Cedric thought he had a basic understanding of the major players in Nyrundelle, including this Master Tartanis. The man was the head of the criminal guild that ran seedy dealings throughout the major Arcanian cities. Cedric had been privy to several council meetings wherein Tartanis had been a small topic of conversation upon occasion. But from the context of Raefe’s accusation—and Sephone’s implication—it was clear that Cedric knew even less than he thought he did.
What he did understand was that this was not a good man.
The fact alone that he was the one responsible for sending Raefe after Elyria that night in The Sweltering Pig would have been enough for Cedric to hate him forever.
“You’re not the only one in this world who had grand plans for the day they finally met the Revenant.”
Elyria’s words during the Crucible came back, fluttering through Cedric’s ears like a war song. He understood all too well the allure she presented to men who craved power. And that had been before Elyria was not only the famed Revenant, but the Victor of Nyrundelle. The conqueror of the Arcane Crucible.
It was bad enough that this man had set his eyes on Elyria, that he wanted to use her status and reputation as the Revenant for his own gain. But to learn he was not just anyone, that he was actually her?—
“Elle.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She exhaled through her nose, sharp and shuddering.
“I only want to understand. Is what he said—did he—” Cedric swallowed. “Is Tartanis your father?”
Elyria said nothing. She simply turned toward the trees, her fingers clenched at her sides, her entire body taut, and started walking.
Gaping at her back, the tether in Cedric’s chesttuggedat him. Something shimmered down that thread, like an echo, a distant thrum of emotion that Cedric knew wasn’t his own. Pain? Humiliation?
His heart sank.
Cedric tracked Elyria’s movement until she disappeared into the trees, where the setting sun cast long shadows between the trunks. Before he could decide whether to follow, Sid stepped out of a shadow, tail twitching, emerald eyes flitting between Cedric and the forest as though she didn’t know where her attention was best served.
He blinked. Elyria was right, Sid looked...bigger. No, she definitelywasbigger. Where earlier that same day she’d been able to fit comfortably in his saddlebag, she was closer in size to a small dog now. His concern for Elyria was momentarily shoved aside by the mysterious shadowborn creature before him. He took in her sleek fur, the wisps of smoke leaking from her, the layer of sinewy muscle that was beginning to emerge beneath her coat. She was not just larger, but more solid, moregrown, as if fed by the rising surge of Elyria’s wild power, by her mastery of the shadows.
Sid turned slowly, padding toward Cedric on soft paws that stilllooked far too big for her body. She came to a stop and sat back on her haunches directly in front of Cedric’s boots. Her tail flicked—once, twice.
Cedric just kept staring, trying to take in the physical changes he was seeing in the cat, trying to understand what they meant.
Sid meowed, looked toward the trees, and meowed again.
“What?” Cedric replied. “She doesn’t want me to follow her, I’m sure of it.”
Another meow, one that sounded almost like scolding.
“She said she doesn’t want to talk about it.”
With a breath that sounded suspiciously like a scoff, Sid pawed at Cedric’s shin.
“I’m only trying to respect her wishes.”
The next strike of Sid’s paw, accompanied by yet another meowing reprimand, was significantly more forceful.
“I don’t understand her reaction, I admit. What did Raefe even mean?‘Nobody will allow this. Least of all your father.’These fae and their cryptic nonsense, I tell you.” Cedric rubbed at his temple. What was the “this” Raefe was referring to? There wasn’t a possibility that the fae knew about the aching residence Elyria had taken up in Cedric’s mind, body, and soul...was there?
Sid meowed, head tilted to one side, and Cedric felt his cheeks heat as he realized he was actively musing aloud to?—
This time on the road is finally getting to you, Thorne,he said to himself.You are talking to a fucking cat.
From somewhere in the recesses of his mind, Cedric imagined he heard laughing.
Sid gave Cedric’s boot another exasperated bat of her paw before standing once more and turning to walk in the direction Elyria had gone.
Cedric stared after her for a long moment before muttering a soft curse under his breath and following.
The trees swallowedthe light as Cedric trailed after Sid, his boots crunching softly against the forest floor. She padded ahead like a creature on a mission, pausing every few steps to glance over her shoulder,as though making sure he hadn’t wandered off.
