“I don’t know.” His voice is frantic. “They—they didn’t show their faces. Just shadows... moving in the darkness, asking questions I couldn’t answer.”
I glance at Elder Aïna, but even she looks troubled by his news. The vólkins stir behind me, muttering among themselves, clearly as unsettled as I am.
“Why would they capture you?” I ask. “What did they want from you?”
Gregor’s face pales even further. “They—they kept asking about you. About Ávera.”
This isn’t good. Someone knows of me. Ávera is a known legend, vólkins a popular topic to discuss and condemn. But the fact that someone knows of mespecificallyraises alarms. I can’t help but glance at Theron, who’s watching Gregor with a look of barely contained fury.
“They wanted to know how to find you,” Gregor continues, struggling to hold it together. “But I didn’t know anything. I swear, I didn’t tell them anything! I didn’t even know how to get back here until I—until I stumbled into the forest.”
My hand drops from his shoulder as I straighten up. There is no question we might be talking about the tsar’s men. Unless there’s a force I’ve never heard of. The Shadow Guild.
I keep my voice steady as I say, “I believe you, Gregor. We’ll keep you safe.”
The vólkins grunt again, unimpressed with his story. They have been in this place their whole lives, and the only human they know is me. As much as Elder Aïna taught them abouthumans, it is not enough to know the politics of my kind. Our system works differently from theirs, and while they want to disagree with me, I know better.
Their growls reverberate through the air, and Gregor flinches. He looks up at me, his eyes pleading, darting nervously toward the surrounding vólkins.
The silence that follows is loud. Theron is staring at Gregor with cold, unforgiving eyes.
Elder Aïna says, “Leadership isn’t about making easy decisions, Ethereal Lidéren. It’s about standing by the ones you make.”
She’s right. I spared Gregor’s life once. I need to stand by that choice, even if it’s difficult. Even if it brings tension.Especially if it brings tension.“Gregor will stay in Ávera. We’ll see to it that he heals properly.”
“No.”
I blink, taken aback by the sharpness of Theron’s tone.
“He will not roam Ávera freely. He’ll be locked up until we decide what to do with him. He’s a danger, Noël. We don’t know what he’s capable of or who might come looking for him.”
His words sting. The vólkins shift, their eyes moving uncomfortably between Theron and me. They’ve never seen us in disagreement like this before.
Neither have I.
I just stare at Theron as the tension pulls tight between us. He’s not just protecting me. He’s protecting Ávera, and I know he’s right. Gregor could be a threat, even if he doesn’t seem like one. I clench my jaw. I don’t want to undermine Theron either, but I can’t let him completely take control. He will kill Gregor.
After a brief pause, I nod. “Very well. Gregor will be kept under guard until we decide his fate.”
Theron doesn’t respond. The warmth I felt when I first saw him coming through the trees, that connection... it’s now replaced by distance. I hate it.
I turn my attention back to Gregor who’s still trembling at my feet. His fate is uncertain, but for now, he’s alive. I spared him for a reason.
But did I really make the right choice?
46
CHAINS OF DISTRUST
“To lead is not to be loved, and to protect is not to be forgiven. A leader chooses knowing that loyalty may break and blood may stain the soil where they stand.”
—Láda Veléša, Goddess of Leadership and War
Theron
Istand, arms crossed, as Noël speaks to Gregor with such a soft voice that I feel the urge to end him right here and now. My jaw clenches, and my claws itch to extend. Every instinct in my body is screaming to stop this. He’s a threat. The human doesn’t belong in Ávera, and every moment he spends among us puts us in more danger. But instead of ordering his removal, Noël is... comforting him.
Sweet-talking him, smiling at him. Touching him.
