Chapter 37

"If there is another stone at the Keep, then we'd have three." Tavion paced from one end of the closet to the other, as if he couldn't stop himself from moving. "Three of them. That would give us the edge we've been looking for."

"Keep your voice down. You'll wake up Tristan."

I wasn't sure I could handle three of these damn things, not with how furiously my blood churned through my veins in time to the beat of this magic.

Riotously. As if my body yearned for this power.

"We should stay focused on the knife," Raz demurred. "That should be our priority. We don't need another side quest to distract us from our goal. We drop the wall then fly straight to the Keep. Find Zorander, who hopefully had the wits to search for the pendant, unite the two pieces, and hunt down an Old God."

Tavion stopped pacing. "And if these stones boost our power? Or offer extra protection? Or invincibility? Shouldn't we at least consider them?"

"I'm not saying we close that box up and shuck the thing back in the bottom of the closet. I'm saying we can't lose our way now," Raz argued quietly. "We have to stop Corvus before the blight destroys Blackcastle and everything else. Once Anaria drops the wall and the magic is united, he'll race here to glut himself on the magic. We need to harness that magic then use that power to stop him."

"It's a three-day trip to the northern edge of the Pale," Tavion said. "But with all the magic of all three realms, and the weapon…and two keystones…What about it, Anaria? Will that be enough to kill him?"

I looked away.

I didn't have the heart to remind them I'd traded every drop of Fae magic away to the Oracle, not that she'd keep her word.

Or I'd keep mine.

I'd only made the deal to buy us some breathing room, but now…now things were getting real. I had to find a way around our bargain before she arrived to collect her due.

But the fact remained—Blackcastle could already be lost, and all of this might be for nothing. I wouldn't allow myself to believe that, either.

"I found boots for Tristan, at least."

"Thank the gods for that." Raz rose, offering me his hand, his warm, calloused fingers wrapping around mine before he pulled me to my feet, box and boots and all. "Are you going to give that to him? As a reminder, wyverns don't have pockets."

We all looked over to the wyvern shifter sprawled across the floor, sleeping so deeply I doubted an earthquake would wake him.

Likewise, Bex was face first into the duke's papers, snoring.

"Well, it does have a chain. Maybe Tristan can wear it around his neck."

I palmed the stone in my pocket. "We know which one is Tristan's. Does that mean there's technically one for each of us? Torin gave this one to me, but I didn't get a fancy schmancy box."

The keystone warmed the moment I touched it, and from between the thin crack between the box lid, rays of light glowed from its twin.

"No fancy box for the princess. So sad," Raz teased, poking me between the ribs. "All you've gotten so far out of this quest are three crowns and three thrones."

I batted him away. "Don't be an arsehole. You know what I mean. This might not even be my stone." But I grinned, never able to get mad at Raz, and besides, he was right. Who needed a box?

I carved more dirt from the engraved lid, revealing a long slender inlay of gold amongst the silver. "So where do you think the Ravenshade's stole this from? From Tristan's family? I mean, that would make sense, right? And this keystone does come in a fancy box, which is very Lord DeVayne-like if you ask me."

Tavion nodded. "They stole the stone from the DeVaynes then were banished here. Somehow, they managed to smuggle this in with them, but I can't explain the writing on the setting."

My husband slid me the side-eye. "Witch-made if I'm not mistaken. Truth is, no one knows how this realm was founded. Only the prisoners were dumped here and expected to do the honorable thing and die."

"Instead, they did the most dishonorable thing possible and thrived. That fact really pissed off Solok." I headed for the fire, stumbling on stiff, aching feet. "Maybe we haven't been fair to the Descendants. This place was supposed to be their grave, but they were strong enough to survive. Build a society."

I groaned at Raz's look of disgust. "Okay, not a great society, but only because they had shite role models. Maybe they would have gotten there eventually."

"Maybe," Raz said, not sounding convinced.

I set the boots down beside Tristan and shook his shoulder gently. "Hey. I found boots. Hopefully these will fit, otherwise you'll be wearing the duchess's slippers." He yawned, stretching, giving me an eagle-eye view of those cut abs.

"Eyes up here, princess." Tristan's grin was as warm as the fire crackling behind him. "They'll be fine," he murmured. "Even if I have to jamb my toes into them."

"Oh, and we found a little something that might have once belonged to you before it got nicked. You DeVaynes should really keep better track of your valuables." I set the box down beside him. "Now, don't freak out, and yes, we are all as shocked as you are about to be."

I would keep the picture of Tristan's face when he opened that box in my head until the day I died. Bexley's expression was nothing to sneeze at either.

"Why the fuck is a keystone in Varitus? And what do you mean someone nicked it from me? I've never seen this before in my entire life, and while I might be old, I'm definitely not senile."

"Take a closer look at the lid, you fool," Raziel said sharply.

Tristan did, his face losing all the color the fire had restored. "Holy gods. Where did you find this?"

"Where all the good treasure is always stored," I quipped, crossing my arms over my chest. "In the bottom of the shoe closet."

"From the design on the lid, we're assuming this once belonged to the DeVaynes before a Ravenshade stole it. How they smuggled something magical through the ward, we don't know."

Tristan ran his finger over the symbol then absently reached up to touch his chest. "Do you think we all have one?" His hazel eyes met mine, spinning with questions. "You think we brought them with us." He started nodding. "And we somehow got…separated from them. If keystones are as powerful as they say, taking them away from us would surely be a tactical move on the Oracle's part."

We all blinked at each other.

Holy gods. That explanation made perfect sense.

"And Varitus would be the perfect place to hide something like this." Tavion smoothly picked up Tristan's train of thought. "No one comes here, not for a millenium, maybe longer."

"Nobody except Solok." Raz's eyebrows rose. "Every hundred years. They could have easily hidden keystones here and nobody would ever be the wiser. Sure, maybe one or two are still floating around Caladrius and Solarys but kept in the hands of kings."

"Or queens. Keeping the already powerful…powerful," Tavion continued. "Huh. It's a genius move. And nobody would ever look here."

"Side quest it is," I murmured, and Raz groaned softly.

"What?" Bexley asked, his eyes fixed on the stone glowing in the tattered velvet.

"Nothing. Inside joke is all. The question is, can we afford the time right now to look for these while Caladrius is dying and Blackcastle might be overtaken?"

"We don't have time to search an entire realm," Raz muttered. "We should stay focused."

"What if…" I blew out the longest breath ever, knowing I was right about this.

Because I'd lived with the Descendants most of my life, because it always behooved one to know their enemies as well as themselves.

Because greed was greed and power was power.

And because people were weak.

"We don't have to search this entire realm, only Descendant estates. The good news is, they are all close. The rich stuck close together on their own hallowed soil to keep the rabble at bay."

"How do you figure?" Tavion asked. "No doubting your logic, just wondering about your thought process."

"Because the only thing that matters in Varitus is magic, and the royal families have remained in charge forever. There hasn't been a new royal family established since this realm was created, and our king…he's a figurehead. That kind of unassailable power has to start somewhere." I grinned. "Like with a keystone given to you by the Fae King's Oracle right before you're banished to a new world."

"Where you are all but assured you'll go from being a common thief to royalty the moment you step across the ward. A true rags-to-riches story." Raziel's voice dripped with disgust. "How many royal families are there?"

"Eight," I said, tallying up the largest estates in my head. "But I know exactly where to go from here. The Ravenshades were the richest house in Varitus, but House Rivière was the most influential. We visit them first, and if we turn up a stone, then we know our theory is correct and we go after the others."

I didn't want to admit it, but I was excited, absolutely exhilarated by the prospect of kicking some Descendant arse and uncovering their dirty little secrets.

And there was something deeper driving me, something ancient and possessive staring out from the deepest part of me.

I wanted to take back what they'd stolen from us.

"How are we supposed to find them?" Tavion was asking. "Search through every pantry and broom closet in every building in the realm?"

"Not exactly." I pulled the stone from my pocket, which was practically glowing from the heat, vibrations thrumming down my arm.

"See that glow? They react when they're close. We should at least try the next estate over and see if we're right. If we fail, then we drop the wall, and at the end of the day we're still one keystone richer."