Page 138 of Jeweler to the Blessed
He sighed. “You can.” The fight fled from him, and his broad shoulders fell like he’d been carrying the weight of thiscity for too long. “But if you want to free the captive while they’re still distracted, you’ll need me. Themis made sure of it.”
“What does that mean?” Themis’s words echoed in my head.She needs the curse. There is Order in an even playing field.
“Your curse matches mine. If you want to use your magic, your emotions will no longer do. You’ll need mine.”
Fucking goddesses.
Something churned in my stomach. I didn’t know where to look, what to do, how to think.
Alaric was gone.
He’d known what Hart was. Why hadn’t he told me? Why hadn’t Alaric told me anything?
Now, I’d never know. I couldn’t think of that.
Hart had used me—shamelessly. My cheeks heated at the thought. I didn’t care if he followed. He was right, but I needed to get out of here. I’d do what Alaric wanted to, what had gotten him captured in the first place. What we’d failed to do last night. I’d free the captive.
Tears sprang to my eyes. It was a moot point now. Rodric had lost his leverage over me. He no longer had a jeweler. I wouldn’t risk it though. Alaric had thought it was important enough to risk. The captive needed to be freed.
I shook my head and started walking. “Do what you want.”
He followed, and for whatever reason, I still didn’t fear him at my back. When I was first deciding whether to trust him, I knew he’d had too many opportunities to kill me and hadn’t taken them. That was still true. He was honest when he said he didn’t want me dead.
“What do you want, Hart?” I paused. “Or should I say Sebastien?”
“Hart was my mother’s surname before she married. Sebastien Hart—the name I gave you wasn’t a lie.”
“It wasn’t the truth either.” I wiped away the past eightdays of not even knowing his real name. It was low on the list of information he’d hidden.
Hart briefly slipped into the tavern before we left through the Eastern Gate. No one stopped us. I had a feeling his nightmare magic had strayed farther than the throne room. The guards seemed too busy putting themselves back together to care about our business.
I tried to swallow my sadness with each step, but tears stung the back of my eyes. Every time I tried to close them, even just for a second, I heard the crack and saw the flail of Alaric’s body as Themis tossed it like a ragdoll across the throne room.
It was a long hike to the foothills.
As we neared The Storm, Hart took the lead, guiding us around the settlement’s edges. The climb steepened, and my thighs burned as we pushed toward our goal.
The hardest part of the hike was knowing we’d be on a steep decline as soon as we entered the mines. I was not looking forward to that or the return trip.
A thick copse of trees covered the overgrown entrance. Hart gave me a sidelong look, and I thought maybe he was waiting for me to change my mind. I wouldn’t.
Everything had changed, but this remained. Alaric wanted the captive free. With Alaric gone, I had no reason to submit to the Glanmores. I’d take their adamas supply and run.
Pushing through the leaves and branches, we finally entered the mines. My thighs shook as I learned the descent was steeper than the main entrance and just as slippery.
The mines were closed today, the one day of the year that the workers were given off. Instead, they would gather on Cross Street in a few hours to celebrate the newly Selected.
We made our way to the door to the adamas chamber. Two guards remained at attention there. I was sure the royal familyhad increased the protections on the room after Alaric’s attempted liberation.
Hart’s blade was in his hand, and the guards were dispatched in moments. The only sounds were their bodies hitting the ground as Hart dropped them. I exited the tunnel we’d descended, waiting for Hart to break the lock.
“You have to open this,” he said, pointing to the chamber door.
“Can’t you? You’ve taken more than enough.”
He shook his head.
He had to be lying, but I could see an unwavering resolution in his gaze. His answers after using his power in the mine cave-in made so much more sense. He said he’d take without consent to keep me safe—to protect the source of his power.
