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“I’ll find out.”
“You won’t. Don’t you dare go back there.”
He shook his head. “It will be quick, and I’ll be careful. First I’ll take you home—”
“No.Thisis my home. I need to take care of Umbraar, don’t you see?”
He sighed. “They might attack again.”
“Then I’ll be here and burn them all. Maybe you’ll even bother to let me know about their plans in advance. In fact, what are they planning?”
“Not hard to guess, is it?”
“I know they want power. But how? How are they going to do it? Don’t tell me you don’t know anything.”
River shrugged. “It’s still pretty obvious. They are not that subtle.”
“I know that they want to unite Aluria against the fae, or use the fae as an excuse to seize power. So what was the point of this weird magic here? Not even bothering to pretend it was the fae?” River was about to say something, when an idea hit her. “Wait. I know. They want us isolated. They want us ranting against Ironhold while everyone is praising them for fighting the fae. That way they can attack us. And this magic…” An odd thought came to her. “It was a test. To see how much they could bend human magic.”
He nodded. “That’s a possibility.” Then he sighed. “I have to go back before they notice I’m gone.”
Naia got up and moved around the desk so that she wouldn’t have it between her and River. “Don’t go. I’m asking you.”
She was definitely regretting having ended his promise of eternal devotion. Why hadn’t she thought this through?
He set his reddish eyes on her. “I’m asking you not to stay here at this obvious target, but you’re not listening either, are you?”
“I have to protect my people.”
“So do I.”
“River, what about the Ancient City? We need to do something. It’s all dry. There’s no way they’ll survive long there.”
“Dry,” he repeated, thoughtful. “It wasn’t like that before.”
“Can you use the lapse stones again on the city?”
He closed his eyes, visibly distraught. “When I used them the first time, somehow my magic combined with the dragon magic isolating the city. That magic is broken now. And the stones are gone.”
“But then the Ancient City should no longer be isolated.”
He looked at her. “It doesn’t look like they can get out.”
“We need to find a solution.”
“Ineed to find a solution. But I need to get back to Ironhold. We can discuss this later, Naia. Whatever happens, can you try to stay out of harm’s way?”
“I’ll be careful, but I won’t cower or hide. That wouldn’t be me.”
He took a deep breath. “I’ll be back soon.”
Naia reached out and held his hand. “Don’t go there. Tell me everything you’ve found out until now. We’ll work with the information you already got. We’ll figure out something. Together.” She then added, “Please. Don’t go.”
He put his other hand over hers and caressed it. “We will find a solution. But I have to go.”
She was still angry at him, angry that he hadn’t told her any of that, and yet, at that moment, all she felt was a pang in her chest, a fear of never seeing him again, a horrible dread taking over her. She tiptoed and kissed his lips softly, then said, “Stay.”
His arms wrapped around her and pulled her close, and then he kissed her, but this time there was nothing soft or hesitant about his movements. It was the deep, lasting kiss they hadn’t had since he had forced her to sleep.
