I was about to lay into Sie, because he was pissing me off, and I was losing my patience, but Scottie beat me to it. “I did. His condo was much more welcoming and spacious than the dungeon you put me in.”
I smirked as he rightfully shut up. I was fucking loving this newfound brazen side to her.
Everyone finished their ramen bowls except for Sie, and Savannah stole a cup of coffee to go before we said our goodbyes to Ichi.
As we stepped out of his shop, Dovelyn took my hand. She’d been abnormally quiet ever since we left Brighta. I looked down at my sister, and the realization of what was about to happen finally sunk in. We were going to see our mother—or the bones that were left of her—for the first time in ninety years.
Finally, we’d uncover why she sacrificed her life in order to keep the prophecy hidden.
I squeezed Dovelyn’s hand, praying we were ready.
SIXTEEN
SCOTLIND
This trip was hell.Snow started falling in thick clumps over us, and the cold felt like it was a part of me. It was something I hadn’t felt since that frozen beach when I was seven. It was also something I never wanted to experience again. My right calf seemed to ache, and I hated the white fluff and the memories it conjured. At least we had thick coats on, not that it made much of a difference.
But the frigid temperatures and the trek through rough terrain weren’t even the worst part—it was the awkward moments of silence.
I looked up, seeing the back of Tezya’s head. His bone-white hair was slicked back in sweat despite the cold. We were all exhausted. Cold. Tired. Irritable. And despite it all, Savannah led us up a steep mountain without faltering once. I was seriously second guessing the fact that our kind called mortals weak.
Kallon and Savannah went into bits of banter periodically, but it was too infrequent. We had to be quiet so we didn’t draw attention to ourselves and neither girl knew how to whisper.
Dovelyn and Tezya were wary. I knew it was more than justthe thought of being seen by a Luxian soldier. They were both nervous to go to their mother’s grave.
Then there was Sie.
I couldn’t sort out my feelings for him. I was angry and pissed most of the time, and the resentment kept rising to the surface whenever he talked to me.
He left me. He sentenced me to the dungeons. He shipped me off to Lux.
All those nights of praying to see his dark eyes, praying he’d rescue me, were catching up. I knew he didn’t plan for it to happen. He wasn’t a horrible person. He just got stuck in a bad situation and acted the way hethoughtwas best. I just couldn’t help but take it personally.
Would I have done the same thing as Sie if our situations were reversed? Would I have willingly handed over the person I claimed to love to my enemy, knowing full well what would happen to them? Tezya turned his head, and when I caught a glimpse of his scar, I knew my answer immediately. I wouldn’t have done that to him. His punishment kept replaying in my head, and I knew I would have done anythingbuthand him over.
I kept seeing Tezya drive the dagger into his thigh, kept seeing all the blood. I saw him holding the ropes as he was forced to stand there while Brock whipped his already flayed back. I saw the tip of the dagger vanish as he was forced to stab himself over and over…
“We’ll camp here for the night,” Savannah called out against the bitter wind, saving me from my thoughts.
“I thought it’s only a day’s walk? We should push through the night,” Tezya said as he scanned our surroundings. “We don’t want to risk being out longer than we have to.”
“We’re camping because I lied to my father about how far away it was,” she said as she threw her pack down onto the ground. The tip of her nose was bright red, and small bits ofsnow were sticking to the hoop coming out of her right nostril. “If he knew how long it’d take, he would’ve said no.”
“Doesn’t he know the location of the tomb?” Kallon asked.
“Aware of it, yes. Knows the exact amount of time it takes to travel there by foot? No. The only thing he knows is it’s in Maine.”
“You said you already visited the grave?” Kallon arched a thin brow.
“Yup,” she nodded, her lavender hair falling out of her hood and covering the tops of her shoulders. “I was honest about that.”
“But these conditions are—” Sie stopped mid sentence, but we all knew where his train of thought was going.
“Hard to trek for a human? Yeah, I get it.” Kallon and Tezya both grinned as Savannah continued, “The sooner you stop underestimating people you perceive as weak, the wiser you’ll become. Strength doesn’t equal intelligence and being stupid will get you killed.”
I caught a glimpse of Sie’s stunned expression as he eyed the girl. She definitely had guts. Sie was the strongest Tennebrisian alive, and besides Dovelyn who possessed an air shield, we were all at his mercy… Not even Tezya was safe being half Tennebrisian, because with Sie’s total mind control, he could compel any of us.
“I’m absolutely miserable,” Kallon muttered as she plopped down next to Savannah, throwing her arm over her shoulder. “Why did you do this by yourself before?”
