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I glanced down at the tattoo on my arm, my fingers tracing the vines, searching for answers. And that’s when it hit me—maybe I didn’t need to break the deal. Maybe I needed to make a new one . . .
Could I make a new deal with Arkyn to trump the one he made with Von?
Was that even possible? And if it were, what did I have to offer Arkyn that would be tempting enough for him to end his deal with Von?
There was only one thing I could think of—
“I don’t like that.” Kaleb’s eyes were fixed on mine.
“What?” I asked on reflex, my thoughts galaxies away.
“That look in your eye. It’s the one you get when you are about to do something really dumb—like use your Curse on a village-worth of trained soldiers to try to save your brother.”
I was transported back to that day—the day Kaleb was conscripted for the war. I remembered standing there, watching him tap the spot over his heart, eyes pleading with mine not to do anything. In that moment, I was given a choice. I could stand down, or I could fight for him. The answer had come easily. Now, I was faced with a similar choice—stand down or fight for someone I loved. Again, the choice was an easy one.
Kaleb sighed. “The look has returned.”
“Hear me out,” I said as I plopped beside him on the bed, tucking one foot underneath me. “After we thought Von had passed, Arkyn took me to the Endless Mist. He said something about seeing if it would grant us passage this time around. When it refused me, he seemed almost . . . beside himself. I don’t know why he wants to get through it so badly, nor do I really care, but maybe I can make a deal with him. Passage through the Endless Mist in exchange for ending Von’s deal with him.”
It wasn’t the best plan, but it was still a plan. As soon as Arkyn returned from his travels, something he said would take about a week’s time, I would ask him about it.
Kaleb rubbed his jaw, rough fingertips sounding against a few days’ growth of blond stubble. “It’s not a bad idea, but how are you going to grant him passage? You said it yourself—the Endless Mist refused you last time.”
“It did, but that doesn’t mean it always will. I know I’m tethered to it—I just don’t know how. I think the answer lies in my lost memories.” I sighed, not liking the next part of my plan.
Kaleb bumped his shoulder against mine. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out together.”
A moment passed before he pushed off the bed and rose to his full six-foot height. “Okay, so thoughts on how we’re going to break you out of here? There are guards posted on the other side of the door.” He nodded towards it.
As much as I wanted to leave this place, to return to the cottage or go to the Cursed Lands, I knew I couldn’t. “I have to stay here . . . for now.”
The line between Kaleb’s shoulders grew ramrod straight. “What? Why?”
“I’m going to ask Soren to aid in recovering my memories.” I paused briefly before I tacked on the rest. “I’m sure he’s still here in the castle.”
It was the only place that made sense for him to be. After he had betrayed me, I couldn’t see him going back to the Cursed Lands out of fear of them finding out what he had done. That was if they didn’t know already. The Cursed Lands were the only home Soren had, so he had nowhere else to go.
“Soren?” Kaleb hissed his name with such distaste that I wondered how I ever related the two. “Soren is the reason you’re here. The reason why Von almost lost his immortal life.” He threw his hand to the side in anger. “He messed with your mind that day, he convinced you there was a fire, and there wasnothingI could do to stop you from going inside the cottage—that’s how much control he had over you.Thatis who you are going to trust to retrieve your lost memories?” He shook his head in disbelief.
I took a deep breath. Kaleb’s anger was visceral, and I could feel it working its way through me—knocking on a door I was trying so desperately to keep closed. If I opened it, my own anger would come pouring out of me. And right now, anger would solve nothing.
“I know how it sounds, but it’s the best option currently available to me.” I paused, his words repeating in my mind—There was nothing I could do to stop you from going inside the cottage. My gaze lifted, meeting his, understanding dawning. “You were there . . . that day, in raven form.”
Kaleb nodded. “I was, but I was too much of a novice at that time to shift into human form, or even speak for that matter.” His fists were clenched so tightly that the bones in his knuckles looked like they might pop through the taut flesh. “I had never felt so useless as I watched you charge into the cottage—knowing you were walking right past a sea of soldiers, into a trap.”
The dream I had months ago flared before me. Kaleb and I were running, trying to get to Ezra. When I reached her, it was my body that became strapped to the pyre in place of hers. Eventhough some parts of that dream were off, most of it came true, in one way or another.
But it wasn’t just a dream, was it? That dream was a vision, courtesy of my Dream Curse. Sure, I could try to harness the power of my Dream Curse to find my memories, but learning how to properly use it could take months, or worse,years—time I did not have.
Kaleb sat beside me, the bed dipping. Firmly, he said, “I don’t trust Soren. And neither should you.”
“I don’t trust him either,” I confirmed with a sigh, “but it’s the best option I have right now.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I.”
Kaleb sighed, his neck arching and Adam’s apple protruding as he looked to the stone ceiling for guidance. “You know you are in the enemies’ hands, right?”
