulder. “You held onto it without telling me for nearly eight years?”

Alec’s face crumples, authentically apologetic. “Fuck. I know, Elly. I am sorry. You were only sixteen when you had that vision of Dhystros and the emerald, confirming everything.”

“I’m not sixteen anymore!” I say, exasperated.

Alec reaches for my hand, and I slap it away. Panic flashes across his face.

“I wanted to tell you many times—I was going to tell you everything as soon as you came back to The Capital with me to stay, but everything went to shit right before that happened. I assure you, I am well aware of the mistakes I have made. I should have done so many things differently.”

Alec’s regret is palpable. He doesn’t attempt to hide his obvious fear, afraid that I am about to start rejecting him again. I can’t help but recall all the many times he’s worn his guilt for everything thathas happened since I escaped Locane. Though Alec’s decisions had cataclysmic repercussions, I know in my heart that he had good intentions.

Sighing ruefully, I sink back into his arms, letting him know I’m not holding onto my anger, instantly easing his tension. “You said something about an important tool. What is it?”

Alec nods, holding me tighter, happy to be moving on. “Yes. In your vision of the emerald, Dhystros used a dagger made from the willowbane tree, and his thoughts mentioned a tool. My grandfather had a bastard brother who went mad in his quest for the gems. Only, before he died, he managed to track down two magical objects. The dagger and the crude tool, like a double pointed stake. It is what I used to dislodge the emerald.”

“If the gems were created when the gods shed their blood using the dagger, I’m guessing the stake was made to pry them for their resting places?” I surmise. Alec nods at me with pride. “And you are in possession of the stake?” He nods again. My pulse flutters quickly at the knowledge of my mate already being in possession of an item so important in this quest.

“But Locane had the dagger.” The blade he used to cut me open for his wards flashes through my mind, matching the dagger Dhystros used to forge the emerald.

Alec purses his lips. “Locane grabbed the dagger before he fled the palace when Father died, but he left the stake. After you returned, I sent Caison and his wife back to the house to search for the dagger to no avail.”

My excitement dies anticlimactically, wondering if Rahleigh or Ceivise managed to snag it from the house. Or if Locane has others working for him.

A deep exhale pushes out while I lay down on my back, my purple hair fanning around my head. Alec lays down next to me on his side, propping himself on his arm. He begins toying with my hair, watching as it slides through his fingers like delicate silk.

“We should go to Brhadir. Now.” I make to get up, but Alec grabs me by the waist and pulls me back down to sink into the pillows.

“We shall go in no less than a week.” He pushes a lock of hair behind my ear.

“Why would we wait that long?”

Alec leans over me smiling. “You have an appointment you agreed to go to. Also, I have wanted to take you through the streets of our city on Samhain to celebrate your birthday for many years, but the stars had never aligned to do so. They finally have.”

He rolls over on top of me, nudging my knees apart with one of his to rest fully between them. My breath catches in my ribs.