Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Cypherion

"It's been six years, I think, since I was in Valyn," I said as Erini's steady stroll carried us through the narrow jungle path. Ahead, the towering trees were thinning, and I could almost make out the white-washed stone comprising the walls of the capital.

"Six years," Vale mused. "It probably hasn't changed too much, then."

I ducked beneath a low hanging vine, eyes on her. "I remember it being sprawling. Eleven districts, right? And each has a contributing Capital Council member who reports to Titus?"

"It appears you do do your research." She looked over her shoulder, brows up and a teasing smile on her lips. Good. I wanted to keep her smiling throughout this.

Hopefully, we'd get into the city, find the archives and whatever information they held for her sessions, and leave without trouble.

"Knowing what I'm facing," I said, casually, "what the world is made of, makes everything seem more approachable."

"That it does." Vale's voice shrank, uncertain, my hope of easing this journey for her withering with it. "Whereas the coastal cities and those bordering the lakes are built into the hillsides and cliffs, Valyn commands the land. The city is bordered by a high wall and magic thrives within."

"Because Valyrie lived here?" Much like Damenal was Damien's founding capital, Valyn was the home to the Starsearcher Angel.

Vale nodded. "Her legacy left the land powerful."

"A likely place for a treasure to be stored," I commented.

Of all the places in Starsearcher Territory, a city blessed with magic and important to their Prime Warrior was the most likely to hide her emblem.

But we had to focus on Vale's disrupted power first.

I chose my next words carefully. "Do you think a part of you would feel more secure if we went to Titus's manor?"

Vale's eyes snapped to mine, a crease between her brows. "Why?"

"Maybe then you'd have more control over the situation." I shrugged, holding her stare as Erini stepped through the last line of jungle foliage and Valyn unspooled ahead of us. "You can write the script to this encounter, Vale. If he does find out we're here, would it not feel better if you dictated how and when?"

She considered, gazing toward the city gates. Had she spent time in this area? Did she have memories here?

Even with the walls broken down between us, there were still things I couldn't pick apart. Pieces I was relearning as her secrets shed new light on all sides of her.

Though clearly things had changed between us last night, and I meant every word I'd said—I wasn't going to hold back anymore—we wouldn't heal because of one moment. That distance I'd nurtured between us sprouted roots that clawed through the soil of whatever we were. We had to dig them up.

"Come here," I said, dismounting Erini and helping Vale off Marage. Her hands stayed on my arms, eyes on me—not the gleaming silver gates in the distance. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to. If you'd like to spend the entire time here with hoods drawn and knives at the ready, I gladly will." I brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, cupping her jaw. "Whatever makes you comfortable, Stargirl."

Vale sighed, relaxing into me with a touch of hesitancy, like she almost couldn't believe my words. After the way Titus had convinced her he cared for her and then abandoned her, I wasn't surprised.

Her hands snaked behind my neck, trembling slightly, and her head fell against my chest. "I'd like to leave this city and all its fated tales behind."

I rubbed circles on her back, my stare locked on the silver ink etched across her shoulder. "Then that's what we'll do."

"The archives we need are in the second district," Vale explained, her spine as stiff as her words.

It made my jaw grind to see this timid side of her. It was similar to the person she'd projected when she first arrived in Damenal. Meek on the orders of Titus. Fingers fidgeting with her appearance.

I did my best to shove aside my frustration, ignoring the way my hands itched for a fight, and asked, "Which are we in now?"

"The fourth," she said. "This area is primarily food markets and taverns, so I thought we could find a place to rest and pick up whatever we may need."

The gray cobblestones beneath our feet were dusted with scraps from the surrounding tenants, tents pouring into the street outside storefronts. The buildings lining the walkways were rough white stone, coated from centuries of dirt that proved they'd seen age-old stories. Thin metal balconies lined the second floors, many of the small shops on this street hosting apartments above. And from those, greenery dotted with tiny white, pale blue, and purple flowers draped over the edge, the night-blooming buds closed to the daylight.

We guided our horses through the narrow stalls, our voices drowned by the shouts of tellers and customers alike. But the beauty of this new city was lost on me as Vale cast a furtive look over her shoulder, awaiting my answer.

And protectiveness mounted in my blood.

"That's a great idea," I said through a tight throat. "Wherever you think is best."

I followed Vale with our hoods drawn and tried to see this city through the various stages of her life.

I tried to imagine it as a child who'd been rescued from a temple. Were the crowds overwhelming? Perhaps she'd clung to the safety of the chancellor's manor at first.

Maybe once she'd been allowed to explore the winding streets, she indulged in the herbs being chopped on one corner or the decadent smell of garlic roasting at the tavern nearby.

Or had she gone to the silk merchant as a teenager, shopping for her favorite skirts on the few days she was granted leave?

Did she see other warriors her age completing lessons or lounging outside the sweet shop and feel alone? My heart clenched at that thought, and the entire city soured.

As we passed a warrior with an intricate layer of ink winding up his arm and to his jaw, I only saw the silver tattoo across her brand.

When we peeked in a tent clouded with incense down an alley, I saw a girl whose magic isolated her among her peers.

And rather than the home I'd expected this city to be for her, it all felt cold and lonely.