Page 53 of Claim the Twilight
I’m not sure why I said it, but I shrug anyway. “Well, do I have your word?”
He inclines his head. “You have my word that once you restore my power, I will reveal the secret of stopping Loviator. A method that you will have the power to action.”
The tension in my shoulders ebbs.
His story fits what we surmised. It explains why he is drawn to me, why I haven’t succumbed to the mullo infection, and why, somewhere deep inside, I’ve always felt as if some part of me was missing. The Order helped fill that hole, but still…If it was my power that I was craving, if that power can save me from infection and restore this being to his full potential so he can help us stop Loviator, then that is what we’ll do.
But not without a warning. “You have a deal. I’ll reclaim my power and restore yours, then you’ll tell me how to stop Loviator. But if you cross me…If you try to betray me?—”
“Oh, I know, Mori. I know.”
“My name is Padma.”
“Yes. I suppose it is.”
“And you? What are you and what’s your name?”
He looks down his nose at me and smiles ever so slightly. “My identity is not part of our deal, but I’ll tell you once you’ve kept your end of our bargain.”
A pulse of ice shoots through me.
I cannot. Must not trust this male.
“Padma?” Merry appears by Brimswood gate, her gaze flicking from me to the emerald-eyed entity. “Who’s your friend?”
I look up at the entity. “If you won’t give us your true name, then we’ll have to name you ourselves.”
Merry frowns. “What’s going on?”
“This is?—”
“Harald,” he says. “You can call me Harald.”
“Merry, this is Harald, the teapot entity.”
Merry blinks sharply, her body tensing, ready for action.
“It’s fine.” I shoot a smile her way. “Harald and I have a deal.”
A deal which means I need to speak to Lorenzo to organize passage to the Isle. To a place where I was once known as Moringa Lantana.
Chapter 23
ORINA
Padma returned with Merry and a man I’d never seen before. Tall and broad-shouldered, he was dressed in modern clothing, but his eyes held an age of wisdom, and the air seemed to shift and buzz as he approached.
My questioning gaze locked with Padma’s, and she smiled tightly, coming to stand a few feet away from us, the male close at her back.
She tensed, clearly sensing his proximity, and I got the impression she was uncomfortable.
I took a step toward her on instinct, my intention to pull her away from the man. “Padma, who is this?”
“This is Harald, at least that’s the name he’s chosen to give me.”
“He’s the entity,” Merry said, wide-eyed.
A fresh tension rippled through the air, and our team went into high alert.
