Page 94 of Jeweler to the Blessed
“What?”
He pushed back the strands of hair that had fallen from his knot. “You don’t strike me as someone who believes inprophecy, even as it unfolds before you. But I believe, as Alaric does, that some of what’s written here is history, and the rest is foretold about the Cursed King and Eris’s Champion.”
He did sound like Alaric. But still, the way he glanced at me, it made me want to ask questions I’d never bothered to ask my uncle. “Foretold by whom?”
It was unclear why that was important, but the slight smoothing of his brow as he leveled his gaze to meet mine told me I was on the right track with my question.
“A talented seer.”
That didn’t really answer my question. I also wasn’t sure his assessment of me was right anymore. Previously, I was on the fence about the book holding true prophecy, but I had to admit that seeing the Cursed King’s nightmare magic in action had certainly been convincing.
I knew his collection was rare, but this seemed extreme. “Why would Alaric have the only copy in existence?” I asked.
“I wondered the same thing, but over time, I was sure he had it.” He tilted his head. “When I first met you, I wondered if that’s why he protected you. Maybe you were the author.”
I shook my head.
Another face popped into place. The same blond hair that made mine and Alaric’s familial bond all but obvious, though hers was now gray. Mother’s ramblings that somehow made perfect sense. Her comment about my guard. The things she couldn’t know. Before her accident, had she been this seer? It was a leap, but knowing everything Alaric had kept from me, it no longer seemed like a big one.
Hart didn’t question any evidence of the revelation on my face. I wondered if he’d made the same assessment once he’d decided it wasn’t me. Alaric’s note slipped into his fingers as he opened the frontcover.
His gaze skimmed the short note. “Do you still want to leave?”
He hadn’t asked so directly yesterday. After our trip to Alysa’s, he’d spoken of options, making sure I was aware of them, but he hadn’t asked what I’d pick.
“I’m not sure.”
“Alaric spent years collecting stories that showed what Kavios could be. He never accepted its current state. Never stopped fighting from the inside,” Hart said.
“But he still left,” I whispered.
“So he did.”
Hart set the book down and closed the storage room door. With long strides, he crossed the room to where I leaned against Alaric’s workbench. My fingers gripped the wood as he neared.
“He didn’t leave because he gave up. You know that, don’t you?” He held my gaze. “He left because he had hope. He wanted to show you how things could be.”
I tilted my head. That was oddly specific. “You said you didn’t know where he went.”
“I don’t know where he is, but that note also says ‘ifI’m not here.’It doesn’t sound like he intended to be gone for so long.”
I was shaking now. “Then why is he not here? Why did he leave me to become the one thing he kept me from? Why didn’t he tell me anything about you?”
He lifted a hand like he’d reach for me, but at the last second, he instead ran it through his hair like he wanted to rip out every strand. “He’d want you to focus on what you wanted to ask as soon as we entered the shop.”
“You know who is in the adamas cavern?”
Hart’s gaze was piercing, but he gave a brief nod.
“Who is it?”
The shift of his gaze told me I wouldn’t get a straightanswer before his mouth opened. “That’s not really the most important question.”
I hated that I agreed with him. The fact that I would free them was all that seemed to matter to me.
“Did you try using magic to open the door to the adamas cavern the first time we were there?”
He shook his head.
