Page 60 of Fateless

“The boy who took the soulstone from you.” Raithe straightened slowly. “He was your friend.”

“I thought he was,” I whispered. “And maybe, if things had been different...” I bit my lip, remembering Jeran’s last moments, his eyes beseeching mine as Vahn drew the knife across his throat. “I’d known him for years,” I went on. “We grew up together in the guild. I never thought...” I paused, and a tiny, bitter laugh escaped me. “But then I never thought Vahn would sacrifice me to raise the Deathless King, either.”

“I am not Vahn,” Raithe said, very quietly.

I bit my lip.No, you’re not Vahn.But still...“Why does the queen want to see me, Raithe?” I asked. “What does she want with the Fateless?”

His jaw tightened, and he closed his eyes, making my heart sink. “I see,” he murmured, and the warmth between us vanished. “You’re right,” he said in a flat voice. “There are things that I can’t tell you. I suppose that is a good enough reason to hold me in the same regard as the Guildmaster.”

He rose and walked away, leaving me alone on the bench, cursing myself and wishing I hadn’t said anything.

“This is a dangerous game you’re playing, iylvahn.”

I opened my eyes blearily, hearing Kysa’s voice echo behind me at one of the tables. One cot over, Halek dozed on his back with an arm over his eyes, snoring softly. I couldn’t see the othercots without turning my head, and I didn’t want to move and alert the speaker that I was awake.

I heard a heavy sigh that had to be from Raithe. “I know.”

“She is human,” Kysa went on, and though her voice was gentle, it was a warning. “She is young. I will not ask your age, but I assume it is in the hundreds.”

“We don’t look at age in the same way as you humans,” Raithe said. “But yes, you would assume correctly.”

“So why this girl? She is a survivor, yes. She knows how to take care of herself. And at times, she is reluctantly brave. The fight with the abomination proved that. But that does not make a warrior. Or a hero.”

“Because I believe she can be those things,” Raithe said, his voice a little more earnest than before. My stomach clenched and my throat tightened, hearing him speak like that about me. With a faith I didn’t deserve at all. “I can see it in her,” Raithe went on. “Sheisthe Fateless. She just needs to see it herself.” He sighed again, and I could almost see him raking a hand through his silver hair. “I wish I could get her to trust me.”

“She shouldn’t.” Kysa’s voice was brutally pragmatic. “You are an iylvahn assassin who has taken numerous lives for your queen. You are taking her to the city beyond the Maze and you won’t tell her why. Why should she trust you?”

I’m sorry.My eyes went blurry.I do trust you,Raithe, I thought, surprising myself.More than anyone. I’m just... I’m scared. I’m afraid you’ll look at me and realize I’m not the person you thought I was.

Raithe didn’t answer, and after a moment, Kysa’s voice cameagain, low and calm. “Do you care for this girl?” she asked softly.

A long, long pause, and then a quiet sigh. “Yes.”

“Then you should let her go,” Kysa said. Everything inside me writhed itself into a tangled mess and I had to bite my lip to keep a gasp from escaping. “If she truly is Fateless, if she has any hope of surviving what is to come, she cannot have any distractions. She must consider the fate of millions, and how her decisions will affect them all. And there are few things more distracting than falling in love and worrying about the welfare of one individual soul.”

I clenched a fist into the cot. Whatever they were talking about, whatever being Fateless meant, it was not something I wanted any part of. Worse, if Raithe expected me to somehow save everyone from the Deathless King, he was going to be even more disappointed when he realized I couldn’t. Kysa was right; there were few things more distracting—and dangerous—than falling in love. I had no business hoping for anything with a beautiful, pale-eyed iylvahn assassin.

Once more, Raithe was silent, and after a few heartbeats, I heard a scraping sound as someone pushed back their stool and rose. “Demon Hour is almost over,” Kysa said. “I need to saddle Rhyne—he takes twice as long to get ready as your lizards.”

Raithe’s voice was barely audible. “Thank you, Kysa.”

The insect rider paused. “The truth is hard to hear sometimes,” she said, as I swallowed the growing lump in my throat. “But my clan has always valued clarity over sentiment. It would be a disservice to you as a fellow warrior not to extend that same courtesy.”

Halek suddenly gave a snort and rolled over on his cot. With a yawn, he sat up, scrubbing a hand through his hair and making it stand on end. “Aw, man, I was dreaming of the Desert Rose house in Tahveena.” He sighed. “Instead, I wake up in a cave with lizard dung and giant beetles. Ah, well.” He rose, stretching both arms over his head, and looked at Raithe. “I guess we’re ready to go?”

“Nearly.” I heard Raithe rise from his stool. “The dragons need to be saddled before we head out. I believe that’s your job now, Fatechaser.”

Halek groaned. “Dammit, if I ever get the urge to gamble with an iylvahn again, just stab me and save me the misery.” He sighed, scrubbing at his face, then turned his head toward me. Quickly, I shut my eyes so I wouldn’t be caught eavesdropping. “What about Sparrow?”

“Leave her be,” Raithe said quietly. “Her dreams have been nightmarish of late, and the journey is only going to get harder from here. Let her sleep a little longer.”

Halek walked off, grumbling about debts and cheaters under his breath, but I didn’t hear Raithe leave. I kept my eyes closed, and a moment later, I felt a presence by my bedside. I inhaled deeply, both to keep my breaths slow and even and to calm the rapid thumping of my heart, which would surely give me away if he heard it.

“I know your life has been hard,” Raithe whispered. My pulse spiked. Did he know I was awake? But he went on without acknowledging me. “I know you don’t believe you could be Fateless, much lesswantto be Fateless. But... we need you, Sparrow.You don’t understand yet, but you will. Soon.”

My heartbeat quickened. It was a struggle to keep my face neutral, to not respond to what he was saying. Even more so when cool fingertips touched my cheek, gently brushing a strand of hair from my face. Outwardly, I did not respond, though inside it felt like my stomach leaped up and curled itself into a ball.

“Whatever your decision,” Raithe went on, “even if you can’t trust me, I will protect you. I promise.”

---