Page 102 of The Court of Secrets
“Perfect,” I said deadpan. I tried to walk away before he could say anything else, wanting to be anywhere else but there.
“Oh, complete forgiveness over past grievances is expected as part of the treaty. This is, after all, for peace.”
My teeth would have shattered if I kept going. Instead, I rolled my shoulders back, thinking of the kingdom and how much we needed this. “Magaelor forgives you,” I stated, unable to say I did, but…Iwas Magaelor.
I heard him walk away and found myself wiping a tear under the dim light of an oil lamp. I shouldn’t have let him bother me so much. Unlike they believed, I really did understand the casualties of war and how it wasn’t personal, but André was my brother, and I loved him so much. When he died, I felt like a part of me had died. Magaelor had lost a future king, and Florence lost her husband. I couldn’t just overlook his death. It didn’t matter if I had a hundred years, I would never get over it. I didn’twantto hate Rory Evermist, but I did, and it was what it was.
I ambled through corridors until I found Blaise. He was talking with a few of his men but smiled when he saw me. “Are we still not talking?”
He must have noticed my bloodshot eyes. Stupid tears. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my temple, brushing my hair out of my face. “What happened?”
“I can’t forgive him.”
“Who?” He pulled me at arm’s length.
“Rory, Cedric’s brother.”
He sighed. “I shouldn’t have said what I did.”
“You were right, but I don’t care.”
He straightened the crown on his head. A flash of pain crossed his expression, but he hid it quickly. He always did. The Ring felt heavier in my pocket when I looked at him. “Blaise, I have something for you.”
His eyebrows flicked up, mischievousness in his eyes. “Do we need to be alone for it?”
I rolled my eyes. “Not that.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Ring. “The Ring of Immortalem.”
His eyes lit up. He grabbed my hand in his, and I white-knuckled the Ring in the other. “Let’s go.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
“Wait.” I grabbed the sleeve of his tunic and pulled him back until he faced me. “Maybe we should wait, until after we kill the necromancer. I need the Dagger, or Sword. If the mer king takes them…” I shuddered, thinking of the consequences of the necromancer staying alive. “I can’t. I know you’re in pain, and I want to ease it more than you know.”
His expression softened, and I closed my eyes.
“I can’t give them up yet.”
He tilted my chin upward with his thumb, and I peeled back my eyelids to look into his determined gaze. “Love, I was never going to let him take them. We can go. The Sword and Dagger will be easier to use without the curses, and we still have some days before he wants to perform the ritual.”
I sucked air between my teeth. “It is a different ritual than he’ll be expecting.”
“You’re using the dead instead of the living. An ingredient has changed, but not the spell itself.”
I winced when he said ingredient. I could see the internal conflict as he fought against the darker desires of his heart. The curse tugged him in a different direction than where he wanted to go. The pain coursing through him took its toll. I could see it when he thought I wasn’t looking.
“Okay.” I exhaled deeply. “Let’s do this, but if he attempts to take the Objects, I will take the Sword and cut his head off myself.”
Blaise blinked twice. “I don’t doubt it, love.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Frost melted under the sprays of the sea, and water swashed ashore with the rising waves. Against the bright crescent moon, the water was as black as ink, and depthless. The pebbled beach reached to the edge of the water, where we waited for him. Snuggling into my fur coat, I searched for any warmth it had to spare. Blaise didn’t hide his pain this time. It crinkled the skin around his eyes, bursting blood vessels in his eyes. My lips parted, and I wanted to do anything to take away his suffering, but the only cure remained in the four Objects wrapped in cloth, in Blaise’s hand.
“We can’t let him take the Sword or Dagger,” I said again.
“Again, I know.” His voice broke half the way through. He cleared his throat, rubbing the side of his head. “I won’t let him take them. Trust me.”
