Chapter 40

An hour later I swept outside with Torin by my side, my questions answered, along with a brand-new problem to be solved, but…I was confident about my choices now.

Our plans, as they were.

Leaned against a low, stone wall, Raz, Zor, Tavion, and Tristan basked with their arms crossed over their chests in the last rays of the late afternoon sun, while Tavion appeared to be…fast asleep.

Zorander stormed toward us, frustration painted across his handsome face, his dark eyes narrowed as he looked between us. "We might as well spend another night since we're already losing light, Anaria. I don't know what was so important that…"

I held up my hand. "Not a waste of time if we know how to kill the king."

He lifted a brow, but I shook my head. "We'll discuss Serpens later. Slight change of plans. The Oracle knows we're here. She's always one step ahead of us. She would have anticipated we'd end up at Stormfall."

I drew in a frozen, stinging inhale through my nose. Seriously, why didn't we go inside already and sit by the fire like normal people?

"She's waiting to see what we do next." Calculation danced in Torin's eyes. "She won't stop us. She needs the Shadow King out of her way. Wants us to restore the magic then drop the ward between the two realms."

"Are you sure about that?" Raziel asked, not so much questioning her as wanting confirmation.

"The more magic there is in this world, the more powerful she and her brother become," Torin said. "She's a master at moving pieces around the chessboard, and because of her abilities, it is always wise to assume she has already seen what happens next."

"And you can't?" Tristan asked softly.

"No, I can't. Not for a very long time," Torin admitted. "Flashes, sometimes. Bits and pieces but nothing concrete. I sometimes wonder…" She bit her lip, something like grief moving across her face.

"Never mind. Seeing the future was nothing but a burden."

"The way the Oracle sees things, we're just doing her dirty work. Get rid of Serpens, release more magic for her to use. And if some of us die in the process…" I carelessly shrugged my shoulders even though horror spilled through me like acid. "All the better, as far as she's concerned."

"So no searching for the pendant." Zor sounded relieved. "We all head to Solarys, where you'll explain this new plan to kill the king."

"Tristan's a hell of a shot. No need to get close," Raziel offered as Tristan sketched out a bow.

"Oh, we're still going after the pendant. Like I said, the plan has changed. Torin and her group will head north at dark. Zephryn and Simon have perfect night vision." I tipped my head at Tristan. "How about your wyvern? How are his eyes?"

"Good enough." Tristan straightened then added, with that endless arrogance he kept in constant supply, "Better than your dragon's, I'd wager."

"Good, because once the sun sets, we are all heading in different directions. You'll go north and Raz, Zor, and I will go west."

"West?" Zorander hissed. "What the fuck is west of here except destruction?"

"And where, pray tell, will I be in this grand scheme of yours, wife?" Tavion didn't even bother stirring, just laid there, arms folded over his abdomen, eyes closed.

"You get to stay here and look pretty, husband. Don't worry, you won't be waiting long, then we'll all be on our way to sunny, delightful Solarys."

"You're not leaving me behind," he said flatly.

Because I remembered my promise, and because I wasn't a complete arsehole, I dropped down beside him, stretching out my legs until my stiff muscles groaned, then leaning my head against the sun-warmed stones.

"You and I cannot fly like they can, Tavion," I murmured. "And the Oracle will not leave her lair to come after you. But she will come for me." I let my shoulder rest against his, then let my head fall there, too.

"Simon said it himself. They laid a trap for her three centuries ago and she fell for it. She'll come, which will give the others enough time to search for that pendant."

"You're offering yourself up as bait?" Tavion cranked open one blue eye and I withered beneath his frosty glare. "If you were listening at all, you'd remember how well that turned out for Cosimo. I forbid it, Anaria." Too many emotions played over those words. Bitterness, resentment…fear.

"We have to decipher those marks and find out how to destroy them. Torin and I spoke to the elders, and we all agreed. Once the king is dead and the magic freed, she'll be too powerful for us to ever defeat. We'd be her slaves, Tavion, until the day we die. We can't take that chance. We need Cosimo."

"Not as much as I need you." Some of the frost had thawed in his eyes, but he was furious. Probably would be until he decided to forgive me. Fine. Tavion could be as mad as he wanted, so long as we all survived these next few days.

Then we could fight this out between us.

After that, we'd have to survive whatever came next.

"I have magic," I told Tavion evenly, peeling the iron bands off my arms and dropping them into his lap with a dull clink. "And for the first time since I got this power, I'm not interested in containing a single drop."

Now I had his attention.

"Bold. I like it."

"I knew you would." I peered up at Zor and Raziel. "How fast can you get me to Tempeste? Before sundown?"

Zor's gaze slid sideways to a preening Raziel. "Raz could do it in one jump, but I'm not that fast," Zor admitted stiffly, looking like he'd swallowed something foul tasting.

"Would you still have enough magic to get back here without resting? If you were carrying me?"

"I could, but…" Zor's brow furrowed. "But I should take you there."

I shook my head. "It has to be Raziel with me in Tempeste," I told Zor gently. For about a thousand reasons, this had to be only Raziel and me.

"Then…yes. I can bring you back here," Zor said, pinning me with a gaze that asked a thousand questions.

"Yes is good enough for me." I climbed to my feet and explained the gist of the plan, trying hard to ignore Tavion's increasing fury, Zor's horror, and Raziel's looming explosion. But in the end, they all agreed.

Good choices were something we didn't have the luxury of right now.

Only dangerous ones.

I locked eyes with Tavion, his fingers toying with the iron bands in his lap. "Keep those for me for when I get back. Try not to lose them, at least."

His pale eyes flickered to dark, predator green. "I'll try my very best, princess."

Oh, he was furious to call me princess instead of wife, but he hadn't thrown me over his shoulder yet and locked me in a room, so he was keeping his word to keep his temper in check. I decided that was progress and winked.

"See that you don't, or I won't ever give you an important job again."

His lips twisted, but this time with the barest trace of humor.

I wrapped my cloak tighter around me, then stepped into Raz's arms and looked over my shoulder at Zor. "We'll be waiting in Torin's old room at the Citadelle. Get there fast. I have no desire to become a Reaper-infected blob of flesh."