Page 89 of Taloned Heart

She supposed that made sense. Lore had to be a little different right now because otherwise she would lose control. She’d lose herself.

Slowly sitting up, she laced her fingers together in her lap. Her spine curved in on herself, as though making herself smaller might somehow make her feel better. She knew it wouldn’t.

“It’s...” Lore struggled to find the words. “I have to be cold about it, Beauty. I cannot make these decisions with my heart or anything else. I have to do the right thing and I have to do it without emotions leading me in one way or another.”

“But why?”

Because she’d end the world. Because she’d tear it apart and laugh as it bled into her mouth.

“Because it’s the right thing to do.” She stared into Beauty’s eyes, willing her friend to see her. “Umbra deserves someone who isn’t making decisions for themselves. It deserves a ruler who can see the good and the bad and somehow bring it all together with a positive attitude and hope.”

“I don’t think that person is you,” Beauty whispered.

“Neither do I.” And for once, they saw eye to eye on something. “But here I am. The most powerful person in the kingdom with a prophecy over my head saying I have to fix this. And I’m doing it whatever way possible because I don’t think I’m the right person for this.”

Beauty bit her lip and nodded. She clapped her hands onto her knees and stood, her troubled gaze on something in the forest. “All right. I’ll take that answer and we can talk more about it later.”

“Is this done between us?” Lore asked, because she damn well hoped it was. “I don’t want to be at odds with you, Beauty. Not because your father is helpful in this or because I need more mortal friends. You mean something to me. You always have.”

Beauty sighed. “Of course this is over. I don’t enjoy fighting with you, Lore.”

“Good. Then maybe we won’t have to fight again for a while, yet.”

The way Beauty’s lips twisted to the side made Lore feel rather silly for even saying it. But then Beauty added, “I’m not the only one who wishes to talk with you today, Lore. Unfortunately, I think you might be in for another argument.”

Lore’s eyes trailed over to where Beauty had been looking, only to see Zephyr standing there. His tall form almost blurred in her memory, turning into that of a shadowy king who had haunted her dreams for far too long now. He looked so much like his brother, it hurt sometimes.

“It’s a talking day, I see,” she muttered before standing. “Apparently, I cannot get away from the lot of you.”

“Unlikely to get away from us now that you’ve saved so many humans.” Beauty did at least clap her on the back, though. A sign that perhaps their argument was well and truly over. “He’ll be nicer than me, though.”

“He always is.”

And wasn’t that the beauty of Zephyr? The reason why so many people loved him and looked up to him even when they did not know him?

Zephyr even had a smile for her as she walked toward him. A smile for the woman who had made his life a nightmare after yanking him out of relative safety where his mother had hidden him. Lore was the reason he’d been tortured for months when she could have come home and saved him earlier. And he’d never once held that over her head.

She didn’t deserve the amount of kindness and love he had in his heart. But then again, who did? Who was good enough to deserve all that?

“Lore,” he said quietly, his bright beaming smile dimming into one of softness. “Do you mind if we talk?”

“Not at all.” She gestured back toward her log, only to pause when he shook his head.

“Not here. I’d rather... I’d rather no one overheard what I have to say, if you don’t mind.”

So it was a very serious conversation then, and one that she wasn’t certain she wanted to have. Lore ducked her head though, tilting it low and nodding for him to walk ahead of her. Mostly because she wanted to see if he could do so. The Ashen Deep had been working hard on the curses, and he was finally making significant progress.

He strode ahead of her like a man who had never been cursed or tortured. His shoulders straight, his spine stiff, his legs strong and powerful once again. Perhaps a little shaky when he had to go over stones, but certainly not enough to make her grab for his arm and help him.

He looked better. A lot better, and very quickly at that.

“You seem more like yourself,” she said as she stepped over another fallen log and into a clearing with him. The moss underneath their feet was less squishy here, and there were more beams of sunlight than she’d expected. It turned the entire area into one of bright emerald colors, with yellow pollen and dust motes floating all around them, catching in the light.

“The Ashen Deep said there’s only one more curse to undo, and that you could have the honors if you’d like.” He swallowed hard. “They said to tell you it’s just one hard tug and that will be the end of it.”

Really? How curious.

Lore frowned at him and extended her power, prodding around his body until she found it. The last one wasn’t tangled like the others had been. The curse wasn’t wrapped around his heart or lungs or even anything important. It was wrapped around his neck, though, and must have been uncomfortable.

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