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“That wasn’t at all convincing,” I replied flatly.
Riven snorted, shaking his head. “Nik will get it done,” he said. “He’s one of the finest mechanics in theFaelinth. Also, he has to or we’re dead.”
“Thanks for the support,” Nikolai mumbled, crossing his legs.
I stood, slapping my thighs with my hands. I had too much energy coursing through my body. My legs were shaking, I needed to start moving, doing something to channel the energy and regain my focus.
“If we want to blow up the dam, we’ll need explosives,” I said, walking over to the hearth. The fire warmed my legs as my cloak dripped on the floor.
Nikolai tilted his head. “Cereliath used explosives to build their irrigation canals. Whatever they have left should be more than enough.”
“I agree,” I said, fanning my fingers in front of the flames. “But we’ll need the key to get them.”
“And where would that be?” Syrra asked, crossing her arms.
“Around Lord Curringham’s neck,” I answered.
SYRRA AND NIKOLAI LEFTto prepare for the journey to Cereliath. The door shut behind them, and I could feel Riven’s cold stare on my back.
His footsteps barely made a sound as he walked across the room and stood behind me. I could feel the warmth of his chest through my cloak. I stilled. He took another step and his breath scattered goosebumps across the skin of my neck. We hadn’t been this close since that kiss in Cereliath. I rubbed my fingers along my lips. They were warm and swollen like they had been the night he left me in that temple.
“Why did you kiss me?” The words fell out of my mouth in a whisper. “I’ve played that night in my head again and again, but it makes no sense. You could’ve ended me right there.” I turned around, lifting my eyes to his. Without the hood, I could see the sharp hollows of his cheeks and the strength of his jaw. His hair hung down his chest like sheets of ravensilk, the top pulled back into a small braid. Even stripped of his cloak and hood, his features were still made of shadow. I’d never seen anyone like him.
Riven didn’t break the stare. His eyes turned to violet flames with the reflection of the fire. “It was a mistake,” he said. “It never should’ve happened.” He flexed his jaw and didn’t say anything else.
“It wasn’t to distract me?” I pushed, stretching onto my toes. “Seduce me to get closer to the king?”
Riven shook his head. “It had nothing to do with any of that.”
“But what—”
He cut me off. “You’re making me regretnotkilling you.” He scowled. My eyes dropped to the handle of his sword peeking out behind his shoulder. If this was a test to see who would cave first, I wasn’t going to lose.
Riven bit the inside of his cheek. “We’re not talking about this,” he said, walking toward the window I smashed in.
“Why not?” I asked, crossing my arms.
“I don’t trust you,” he said simply, stooping down to pick up a large piece of broken glass.
I stepped back toward the hearth. “That makes two of us,” I mumbled, untying my cloak, and placing it on a hook over the fire. Water spread across the stone floor.
“Why wouldyoudoubtme?” he asked, tossing the glass into a waste bin. The hand at his side was knotted into a fist. “I wasn’t the one killing Halflings. My allegiance shouldn’t be in question.”
I cocked a brow. I’d found the most self-righteous Fae in the entire kingdom to ally myself with. “Why now?” I asked, my words filled with ice.
Riven froze. His brow furrowed in my direction, violet flames dancing in his eyes again. “What do you mean?” he asked slowly, like he was issuing a threat.
“Why now?” I repeated. “You’re Fae so you must be older than I am. Do you count your years in centuries, or have you moved to millennia now?” Riven didn’t say anything; he just leaned against the wall with his arms folded together.
“How many lifetimes has it taken for you to decide to help the Halflings? My kin have been forced to serve the king for sevenhundredyears while the Fae did nothing. Still, they do nothing—apart from you.” My words came out in ragged breaths. I clenched my hands to keep from shaking. “Your work so far is admirable; I don’t deny it. I’m grateful to anyone who spends their time getting Halflings to safety, especially after seeing the lives they have here. But you don’t get to judge me for the sixty years I took to cross the king. Not when you’ve had lifetimes to come to the same decision.”
I turned back to the flames, too angry to even look at him. I heard him take a step toward me and then stop. A thick silence fell between us. Only the flicker of the fire filled the air. Even the rain had stopped.
“Fair enough,” he said. “But you say you tried to kill the king before. You must’ve had opportunities. Why is Aemon still alive?” He stood next to the hearth facing me. He leaned against the mantel. The only warmth in his eyes came from the fire. His stare pierced through me, leaving a chill along my skin.
“Only if you leave a crown to claim,” I whispered. Riven’s breath stalled as he crossed his arms. “You said that in Cereliath. You know killing the king is not enough.”
“Perhaps not, but you could—”
