Page 40 of Death Will Follow

“He must be following our movements somehow. Could someone in Samira’s Court have given us away?”

Bryn shook her head slowly. “I haven’t encountered anyone but servants inside the Estate. I doubt any of them are conspiring with the Shadowbringer.”

“True.” Nova thought for a moment. “Even so, I don’t imagine it’s wise to linger here any longer than necessary. We have what we came for. We’ll depart first thing in the morning, so long as Callan has recovered.”

“Depart for where?” Bryn asked.

“I haven’t a clue.”

Nova squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. Though the pain in her hand had ebbed to a faint ache, her mind had grown increasingly weary, a nagging headache settling in.

“We’d better take our meals in our rooms again tonight. No sense calling attention to ourselves in the Great Hall at the dinner hour.”

“Agreed. I’ll let Samira know,” Bryn said with a nod, then left.

Once alone, Nova crossed to the window and rested her forehead against the cool glass, taking in the city of pale coral-hued structures stretching to the edge of the lush jungle and the thunderheads gathering along the horizon to the west.

Few knew of their plans to travel to Tundara. Even fewer knew the true purpose of their journey. Which of them had betrayed her?

A distant rumble of thunder pulled Callan from his sleep, and he bolted straight up in bed—an enormous mistake. Pressure throbbed at his temples as if he’d indulged in one too many mugs of ale. Crashing back down onto the pillow, he threw an arm over his face, a slow hiss escaping from between his teeth. Several moments passed before he tried sitting up again, much slower the second time around.

He squinted in the darkened room, illuminated briefly by a bright flash of lightning. For an instant, he spied the blot of a silhouette against the gauzy curtains leading out onto the terrace. Callan eased himself to the edge of the bed and onto his feet, steadying himself on the bedpost. His shirt was nowhere to be found, and several bandages clung to his ribs and abdomen. Gingerly, he walked to the balcony, scratching absentmindedly at the edges of the sticky gauze strips.

Waving the curtains out of his way, Callan stepped out into the night. A gust of warm, humid air blew by, sending his hair into his eyes. He pushed the strands back and found Nova leaning on the railing as a thunderstorm rolled across the dark sky. He wasn’t worried about startling her. Knew she could sense him drawing near.

He sidled up beside her. “Don’t pout,” he murmured against her ear.

Nova glanced sideways at him, arching an eyebrow and saying nothing. Perhaps a jest wouldn’t be enough to make amends.

“Is it too soon for us to laugh about this?” He turned to face her directly, wincing as his bandaged ribs bumped against the rail.

“There’s nothing to laugh about.” Nova stared straight ahead, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “You shouldn’t have come to the lake.”

A bolt of lavender lightning danced across the charcoal clouds. A deep roll of thunder followed a moment later.

“I only wished to help,” Callan explained, eager to plead his case.

Her chest rose and fell with several slow breaths while he stood in silence, eyes fixed on the side of her face. Why wouldn’t she look at him?

“I saved you, didn’t I?”

“Yes. You did.” Her words were clipped. “But then I had to save you. Trust me, it was far easier for you to pull me onto the ice than it was for me to stop you barreling into the water.”

Callan reached out to touch her cheek, but she tugged her chin away, staring off in the opposite direction. A prickly heat bloomed at the base of his neck, creeping toward his face. She couldn’t honestly be angry with him.

“I saw the ravens circling, and I knew you were in danger.” He spoke slowly, striving to keep his voice even. “I felt it. Through the bond. What did you expect me to do?”

“I expected you to remain in the clearing. Where it was safe,” Nova snapped, finally turning to look at him.

“Truly, you’d expect me to just sit there? Do nothing while you got hurt? Or worse?” He wasn’t yelling, but, gods, he was close.

Nova stared at the medallion hanging in the center of his bare chest for a beat, her mouth clamped shut, breathing fast through her nose.

“It’s not worth risking your life to save mine,” she said finally, voice brittle.

“Don’t you dare say that.” Callan cupped her face. Tilting her head back, he forced her to meet his eye. “I will risk everything for you. Again, and again, and again. I haven’t even had the chance to love you properly, and will never apologize for doing anything in my power to keep you safe.”

Nova’s posture softened, her body relaxing into him a bit. A flash of lightning illuminated her face, revealing the glimmer of tears gathered in her eyes. Callan paused, tamping down the torrent of emotions swirling in his chest as the thunder rumbled, closer than before.