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“You know it's not going to be that simple,” I said in exasperation.
“Or is it just not that simple because you care about him?” Talisyn demanded.
It wasn't like him to be jealous, but he sounded that way now.
“If you could kill your way out of this problem, I have faith that you and Jaik and the others would already have slaughtered everyone and saved our world. But I think that the solution is a little more complicated. So I guess you better let me think our way through it.” I gave Talisyn a sharp smile.
He looked offended, but Damyn laughed.
“You don't have to be mean to him, Honor. You're our queen. We're waiting on your orders,” Damyn said.
I gave him a suspicious look. Despite his lower status in our kingdom’s nonsense hierarchy, he was the most alpha man I’d ever met. But he sat back, watching me, listening intently. So I began. “As I understand it, the Scourge stone was broken into six pieces. Each of my parents took one, and so did each of the elder Royals. I assume Joachim still has his. I have Lysander’s, Gorion's, and Pend’s stones.”
“How did you get Pend’s stone?” Damyn asked conversationally, although he couldn't help but sound disapproving already.
“I stole it from Jaik's throne room. I had to work with the situation I had, which meant shadow traveling with Zehr.” A thought struck me. “I didn’t gain my powers until he started to die, as if the magic is leaving his line and coming back to mine…”
Damyn looked at me sharply. I didn’t think he could read my thoughts, but it had just occurred to me that maybe Zehr’s magic was leaving him… to prepare me to be the heir to the Scourge throne.
Or maybe it was merely that we shared a bond that had begun with the Scourge stone, when Lysander and Lerick infused it with power, and that magic was abandoning him now. The thought of Zehr dying pressed like a stone at the back of my throat.
“Can we just pause right there,” Talisyn said, and my heart sank. “Obviously we need to talk about where we're going to find the rest of these stones and our plan and track them down. And I assume, steal them, because that seems to be Honor’s hobby. But I would like to talk about this shadow traveling business.”
“I agree,” Damyn said, surprising absolutely no one.
“Where do those powers come from? Is this something we can all learn to do?”
Tal sounded as if he thought my powers were fascinating, and I exhaled in relief. “I thought you were going to hate me for those powers.”
“No, we could never hate you.” Then Damyn added, half to himself, “Though we could spank your ass for putting yourself in danger ateveryopportunity…”
“Have you and Jaik been talking?” I asked.
“I don't need ideas from Jaik.” Damyn’s deep blue eyes met mine, full of promise. “I have my own ideas.”
My core squeezed, but I tried to focus on the conversation at hand. “I wish it was something we all could do. I think it's part of Zehr and I being tied together, two halves of the spell.”
“I don't like the idea of you being tied to him,” Tal admitted.
“I don't like it either, but we are. And I need him alive to reverse that curse.” I gave them both a stern look. “So no killing him. I know how tempting it is.”
“No killing.” Damyn drummed his fingertips on the table. “But I really just have that one skill set. So what are we doing instead?”
“We have to find my mother’s Scourge stone,” I said. “I was going to try to contact her ghost and see if she has any idea where it is.”
Damyn frowned. “Can I see what this other Scourge stone looked like?”
“Yes. As long as you promise not to murder Zehr in his bed. He's helpless as a kitten right now.”
“Oh, I doubt that very much,” Damyn said.
* * *
I shadow traveledthem both back to Joachim’s old castle. When we all stumbled in the doorway, Damyn’s jaw was set as if he hated shadow traveling, but the next second he saw me looking at him and clapped my shoulder. “Impressive.”
As we walked through the ruins, Talisyn looked aghast at all the damage that had been done to the castle.
“I wonder why predators think so little of prey,” he muttered. “Look at what they did as soon as they had a little freedom.”
