Page 159 of Thorns & Fire
The sky turned blood red as Torj passed beneath the garden gates.He realized his hands were trembling.Whatever awaited him now, he both dreaded and desperately neededanswers.
The rolling hills so full of wildflowers somehow seemed empty, like the cavernous space inside his chest, hollow and aching.
He had broken her heart here.Now she was doing the same to him.
A heart for a heart.
He supposed there was a brutal sense of justice in that.
And so he kept his vow.He waited.
Torj felt her before he saw her.A song calling out to him, the melody his soul knew.Wren was still wearing the gold dress as she approached, the same shade as the bond between them.
‘You came,’ she said softly.
He tried to swallow the lump in his throat.‘I gave you my word.’
‘You did.And there’s nothing I wouldn’t give for you,’ she told him fiercely, her gaze full of fire.‘Nothing.’
But Torj’s eyes fell to the large jewel now adorning her fourth finger, recognizing it instantly: the late Lady Devereux’s engagement ring.‘Then...what have you done?Did you ask me here for a morbid farewell?’His voice was hoarse, broken.
‘No.’Wren’s expression was steely.‘I told you I would never say goodbye.’
Torj stared at her.‘Then what, Wren?What reason could you possibly have for choosinghim?For doing this?’
‘It was the only way to save you,’ she said.‘And I know that’s something you can understand, becauseyoumade the same choice not all that long ago.’
‘Wren...What are you talking about?’
Her mask of composure slipped for a moment, and she took his hands in hers.‘You have beenpoisoned, my Bear Slayer.Thatis what Lucian Devereux told me in the archives.You were targeted when you rescued Queen Reyna.’
‘What?’Torj started.‘You can’t believe a word that bastard says.He’s lying.’
She shook her head sadly.‘He’s not.I tested your blood for toxins myself.’
‘When?’he demanded, incredulous.
‘After he told me.I had your blood under my fingernails from when we...it doesn’t matter.It’s the truth.You need to trust me on that.Please.’
The desperate note in her voice stopped him from protesting.Instead, Torj tried to think about it rationally.‘If that’s the case, you’ve created the cure.You saved Reyna.Why can’t you use that potion on me?’
‘This is a different poison entirely.’Wren’s voice wavered.‘Whatever it’s made of, it was designed specifically for you.’
Torj thought back to the queen’s rescue...he remembered the chaos of the vapour, and the blue-grey smoke billowing from the broken vial beneath the enemy’s boot.Searching his memory for more detail, he jolted.The darts.He’d shielded Reyna with his own body.He’d barely felt the things prick his skin...and with everything else going on, he’d thought no more of it.‘But I feel fine...’he told Wren, the blurry images still flashing in his mind, as though they had happened to someone else.‘That was months ago now.Surely I’d have some sort of reaction or symptoms if it were true?’
Wren squeezed his hands.‘It’s been in your blood ever since.Perhaps it was even dormant for a time, but it’s a slow-release toxin and eventually...it will kill you.But I’m not going to let that happen.’
Torj shook his head in disbelief, his mind reeling.‘How does Lucian know?And what’s his role in all of this?’
‘He has spies in the People’s Vanguard who report back to him,’ Wren answered.‘And Lucian wants what all men like him want: power.He thinks that by marrying his son into the Embervale family, he will gain more than he has ever had before.A storm-wielding daughter-in-law, storm-wielding grandchildren – not to mention access to the newly discovered prosperity Delmira now offers.He wants it all, and he’s using you to force my hand.’
Torj’s gut twisted as though a knife were embedded there.
Wren linked her fingers through his, stroking his callused skin with her thumb.‘Lucian thinks I’m caving to his will, that he has me over a barrel, but the engagement to Darian buys ustime– time to find an antidote and more resources to defend Delmira.’
A hollow laugh bubbled from his lips.‘How did we fucking get here?Darian, Wren?’
‘It’s part of a much bigger plan.And it had to look believable,’ she said softly.‘Everyone knew we were together, Torj.We might have hidden the soul bond, but our love?There was no denying that, and so the end of us...it had to be public, and your reaction had to be genuine.All the powerful figures had to see it for themselves.They needed to be convinced that we are over, and that my engagement to Darian is genuine.’
