“Ever heard the name Elex. She thinks it’s her father.”
Kalan looks at me this time, but still doesn’t confirm. He doesn’t need to, though, and I don’t need to poke around his emotions to read him, not with the surprise in his eyes.
So Elexisher father.
“It’s going to be a really long fucking journey if you’re not going to talk.”
“You’ve got your wish. I’m taking you. What more do you want?”
“Look, my friend nearly died trying to protect Ever. I was banished because I was helping her. We all want to see her safe, and you’ve done nothing but feed us scraps of information, all of which only incriminate you in deceiving her. The Orders tried to keep her in the dark, and that failed. You think she’s not practising or working out how to use her magic? She is.Wewere helping her. But we don’t have any real idea of what a Fifth cando. So, for once, it would be nice to know what we’re up against. If not for Ever, then because of what’s waiting for us across the sea. Because so far, nothing has fucking worked. She’s at every disadvantage, and that’s unacceptable. You say you want to keep her safe, then do it.” My knuckles whiten as I grip the reins.
“Are you done?”
“Yes.” No.
“You love her?”
“Yes.” The hollow at my chest where she belongs—our connection belongs—beats as if in response, punctuating my response, never letting me forget where she’s meant to be.
How I can miss her so much after only knowing her for a few months is infuriating, but the alternative is never going to happen. I’ve seen the possibility, and there’s nowhere in this world that she can go that I won’t follow to ensure that vision never comes true.
“What has the Maker told you?”
“The Maker? That’s none of your?—”
“If you meant anything you just spouted at me, it means everything. You think any of this has happened by chance? What has she told you?” His gruff voice begs no room for argument this time. He pauses, for dramatic effect, apparently.
Fine. “She told me I’ll have a journey to make.”Check.“And a choice that will play a part in shaping Kirrasia.”
“Hmm. Is that it?”
“That’s the important highlight. Have I passed your test?”
Kalan pulls his horse to a stop, earning a disgruntled neigh from the steed. “This isn’t a test, boy. You have no idea what is at stake.”
“Because you won’t fucking tell me.” My horse stomps the ground, backing up at the anger growing between Kalan and me.
“Ever’s parents and who they are is a story I will only tell her, but—” He pauses, and for the first time, I see the weight of the secrets he himself is hiding. “They were both Fifths.”
I take the information and add it to everything else I know. “The Maker told me that it was Ever’s role to bear all of Aslendrix’s power. Do you know what that means?”
“I think it may mean that history is going to repeat itself. No matter what we’ve set in motion. And Ever and Fenix will be at the heart of it.” He kicks his horse forward, and they leap into a sprint.
Guess he’s found his urgency now.
ten
. . .
Ever
The damn sway of the ship, now I’m familiar with it, is determined to lull me into believing I’m content. I’m not. As I force myself awake, I remember, and any feeling of ease vanishes.
Fenix. Names. Our parents’ names. But everything went blank after that, like someone had wiped the memory, as easily as the tide rising to sweep it away and carry it out to sea.
Sitting up, I orient myself, reaching for both the necklace at my throat and the ring on my finger.My mother’s ring.On the small table are a few sheets of paper and an ink pen. My legs unfurl, and I scramble to the chair to sit and write everything I remember. I scribble every drop of information down until my mind is dry, my fingers smudged, and I can’t think straight.
And then I write the two names that Fenix gave me.
