Page 50 of Between Fear and Favor

Leaning down to kiss me, she smiled against my lips. I knew these moments would continue to be few and far between in our days to come, so I relished them.

“She fell from the tower a week later.DuringZaphus’ visit, when Soren escorted him to the capital.”

“The Supreme was here when she jumped?” I asked, pulling back from her with widened eyes. Part of me had wanted to start referring to the Supreme by his given name, undermining the title he’d been given, but old habits were hard to break.

“I think he was the one who pushed her. Or, at least, goaded her into jumping,” she said.

I blinked, shaking my head. “And what made you come to this conclusion?” We’d barely had any time to think about the letters we’d found while researching the prophecy. And researching each other upon my throne, I supposed.

“Think about it. She was with child, Rain. She was eager for Soren to return, but the baby might not have been your father’s.”

“You think it was the Supreme’s child?” I asked, shocked by the idea.

“No.” She frowned at me. “Tannyl.”

“Oh. Yes. My mother said it could have been either of them. But what does that have to do with the Supreme?”

She began to pace, and I fought the urge to do the same. Her mind was moving far faster than mine was capable of at the moment, but it was fascinating to watch.

“The Supreme disapproved of Tannyl. And the Myriad was notorious for disliking the elves. Zaphus and Larke werefriends. What if he said something to her? Something that set her off the edge?”

“Tannyl died, though. That’s why she did it.”

“Then maybe the Supreme had something to do with his death.” She shook her head. “Him being involved is too much of a coincidence to me.”

“Let’s say you’re right, Em,” I began.

“Don’t patronize me,” she snapped, dropping her posture and making her round hip pop outward. Arms crossed over her chest, the attitude emanating from her placed me back in time by about sixteen years.

“I’m not patronizing. I just don’t understand what that has to do with him being the bane of Vesta. I assume that’s what you’re getting at? I’m not saying you’re wrong. If anyone is the fucking bane, I’m sure it’s him. But I’m just trying to follow.”

“What happened after she died, Rain?”

I stared at her. “The Great War.”

She nodded, confidence growing as I came to understand what she was getting at. “I mean, if you want to split hairs, there was only that brief lull from the fighting when they were married, but after she died?—”

“After she died, Folterra and Vesta were at odds again—worse than ever before. Peace was only a dream after that.”

“Cyran seemed to think the favor probably required the summoner’s bane, considering what Declan had been attempting,” she started, wetting her lips. “Considering Declan probably stole my sister’s gods damned skull because he thought she was the Beloved—his bane. Gods, did Dryul take her blood when she died?”

The man hadn’t gotten close enough to Lucia to take her blood, but Em had a point about the bones. Rocking back and forth slightly, with a faraway look, I knew what she was about to say.

“Em, I don’t?—”

“We need the Supreme’s bones.”

The beach was cold.A breeze slammed into me, and my teeth began chattering.

“Where are we?” Em asked, grasping my hand. I jumped, not realizing she was here with me.

“Cyran, you think?”

“He wouldn’t be able to reach us. Thyra and Shivani didn’t let anything fall through the cracks when they warded Crown Cottage. If it’s him, he would have had to leave, and I really hope he’s not that dumb.”

Em wore the nightgown she fell asleep in, but I wore something unrecognizable. A loose fitting tunic, and trousers that went to mid-shin. It was like something a child would wear.

“Did you pull us into a dream together?” I asked, not sure how she could have managed it without trying, but the hard cocoon of shadows I’d had to wake her from was all I could think of.

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