Page 134 of Thorns & Fire
‘May I come in?’her former mentor asked.
Wren stepped aside.‘What time is it?’
‘Nearly the third hour,’ Farissa replied as she entered the room, taking in the chaos across every surface.‘I knew you’d be awake.’
When Wren had been Farissa’s apprentice, they had always started their mornings before daybreak.Back then, Wren had found it invigorating, always something new to learn on the horizon.She thought the war had taken that joy from her, but Drevenor, even with all its faults, had given it back.
‘I’d offer you some tea, but I’m afraid it’s gone cold,’ she said, closing the door and turning to face the older woman.
Farissa dismissed this with a wave.Her gaze roamed over the shallow glass dishes of blood, over the mortar and pestle that held the last remnants of the powdered rose leaves.‘You’re ready, then?To present to the masters?’
‘As I’ll ever be,’ Wren told her, palming the grit from her eyes.‘This is not a simple academic body of work, Farissa.The sooner the midrealms has this in their hands, the better it will be for all of us.I need to present it to the masters before the next council meeting.Before...’She trailed off.She couldn’t bring herself to say the words.
‘Before Thea declares she is taking the Delmirian throne?’Farissa finished for her.
‘Yes.’Wren wrung her hands.‘I think it will be...impactfulto announce the counter-alchemy at the same time.And for that to happen, I must pass the presentation.’
Farissa bowed her head.‘Be ready at dusk tomorrow.’
‘Thank you.’
She thought Farissa would leave after that, but instead, the older woman closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around Wren.
Farissa’s body was hard and lean, but her embrace was warm.Wren could count on one hand how many times they had hugged in the decades they’d known one another, but she didn’t break away.
‘I’m proud of you, Elwren,’ Farissa told her quietly.‘You have come so far in this past year alone.You are becoming the alchemist I knew you could be.’
Wren felt her lip quiver, and she didn’t trust herself to speak.Instead, she simply nodded and patted Farissa on the back, at last pulling away.
‘You did the right thing,’ she blurted.‘Denying me a letter of recommendation for all those years.I would have...’She didn’t know what she would or wouldn’t have done, and that was what scared her.‘You did the right thing,’ she said again.
Farissa smiled.‘I know.Get some rest, Elwren.You’re going to need it.’
As the door clicked closed behind her, Wren stared at what countless hours of literal blood, sweat, and tears had produced: three small vials of a brilliant midnight-blue liquid that would either damn them, or save them all.
The adjoining door creaked open.‘You’re finished?’Torj’s voice danced along her very bones.
‘I’m done,’ Wren replied, her voice hoarse.
He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her from behind.‘Does that mean I can take you to bed now?’
Wren laughed, turning around to face him.She studied the silverof his hair, the sharp line of his stubble-covered jaw, the white scar through his dark brow and the smile tugging at his lips.
‘Have you been waiting up all night for me, Bear Slayer?’she asked.
‘I waited years for you, Embers.’Torj brushed a heated kiss to her mouth.‘What was a few more hours?’
CHAPTER 55
Wren
‘No boundary remains between what was once separate and what is now eternal’
– Tethers and Magical Bonds Throughout History
THE MAN BETWEENher legs was a god.
Wren gripped Torj’s hair by the roots as he pinned her thighs open and devoured her.Grabbing the headboard above with her other hand, she writhed beneath his wicked tongue, admiring the way his broad golden shoulders rippled and tensed.
