Lochlan nods, following my gaze to Malachi’s adviser. “It’s at the bottom of the soap dish in your bathing chamber. I hope you know what you’re doing, Wilder.”
I nod once, barely, not daring to take my eyes off Cyan as he makes his way through the room. When he finally disappears out the other side, I push to stand.
“Wilder.” Lochlan stops me as I start to walk away. “If we don’t come out the other side, we’ll do this again in Sarrow.”
“I have no doubt that someday we will either way.” I smirk,and he grins, taking another inhale of haelmarrow and disappearing into his head with his demons.
I cross the room, searching for the flash of blue hair that tugs me like a magnet, only to find her standing alone on the balcony with her dress blowing in the hot breeze. Through the blistering heat, she still smells like a snow-kissed forest. Her gaze is a constellation of ice crystals.
“You found me,” she says, not turning to look at me while her gaze is set on the city below.
“I always know where you are.”
“That makes one of us.” Her eyes slide my way.
Years on the battlefield couldn’t have prepared me for the decimation of her gaze.
Clearing my throat, I meet her at the railing, slipping along that thread that ties us and finding it open.“Something is on your mind.”
Elorie tugs her lower lip between her teeth.“I heard how Lochlan got his runes. How he lost his wife. His children.”
“As I said before, war is rarely pleasant.”
“You have no sympathy?”
“Lochlan doesn’t want my sympathy. It’s showing respect not to offer it.”
Her gaze drops to her hands gripping the ledge before she lifts her eyes to the sky. The brightness of day has been replaced by a clear night. Moonlight bathes her cheeks, shimmering against the blue in her hair. The glow of nearby realms lights the night.
When she finally looks at me again, her focus is on the runes on my chest.“Will you tell me how you got yours?”
“You don’t already know?”
She shakes her head.“I know when you got them but not the details of how.”
“It’s a shame. I’m sure the rumors are far more interesting than the truth.”
A small smile creeps up in the corner of her mouth.“I’m sure they are.”
Resting my forearms on the ledge, I look out to the city below. Small plumes of smoke curl from the square where they’re roasting meat.
Lochlan and I used to get high on haelmarrow and wander the streets, feasting on the spiced meats and freshly baked breads throughout the city. Vendors sell cherries on almost every corner. They were one of my favorite things about Solace. We’d drink and smoke our way through the night, waking wherever we’d end up by morning.
The time before the Realm War was another life.
Sighing, I turn toward Elorie.
“Queen Delayna, my mother, and King Erdem, Malachi’s father, made an arrangement after the Collision to keep peace between our realms. We were close before that, so they tried to stave off tensions early. They agreed to handle the draining of magic peacefully. But Malachi didn’t agree with that. He rallied Lyrichia’s lords to overthrow Erdem.”
She glances over her shoulder to where Lochlan sits inside.
“Lochlan didn’t vote either way. He avoids political games where he can. Although, he’s smart enough to pledge his loyalty to your king now.”
Elorie turns back to the city, her cheeks bright even in the darkness. Gods, she’s stunning, and she doesn’t even realize it.
“After Erdem was overthrown and executed, we tried to negotiate with Malachi, but he wasn’t as willing.”
“I’m not surprised since he knew your mother was planning to use the Well to her own advantage to kill his people.”
