Page 114 of Jeweler to the Blessed
Then, at least in this new cage I willingly entered, I wouldn’t endlessly funnel power to the Blessed.
34
I wish I’d prepared her more. I’m sorry. I didn’t think I could do it without clouding her judgment. So I taught her all I could, hoping she could judge for herself.
— ALARIC SARE’S LETTERS TO ISABELLE ARKOVA
As we returned to the Masquerade, I took slow, deep breaths. They did little to stop my heart from beating through my chest. We were lucky the candle lighting was so dim. I’d tried to set myself to rights on the walk, but I was a mess. Unfortunately, the blood splatter on my gown was the least of my worries.
The prince wasn’t so invested that he wanted to search the grounds for Hart. He handed me off to the first guard he saw.
“Don’t leave her until she’s with the otherone,” he said.
Once the prince’s back was turned, Hart found me, dismissing the temporary guard.
“Ready?” he asked.
Chaos save me. I couldn’t believe they had Alaric. The price to save him, accepting the King’s Blessing, and becoming one of them—becoming everything I hated. Doing everything I didn’t want to do. It wouldn’t just be turning over the gems for the Blessing. I would be making the crown the king commissioned.
I glanced at Hart through my partially clumped lashes. My tears from the king’s study had barely dried. I didn’t hateHart,and he was Blessed. He fought the Blessed from inside their walls. Maybe I could do this.
My thoughts returned to our first trip to the mines. He’d asked me offhandedly if I cared about what happened to a Blessed. At the time, I’d considered it the Blessed’s choice to become what they were—to accept the adamas.
What did I know? How many Blessed were coerced the same way the Glanmores were doing to me?
The thoughts ricocheted in my mind, giving me whiplash. I couldn’t accept adamas. I couldn’t become Blessed.
Icouldandwouldfor Alaric.
Alaric. The task that had him caught was the same as mine. To make my fate worthwhile, I would do what he couldn’t. He strove to free the captive and failed. He wasn’t Blessed. I could only guess he knew about the secret entrance. I hoped its presence hadn’t been revealed in his capture.
Hart would help me complete what Alaric could not. Then, I’d resign myself to life within a cage. I could do what Alysa said: I could accept the adamas and never take. It wasn’t like the king tracked it. It wasn’t like I needed to take to use the magic.
Fleeing had been a beautiful idea, but I wasn’t made forpretty things. I was made to suffer at the pleasure of the Blessed.
I’d do it gladly for Alaric. The man who raised me. The man who ensured I had the support I needed for my livelihood and the love I needed to exist outside it. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for that man.
“Everything alright, Chaos?” His brow furrowed now as he reassessed my appearance. He stepped closer.
I couldn’t tell him here. My skin itched just standing inside the castle walls. I needed to get out of here—away from all of this. If this was my last night of freedom, I would use it well.
Hart said he’d follow me anywhere—I might put that to the test with this. Would he follow if I chose to become what I claimed to hate? Yes, he had chosen to fight from within, but he also knew how I felt about the Blessed. I could tell him he’d opened my eyes to shades of gray with the Blessed. In my mind, they could no longer all be painted with a single stroke.
My spine straightened. We didn’t have time to have this argument here. The captive was waiting.
“Let’s get out of here.”
He searched my gaze. I knew he saw more than I wanted, but he didn’t press.
Though the castle was more than distracted by the delights and debauchery in the ballroom, we decided walking down the front steps wasn’t a great idea. It was better if everyone thought I’d returned to my room.
Hart left me with the night guards, giving me time to change before he waited below my window. My dress was a bit much for our journey through the Oldwood.
Outfitted in trousers, a long-sleeved tunic, and sturdy leather boots, I grabbed my gloves from the table before climbing on the desk and levering myself onto the window’s ledge again.
“What kind of chaos are we unleashing here?” The voice I was only too familiar with said quietly from below.
With everything closing in around me, this felt normal. It felt right. “A wise man told me Eris inspires chaos. She doesn’t cause.” I paused. “Feeling inspired?”
