Page 70 of Taloned Heart

Zephyr frowned at her. “I’m telling you, Lore, this isn’t your fault. And if anyone can tell you that, it’s me. I’m the one who spent most of the past year locked up in a dungeon while elves tried to tear me down from the outside in. If it was your fault, don’t you think I would hate you?”

“I think you are the most forgiving person I’ve ever met in my life. You look at the evil in someone and you see it as redeemable.” Lore swallowed hard, trying to talk over that damned lump in her throat. “You make me so proud to know you, but also terrified to even think for a moment that I let you down.”

“You didn’t.”

“I did. I should have been there, done something more. Even Beauty believes that, and she’s like you. So forgiving it’s almost a fault.”

Zephyr tsked and turned his attention back to the fire. “Beauty can forgive anyone who doesn’t cause me pain. But her blame is misguided and I’ve talked with her about that.”

“It will take more than just talk to make her forgive me.” Lore had felt the rift between them growing wider.

Beauty was still angry that she hadn’t saved Zephyr fast enough. Then she was angry that Lore hadn’t healed him immediately and without question. Though it made her heart hurt, it still was the right thing to do. Lore knew that the Ashen Deep were more talented at healing than she was, and knowing that he was cursed? She was very right to have brought him here.

Lore could have made him explode by pulling the wrong thread of a curse. Or killed him if she had tried to heal his wounds without realizing the curses were there.

Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Zephyr reached for her, his hand held out for her to take. And when she slipped her fingers into his, she felt a terrible knot release in her chest.

“I forgive you,” he said, his eyes still on the flames. “And I thank you for saving me. That’s enough. No more blaming yourself for what happened or trying to say that you will fix what happened to me. Just keep moving forward, Lore.”

She squeezed his fingers in hers and took a deep, steadying breath. Then nodded. “All right.”

“Good.”

“The Matriarch wants me to go speak with Margaret in person.”

His fingers spasmed in hers before he controlled his reaction. “Why does she want you to do that?”

“No one knows what Margaret’s actual plan is. We’re all guessing at what she wants, why she’s doing this, what she’s going to do next. The Matriarch thinks I might either figure it out myself, or have her admit it to me.”

Zephyr let out a long, low whistle. “It’s a risk and a half to take. If she knows you’re here, then everything changes.”

“She already knows.”

“Because of me?”

Lore nodded. “The Matriarch thinks that was enough of a reason for Margaret to suspect, not to mention all the charred bodies. Beauty and her father might have planned that to make it look like we’re back, but then Margaret was probably already watching them. She might have known I was here since the first moment I hit land.”

“Then why hasn’t she done anything yet?”

Rolling the question over in her mind, Lore tried to put herself in the other elf’s shoes. And the Darkveil elf was one she knew well enough. “Because she’s waiting for me to come to her.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Margaret doesn’t know how strong I’ve gotten. Or if my magic is capable of what all the prophecies say it is capable of. She wants to see her enemy for herself before she makes any more moves.”

Again, the silence between them stretched thin. Then Zephyr said, “Like chess.”

“Precisely.”

“She’s trying to survey the moves you make so she can guess your end game.”

Lore nodded and smacked her lips together. “Yup.”

“So, how are you going to prevent her from doing that?”

“Fuck, I don’t have a plan that goes that far.” Rolling her head to look at him again, she grinned. “I’m not a real goddess, you know. I can’t see the future and I don’t know the right choice here. Abraxas and I escaped to get high on elfweed yesterday. We’re not the most responsible people to save an entire kingdom.”

His eyes widened, and then his mouth split into a grin as he burst into laughter. “You got high yesterday? And you didn’t invite me?”

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