Page 120 of Thief of Souls
Keir wants to keep the cauldron safe from those who’d use it for their own misdeeds, but I can’t simply let him have it now. And I wanted to. I wanted to… prove myself true for once.
I have my answer.
And Ihateit.
“Don’t,” Soraya’s voice cuts through me. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t. This is why I didn’t tell you. Because you’ll do something rash—something stupid—in order to save me.”
“I’m not going to do something rash.” My ears are ringing. “I’m going to do exactly what Father wants me to do. I’m going to bring him the horn. And then I’m going to bring him the cauldron.”
And afterward?
I promised myself there would be no war. I promised myself I’d do right by Keir, just this once.
I can steal the cauldron back.
After all, I’m the best thief in the north.
I can fix this. I can fix all of this.
Soraya’s eyes go shiny, and she turns her face away. “It’s almost painful to see how stupid you are. You’re going to get yourself killed. And for what? For me?Why?”
“Because you’re my sister.” My voice roughens. “You’re my only sister. You’re all I have. And maybe I’m stupid to trust you again….” My throat fills thick with unshed tears. “But you’re the one warning me away time and again. I have to believe that means something. I have to believe there’s even a single hint of love left in your heart.”
Her gaze jerks to mine again.
Her jaw works.
But she can’t say it.
All I can see is the impossible pain in her eyes.
“Love will ruin you,” she finally says. “And leave nothing but ashes in its wake.”
“That’s what you always say.” I push to my feet, offering her a hand. “And I don’t care. Now are you going to give me the knife? We need to cut that out of you and get out of here. I have a cauldron to find.”
* * *
The first signwe have company comes when we’re half a mile from the lake.
Gravel rains down over us as we cut through a narrow ravine.
Soraya pales as she looks up. There’s no sign of anyone on the ridgeline above us, but there doesn’t have to be.
When our brother and his seven are hunting someone, they’re rarely seen.
“Why is he here?” she gasps, sweat tracking rivulets through her hair. “What does Father want now?”
I think of the questing beast. “They’ve been there for a few days. The creature knew danger lurked within those caves. They must have scared it off at some stage.”
“What in the Shadow Lands can scare a creature like that away?”
“Ruhle’s face,” I say with a grimace. “Maybe it knew he was the bigger monster.”
Our eyes meet. I managed to cut the arrow out of her chest, and her right arm is strapped to her body, but she’s still losing a lot of blood. Whatever she did to me cost her. And while my feet feel as light as air, I don’t dare try and Sift us both again.
“Run,” she says, shoving me in the back.
She’s right on my heels as we slip and slide down the shale-covered hillside. The forest is crawling with shadows, some of them keeping pace with us.
