CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Death arrives in the dunes when the darkness meets the light.
— Correspondence from White Hawk to Silver Dragon. 73rd of Summer. 071.3E.
TheEvectarocked softly against the waves pouring into the sheltered bay from the Juniper Sea, yet I heard nothing beyond the thundering of blood in my ears.
Marriage. The queen hadproposedto Bayne. A brilliant, wicked move on her part. And the words of the mystics that day at the Awakening ceremony, all to build off the fervor of the elves to see Bayne as their savior.
The queen was only related to him through marriage to his uncle. It wasn’t unheard of. And their union, the union of a powerful mystic queen and a Bellator, “Aelius’s son” himself… They would be unstoppable.
In return, the Lotrennians would escort the Rising forces back to Sultira,andthey would send fifteen thousand fighters along to crush Saros. We could end this in months if he said yes. She’d set him up for this, to spring the offer on him, and thenthrow it in his face before he had a chance to talk to us, to talk tomeabout it. And with the presence of the other elves and mystics in that meeting, word would spread quickly through Lotrennia.
Repulsion settled in my gut. What choice did he have? We’d all sacrificed for this. And the Lotrennians were his people. Hedeservedto be king, would thrive as king. The land, the people, theworldwould thrive. But could anyone keep the ill intent of Queen Antares leashed?
I was going to be sick. I couldn’t meet Bayne’s eyes as we all gathered below deck. His gaze burned against my face, along with the gentle caress of his consciousness as he searched for a way to reach me. I had thrown the curtain up the second I pieced together what Queen Antares had said. The second I realized he hadn’t immediately rejected her offer, that he still considered it.
My stomach pitched. What did I even want from him? I’d avoided the Match, the marriage protocol for the Court of Two Moons, for as long as I’d been in society, clinging to the hope I might be accepted as a Death Scholar one day. I didn’t want to be married. Ihadn’twanted to be married. But with Bayne…
Shame snaked its way into my heart as the selfish feelings ripped through me. I pinned my eyes on Ronan, and he glanced at me before sliding his gaze to the others. Marian, Drystan, and Vulcan eyed the group warily, uncertain what events had transpired.
“Wellfuck,” Isla sighed the words. “She has you by the balls, Captain.”
Bayne pulled his stare from my own and raised a dark brow at her.
“Can someone fill us in?” Vulcan growled from the corner.
“Queen Antares proposed marriage to Bayne,” I murmured.
“That’s nothing compared to what Khato claims,” Isla interjected, her words sharp yet wary as she slid her gaze to Bayne. His face paled as I searched it for meaning.
“It’s not true,” Nerissa cut in quietly, her voice dripping with accusation and devastation. Her face was as pale as Bayne’s, repulsion lining her wan lips. “Tell me it’s a lie.”
“What claim?” Ronan asked, straightening in his chair.
All eyes landed on Bayne as he uncrossed his arms and rubbed his face. Silence stretched. I counted my heartbeats as we waited.
“The master of spells has elevated his powers enough to unlock the ability of threadsight. Khato can see the threads of the universe, connecting everyone and everything, living or otherwise. See them andidentifythem…”
I looked to the others, still not understanding what this meant.
“Get on with it,” Nerissa growled, pinning Bayne to the spot with her matching eyes. Bayne’s throat bobbed as he caught my eye.
“He’s identified a soulbinding thread linking the queen and me.”
An inexplicable laugh escaped my lips, and the eyes in the room turned toward me. I couldn’t pull my gaze from Bayne’s as I slowly shook my head.
“That is,” I began, my lips curving up. “I mean, come on. There is no way, right? There’s no possible way.” My head continued to shake.
Isla leaned forward, grasping my hand, and leveled a serious look at me.
“Bayne—” I began, my voice foreign and far away.
“Have you felt it?” Nerissa’s words were quiet with accusing outrage.
The dark lashes above Bayne’s green eyes shuddered as his gaze drifted away from mine at last.
I barely processed the filthy string of curses leaving Vulcan’s mouth as the world seemed to drop out from beneath me.Soulbound. Or rather, the potential to be. The universe, sick and twisted as it was, sought to bind him to someone who had done such horrific deeds to his parents.
