Page 23 of Silver & Smoke
Torj would do no such thing. Not after all Darian had done. He wanted to watch the nobleman suffer. He wanted to—
He jerked back as lightning burst across his arm, the current sharp and insistent, causing him to drop Darian, who fell to the floor on his knees, coughing and spluttering. ‘Like I said,’ he rasped. ‘Reckless.’
Torj’s rage rose anew as Wren helped the nobleman to his feet. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry. I—’
‘You both were,’ Darian interjected, though there was a note of amusement in his voice now. ‘Then again, I should have known better. The Bear Slayer has always had a voracious... appetite.’
‘Enough.’ Torj was struggling to keep up with whatever was unfolding before him. Darian’s only saving grace was that he’d kept them hidden from his father, that he’d known they were there, listening to every damning word, and he’dlet them. But that didn’t absolve him of everything he had done to Torj in the past, or in the present with Wren. ‘What the fuck is going on here?’ he demanded. ‘I’m not leaving until I have answers this time.’
‘I would have thought it obvious, old friend,’ Darian drawled, fixing his doublet and brushing himself off. ‘The future Queen of Delmira and I are working together.’
‘Aftereverythingyou’ve done, after all these years, you expect me to just accept that?’ Torj felt the start of a tremor in his hand as he clenched his fists.
‘No,’ came Wren’s voice at his side, accompanied by a gentletouch on his arm. ‘But I expect you to trust me.’ She held out a scroll. ‘And this.’
Torj took the parchment, but didn’t unfurl it for fear of Wren seeing the trembling in his hand. ‘What is it?’ he asked instead.
‘She’s alive,’ Wren said softly. ‘Your grandmother.’
Torj could only stare at his soul-bonded, her words swinging between them like a pendulum.
Wren’s expression softened. ‘Ever since you mentioned her, I’ve had Kipp investigating what happened to her. I wanted to give you closure, if anything, to know she was now at peace, only...’
‘Only she’s not at peace,’ Darian interjected. ‘Because she is very much alive in this festering pit we call the midrealms.’
CHAPTER 12
Torj
‘The swing of a war hammer speaks volumes more than the silver tongue of a nobleman’
– Bear Slayer, Warsword of Thezmarr
WREN’S HANDS WEREon his face, bringing him back to her as his pounding heart threatened to break through his chest. She forced his gaze to hers. ‘It was how I knew I could trust Darian, Torj,’ she said. ‘He saved her all those years ago. He got her away just in time.’
‘It’s not possible.’ The words spilled from Torj’s lips. For decades he had combed the midrealms for his grandmother before he had given up hope, had mourned her passing as he had his mother’s – in a quiet rage that yearned to set the world ablaze.
Wren drew him to her and pressed a soft kiss against his lips. ‘Talk to Darian.’
Torj lamented the loss of her touch instantly. He’d only just found her again. And there was so much he needed to tell her, so much still to say. As though sensing his turmoil, Wren turned to him when she reached the door.
‘You’ve searched decades for the answers Darian has. You’ve waited long enough. Everything else will still be here when you’re done.’
‘Thea should be waiting for you outside,’ Darian called after her. The sultry, flirty tone he usually used with Wren was completely stripped away. She gave him a nod of acknowledgement before she left.
When they were alone, Torj turned to Darian. ‘Talk fast, Devereux.’
For the first time since he’d returned to Torj’s life, the mask Darian wore so well slid free as he stared into the dying fire, his expression wary. His shoulders caved inwards, and the brightness in his eyes had dulled. It was the look of defeat he’d worn as a boy, whenever he’d had dealings with his father.
‘I did separate you from Grandmother Vara,’ Darian told him. ‘Ididsend her away—’
Torj gripped the back of a chair until the wood started to splinter.
‘But not for the reasons you think,’ Darian continued. ‘She helped my mother escape... and that put her in more danger than you can know. My father knew it was Grandmother Vara who helped her, through the women’s shelter. As soon as my mother was admitted for a broken arm, Vara refused to send her back to Lucian. After what happened to your mother, she swore she’d never bear witness to that kind of violence again.’
Torj remained silent, the image of his own mother beaten to a bloody pulp flashing before his eyes, regret churning in his gut.
‘I got your grandmother and my mother out of Tver before they could be caught,’ Darian explained. ‘My father has hunted them ever since. He’s never stopped looking, never stopped cursing Vara’s name for what she did.’
