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“It is not the only reason…” Malyr once again lied with a nonchalance that should have been struck dead by lightning right there as he stepped in front of me.
“Pray tell, Malyr, what is your reason?” I asked. “Something selfless, I presume.”
“I have three reasons, all utterly, wretchedly,unforgivablyselfish.” Malyr leaned into me, running a nail over my scalp the way he’d done at thekjaer,sending a heated shudder across my skin. “If you turn out to be a deathweaver, then the pair of us commanding shadows together would make us a force to be reckoned with. We could drown entire continents in our shadows, and blacken the skies right along with it. Here’s the thing, though, little white dove…” He slowly ran his finger through my hair, twirling a strand around his digit before he let it uncoil on my scarf. “I do not believe you to be a deathweaver.”
My entire body shivered under the blanket of his nearness and dreadful anticipation. Whatever my gift was, I wanted it—neededit, like a piece of a puzzle to complete the image of my being.
I huddled closer to Sebian, pretending my heart still beat this incessantly for the thrill of my flight alone, and not because of Malyr’s sheer presence. “Where is your wife?”
Malyr let his gaze stroll lazily over my form. “I am looking at her right now.”
“I’m not your wife,” I snarled.
“You will be so much more once we are bonded.”
That certainty in his voice ruffled my feathers. “You said there’s still time. How much?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Sebian took hold of my arm, turned me toward him, and gently sidestepped us away from Malyr for a poor semblance of privacy. His palms ran up and down my shoulders, the motion bringing memories of the many nights I’d fallen to sleep under his touch. “I don’t want you to go back to Tidestone, sweetheart. My unkindness circled our army before coming here, and they are nearly here.”
That fact made my toes curl inside my boots, but the lack of time couldn’t be helped. “Tidestone is my home, and I know every corridor, every face, every shortcut. All I’ll have to do is find Lady Brisden before nightfall. I’ll be swift.”
“So will be this—”
When his attention shot up along the cliff, I glanced up, but couldn’t see anything out of sorts. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just thought…” He stared for a moment longer, then shook his head and let his eyes connect with mine once more. “Tidestone won’t stand for long.”
I looked up at him, reaching to cup his stubbled cheeks, frown lines cutting deep craters of concern between his soft gaze. “My gift is a part of me. If I want to find out who I am and why things happened the way they did, then I need to get it back.”
There was a tremble in his long exhale, as if it carried a dozen unspoken attempts to talk me out of it. “I understand that. It’s just…” His forehead sank against mine as his eyes closed, but it only pronounced the worry carved into his features all the more. “I’m terrified of losing you more than I already have.”
I stood there, frozen, my heart beating in sync with the tumultuous waves that washed against the nearby ships in the bay. There were so many things I wanted to ask him. Why hadn’t he told me he’d been bonded to his late mate? And the affection he’d shown me? Was a bonded Raven capable of loving someone else, or had it all been a lovely lie we’d both wanted to believe?
I had no answers and not enough time to ask, but the way his fingers clutched my arms, as though fearing I might otherwise disappear…? Those stuttering breaths in the space between us? The way his eyes held mine captive? That concern for my well-being was sincere.
That was real.
With a final, deep inhale, he lifted his head, his gaze sweeping to my lips before they found mine again. “I could go with you.”
“And get killed before we even step through the first gate?” With his long black hair and those burn marks on his hands, there was no hiding the ravens in him. “This is something only a white Raven can do.”
“Just promise me you’ll come back.” His palms glided up to my cheeks, his thumbs circling there very so gently. “There’s a lot I have to say to you. I expect you to hold me to it.”
“I will,” I said, offering him a smile before I turned toward Malyr’s cold, unmoving face. “You said I have time?”
His hard gaze flicked back and forth between Sebian and me, and a swallow visibly bobbed down his throat. “Once you have the amulet, seek shelter in the dungeons. As much as it pains me to say, it truly is the safest place to be. Stay away from the walls and the towers,especiallythe ones with the net catapults. Those will come down first.” He suddenly placed his hand on my face, letting an intense but brief chill flare across my skin that had me jerking back. “Should you cross paths with any of us—”
“Shh, he only marked you with his shadows,” Sebian said, lifting his hand to thumb over the dissipating sting. “Make sure you never hide your face from any of us, sweetheart, but most Ravens should sense his magic on you. Should you run into Lorn… well, keep running. She didn’t take the news about you two being fated too well.”
“She can have him,” I said and looked at Malyr, giving him my sweetest smile. “When are you going to attack?”
In that moment, the haunting toll of Tidestone’s bells echoed across the beach, cutting through the cold winds and prickling my senses.
The Ravens were coming.
Malyr smiled back. “You have one hour,anoaley.”
ChapterTwelve
