Page 59 of Curse of Thorns
“I need boots,” I say, turning back and looking through the near-empty storage container like I’ll find something new where there obviously isn’t anything.
“Why would you need boots?” His voice is strained, almost like he already knows the answer and he’s just hoping he’s wrong.
I pause and have a few calming breaths before I face them.
“Rev’s father set him up.”
“What?” Ty and Kari say at the same time.
“He’s working with...” My eyes flit to Kari and back to Ty. I’ve told her a lot, but I won’t trust her with that information. Even Tyadin knows very little. “Someone really bad. And they’ve set a trap for him. They’re going to kill him there. He won’t ever come back... unless.”
“Unless what?” Ty says, stepping forward. He reaches out and grabs my upper arm tightly, his eyes sharp, grasping mine. “Whatever it is, you can’t stop it.”
“Don’t say that,” I spit. “You don’t know what I can do.”
“It’s too late,” he whispers. “He’ll be well into the Schorchedlands before you reach him. You can’t stop him from entering...”
“I wasn’t planning to stop him. I’m planning to save him.”
“You’re going to enter the Schorchedlands after him?” Kari whispers, pity clear in her eyes, followed by judgment. “In adress.”
“I was looking for other clothes,” I say defensively.
She shakes her head. “You need more than boots. You need real supplies.”
Ty spins on Kari. “You’re NOT encouraging this.”
Kari purses her lips. “I’m just saying that if...”
“No!” Tyadin roars. “No ifs! Caelynn,” he turns on me, fury and pain in his eyes, “if you enter now only one of you can leave.”
My stomach twists. “Yes,” I whisper.
“You’re committing suicide.”
“No.”
“Yes, that’s what you’re doing. Because you’re headed there to save him. And if you succeed, you’ll never be able to leave. Ever.”
I bite my lip. “You act as if that’s a problem.”
His hand flies at me, and I flinch, expecting a fist, but his open palm presses against my chest until my back slams against the carriage. “No!” he roars at me. “You matter, Caelynn. I will not let you throw your life away like it doesn’t matter!”
“What’s the alternative, Ty?” I yell back. His hand still presses against my chest, suppressing a breath, but no part of me feels threatened. “If he lives, I’m banished to the human world. Is it really so different than being banished to the Schorchedlands?”
“Yes! In the human world, you can have a life! You can find happiness.”
I shake my head, tears falling freely now. “Everything—EVERYTHING—was for Rev. Every sacrifice I ever made. Every terrible thing I did. Every choice. It was all for him. If he dies—it was all for nothing. If the Night Bringer gets to him now, then he won.” My lips curl into a snarl, anger, and magic clenching inside of me. “I will not let him win!” I yell.
Kari gasps, eyes wide, but she doesn’t respond. What does she know of the Night Bringer? I’d never heard of him before he forced me into a bargain, but I’m wondering if his legend isn’t as obscure as I’d once thought. Is he well known among the ruling courts? Are there legends I’d never heard of?
“If Rev dies, I go into the Schorchedlands anyway. If I go now, we can fight together and increase our chances of defeating an enemy that I know firsthand is near impossible to defeat. We need to be together, or you can guarantee you lose us both. Even if I go now and Rev survives, then I simply traded one form of banishment for another.”
The pressure on my chest lessens, but Ty doesn’t pull his hand back. Tears well in his eyes. “I can’t let you do this.”
I curl my fingers around the hand over my heart and squeeze. “I love you too, Ty.” I give him a sad smile. “But I have to do it.”
He closes his eyes and shakes his head softly, his shoulders sag in defeat.
