Page 4 of Oath-Maker

I ignored it and kept healing him. “I’m worried for you, Lucius. Light sicknesswillkill you if we don’t find a cure.”

Lucius’s fingers wrapped around my wrist. I turned to him. “You know as well as I do that if a cure existed that demons knew about, I’d have taken it by now.”

Lucius was right. As a demon king, Lucius would’ve had it stockpiled. An apothecary in Alastia would’ve had it in storage. If a cure existed within this city’s walls, it’d be in Lucius’s hands right now. But there was no cure. Not that anyone in Alastia knew of, and none that I or the other paladins were aware of, either.

Tears I’d been holding back finally stung my eyes. My magic faltered at my fingertips. Lucius gingerly took both of my hands in his and kissed the backs of them.

“I can’t lose you,” I whispered as tears slipped down my cheeks. “Gods, it’s so stupid. A week ago, I hated you. Now…” Now so much had changed.Everythinghad changed. And maybe this love was new, maybe the mate bond made our feelings stronger than they would have otherwise been, but this gut-deep wrenching at the thought of a world without Lucius in it—when he’d been a constant in one way or another for so long—was very, undeniably real.

I loved Lucius. And it felt like my very heart would burst from the realization of that in equal parts joy and desperation—because if we didn’t save him, if we didn’t magically find a cure that didn’t exist, he’d be dead. Gone.

I wasn’t ready for that. I wouldneverbe ready for that.

Lucius kissed my hands again. His were cold and shaky. From the corner of my vision, I watched the streaks of light sickness glow on his bare chest. “It’s not stupid, Ayla.” He lifted a hand to wipe my tears away.

“I’m going to find a way.” I’d already made that resolution. Even if there was no cure, there had to be a way to alleviate Lucius’s suffering. To prolong his life. Maybe the Order had a way, but that also meant hoping there were paladins left who hadn’t been swayed to Fallen. To evil. “I will heal you, and we will get to have our lives together.”

“We’ll at least be bound together in the eyes of the court,” Lucius said. “And we’ll have time beyond that. You will save Alastia and its people.”

I pulled Lucius’s hands from my face and held them. “Wewill. I agreed to the handfast. Please meet me halfway and stop saying only I will do all of these things. Because we both will. Together.”

For as long as we had. I’d left that part unsaid. Ihadto leave it unsaid.

Lucius nodded, his eyes still dark, but resignation rose in his expression. “Together. Now please, go with Commander Garnet. See to the preparations. A handfasting in front of the court followed by a coronation.Today, Ayla. Please.”

I kissed his forehead. “I will. Rest in the meantime.”

Lucius held a hand to my cheek and brought his lips to mine. The kiss held as much emotion and fire as he could muster right now, but it was nothing compared to how he’d claimed my mouth in the past. It made me wonder if Lucius was even strong enough to attend the coronation. If he’d make it through the day when just last night, we’d thought he had a few days.

My gut twisted. There was no time to waste.

CHAPTER3

Ispent the next thirty minutes pacing my quarters. I’d been assigned this room as a prisoner. But between attempting to escape not two nights ago and finally giving into the fated mate bond between Lucius and me, this space was starting to feel more like a jail cell than it ever had before. As of yesterday, when Commander Garnet had championed me to Lucius’s court in their king’s stead, I’d had full access to Alastia’s palace. But here I was, pacing and trapped by racing thoughts of the only paths a future could take: short and full of war, or long and without Lucius.

I rubbed vicious circles against my temples. Even now, Garnet and the court were preparing for a handfasting and coronation. Nesta, the woman whom Lucius had once assigned to attend to me, was somewhere collecting a dress befitting of both occasions. The last four days had seemed like a such a storm of chaos—from Jessa’s capture to the fight yesterday for Alastia—and all I wanted to do was sleep beside a healthy Lucius.

Was that too much to ask?

Apparently so.

The door to my quarters opened. Jessa and Ian filed through, both in their paladin Kevlar armor with celestial swords strapped to their hips, although not activated with glowing radiant magic. The armor wasn’t necessary within Alastia’s walls—or at least, it hadn’t been until this morning when the Guardian had shown up inside not only the city walls, but Lucius’s chambers. I’d figured Jessa and Ian had worn the armor out of an abundance of caution when being surrounded by thousands of demons. But maybe they were right to be cautious now.

Jessa rushed forward and wrapped me in a hug. Her curly, jet-black hair fell over her deep-blue eyes. She was thin and small even in the armor, but I knew the strength she possessed. She was a fighter through and through. “We heard about the Guardian appearing to you and Lucius.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line as I made eye contact with Ian. “I guess word travels fast within the palace walls.”

He nodded gravely. I wasn’t sure I hadn’t seen Ian’s serious expression change once since Jessa had been taken four days ago. His deep-brown eyes held immense weight—a burden I understood. When I’d been kept here, he’d taken lead of the Order. Only now the Order had been sworn to the Fallen, evil celestials.

“It does,” Ian said before a cringe worked its way across his lips. “You’re going to be handfast to him so soon?”

My stomach sank. Word reallydidmove quickly. “Yes. I’d like for you and Jessa to both be there. Maybe the other paladins here, too. Lucius wanted just the court present, but I’d like for our people to be represented.”

Jessa’s hand slipped into mine. I squeezed it. “It’s okay to say you need our support, too, you know.” She gave me a small smile, which I returned.

Ian’s expression remained stoic.

“I know you don’t particularly like Lucius,” I said to Ian. “But he’s a good man. There’s been a lot of misplaced mistrust between our people.”

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