Odd how right that felt to admit.
“Just Ellowyn, then,” Talamh said with a curt nod before knocking back the rest of his ale.
“Works for me,” Leal said with a shrug, the dagger stilling between her fingers for a moment. “The Academy doesn’t care about your family name, anyway. We’re a family forged in fire and blood.”
Tine clapped loudly and theatrically, wiping his crystal-blue eyes. “Wow. That was . . . did you read that off the pamphlet they gave you? Are you the official spokesperson?”
“Watch it, fire-head,” Leal gritted between her teeth, the dagger flashing dangerously as she waggled it in his direction. “I could have one of your pretty eyes skewered in a moment. Before you even had time to draw on that precious Fire Magic of yours.”
“Ooh you think I’m pretty? Tell me more. Ilovea lethal woman,” Tine purred, and I watched in curiosity as Leal’s cheeks pinked. She rolled her eyes before rolling her wrist, the dagger disappearing into her sleeve with the movement.
But she didn’t deny his claim.
Interesting.
Talamh and I descended into comfortable silence as we watched Leal and Tine flirt.
How nice would it be to have someone to do that with in the open?My thoughts immediately flashed to Torin and how we danced and laughed at my Awakening—an even that felt like a decade ago.
“Your face has the same look on it that I feel,” Talamh said quietly, and I startled from my thoughts, cheeks pinking.
“Oh, uhm, I’m not . . . I was just . . .”
“Thinking about having something like that, yes?” His voice was low and gruff with a hint of longing.
I sighed, relaxing into my chair while I clutched my cup of wine. Tine and Leal were in their own universe, completely oblivious to anything else happening around them.
“Yes,” I breathed softly, and Talamh grunted. “Do you have someone?”
“I did,” he said curtly, and I gave him a sad smile.
“I did—do—as well,” I admitted quietly, and his lips quirked slightly.
“Have you ever heard the tale of the lovers at the end of the world?”
I furrowed my brow at the sudden change in conversation but shook my head.
“Hmm. I thought not. It’s applicable, though,” he admitted as he took another sip of ale. “Would you like to hear it?”
I hummed quietly. “It seems as though we’ll be stuck here for a while longer”—Tine and Leal were firmly engrossed in each other—“and have nothing else to do, so yes. Tell me the story.”
“It’s based on a prophecy, actually, from a Keeper to the ruler of Deucena long ago. Over time, it was passed down through generations and became a story rather than a prophecy, but the base remains the same.” Talamh took another sip of ale before beginning his tale. “There were two lovers at the end of the world. How they got there doesn’t matter; their origins unnecessary. The world heaved and cracked, the earth bled as Fate wept; humanity was on the brink of destruction, and two people found themselves at the end of it all. Fate met them there and, being particularly fond of bargains, offered them an impossible decision: sacrifice each other to save the world, or sacrifice the world for each other. Fate had the power to save one or the other, but not both. The lovers were frozen at the prospect—how could they sacrifice the lives of millions of people for their love? But the thought of sacrificing their love, of severing their Bond, was impossible. The pain that would cause would be unbearable. Faced with an impossible decision, they were unable to act.”
“So what did they do?” I asked.
Talamh shrugged and drained his ale before rising from the table. “That’s how the story ends. No one knows.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That’s kind of a shitty story.”
Talamh laughed loudly at my assessment. “Or that’s the beauty of it. Did the prophecy already happen, did they sacrifice each other and save the world, which is why we’re all here? Or is it yet to happen? The impossible decision still waiting to be made?”
With that, he patted my shoulder once before heading up the stairs, leaving me to the lovers across the table and my thoughts.
Chapter 52
Ellowyn
With bleary eyes and shaking hands, I dressed in the same clothes I wore the day before. My muscles were sore and stiff, the beginning of blisters appearing like small dots in a sea of red, raw skin on the inside of my thighs. I hissed slightly as I pulled my pants past my aching flesh, but the pain soon died to an aching throb that I quickly ignored, my mind firmly occupied by other thoughts.
