Three
Leena
Pulling the throw blanket I’d snagged higher about my waist, I reclined into the cushioned seat of the library bay window. Morning light filtered through the panes, casting the labyrinth of bookshelves and tables in a peaceful light. The room was quiet, save the occasional crackle of fire in the hearth. While the library was hardly ever packed, the total absence of people today reminded me of just how many we’d lost. Sighing, I gripped the blanket tighter.
When early morning light had sliced through the curtains and woken us both, I’d expected Noc to pull me closer to his chest. We’d had little time to simplebe. But he’d been quick to dress, back ramrod straight and shoulders tense, leaving me with nothing more than a chaste kiss and a claim that he had bounties to review. I believed him, but I couldn’t miss the haunted edge to his stare, the way his hands shook as they loosely brushed back my hair so he could skim his fingers down my neck. He’d disappeared after that without a word, leaving me with a sinking feeling of unease.
And so I’d escaped to the library,The Magic of Wordsin hand, and stolen the first blanket I could find. While he worked, I could too. Since we’d returned to Cruor, he’d go about his day returning the guild to something like normal, and I’d end up here, looking for clues that could help us eradicate the magic of his oath in case my fellow Charmers didn’t come through.
Yesterday, I’d finished a chapter on blood oaths and found myself furiously turning the pages, hoping the answer would leap out at me. The conditions were so similar to Cruor’s Oath: binding and near-unbreakable. And yet, nothing. There was no documented way to break a blood pact. If Cruor’s Oath held any of the same limitations, we were screwed.
Time slipped by as I skimmed passages about prophecies, curses, and powerful spells. Despite the wealth of information, there weren’t any answers to be unearthed concerning Noc’s oath. The magic of Cruor was one of a kind.
Pressing the book to my chest, I leaned against the cool panes of the window and glanced out over the open lawns behind Cruor. A sea of grass starting to brown at the tips stretched out before me, ending in an abrupt and riotous wall of gnarled trees and snarling, purple vines. The Kitska Forest never changed, no matter the season. The cursed wood had been that way ever since the First War between Charmers and Wilheimians. One myth suggested that the monsters who called the festering wood home were actually the souls of beasts reborn, trapped in our realm after they fell defending their Charmers during the First War.
Lightly, I stroked the bestiary puckered beneath the fabric of my shirt. A spark of warmth answered in response, and guilt sank low in my heart. Onyx, my beloved Myad, hadn’t been right since we returned. He’d seen—and inevitably experienced, due to our strong bond—my grief over Calem’s death and subsequent return. Onyx had been slinking through the woods of the beast realm yowling ever since. Begging for forgiveness.
Snapping my book shut, I stood and stretched my hands to the ceiling. Research could wait. Today, I needed to take care of my beast. He had nothing to apologize for, and it was high time he found the solace I’d been unable to attain for myself.
* * *
Cruor’s backyard was mostly quiet. With winter hinting at an early arrival, the morning chill was just plain cold, and the light breeze tickling my cheeks sent a shiver racing through my limbs. I was dressed in leather breeches, knee-high boots, and a long-sleeved tunic, with only my face and hands exposed. And even that was, apparently, too much.
I’d expected to find the lawns empty, but Emelia, Iov, and a woman I didn’t recognize lounged on the grass a few yards away. Laughter billowed up around them in a breath of mist, and I paused. I’d come out here with the intention of spending time with my beasts, but the last thing I wanted was to remind anyone of the horrors of Hireath. In the heat of battle there, Onyx had killed their brethren. Would the assassins of Cruor be able to forgive that deep a loss?
I ran my hands over my arms to chase away the sudden chill and turned to head back inside, but Iov spotted me and shouted a hello, his enthusiastic wave brooking no room for argument. Wearing similar getups of sleeveless tunics and loose-fitting black trousers, the trio looked entirely at ease.
Death must make the cold bearable.Suppressing a full-body shiver, I walked toward them. “Hey there.”
Emelia and Iov smiled in unison, the sun heating their sepia skin and giving it a warm glow. Twins to their core, they even shared similar widows’ peaks and full lips.
As one, the group stood to greet me, and Emelia brushed her braided ponytail off her shoulder. “Hey, Leena. We wanted you to meet Astrid. She’s one of the new recruits Noc raised last night.”
Iov nodded. “We grew up in the same town. She’s the younger sister I never needed, but somehow got anyway.”
Astrid cut him a glare. “I’m not your sister.”
“And yet you pester me just the same.” His eyes warmed despite the teasing words, and he reached to muss Astrid’s spiked locks. “You’re saying you didn’t miss us when we died?”
She batted him away. “Of course I missed you.”
I frowned. “I’m confused. Little sister? You all look the same age to me.”
“We died at the glorious age of nineteen,” Emelia said. She offered Astrid a gentle smile. “Astrid was sixteen at the time.”
“And now I’ve finally found you again. Except, now I’m technically older. Wouldn’t that make youmyyounger siblings?” She gave Iov a devilish grin.
“Not on your life.”
My smile died at her words. Astrid had aged years before being raised, and in that time she’d grown, matured. That would happen to me too. Charmers aged slower than humans, but Noc would still outlive me. He’d stay frozen in time, and I’d eventually die and leave him alone. We’d never talked about what that meant for us. What that would mean forhim.
I could ask him to raise me.
My gut churned, and I pushed that errant thought far away. I couldn’t imagine a life without Noc, but the shadows of Cruor… They permeated everything. No Charmer had ever been changed before, and the risk was too great. I had no idea what death would do to my beasts, to their realm.
Their lives were more important than my happiness.
“Anyway,” Astrid said, pulling me out of my thoughts, “it’s nice to meet you, Leena.”
