Page 128 of Soul Forge

“The only things I have left to care about are you and Julian, you know.” He pulled her against him gently, resting his chin on the top of her head. Her eyes widened, her pulse ratcheting up at the confession. “You’ve become so important to me so quickly, El. I don’t want to lose myself if it means I can’t have you in my life anymore. I’ll fight to stay with you.”

His admission made her pause, the words driving home with such force that, for a moment, she was stunned. Gone was the man who scowled at the sight of her, and in his place stood someone who would die for her. Someone who wanted to teach her, to help her grow as a wielder and as a person. Who she was right then, standing on that bridge, was down to him, and that rocked her to her core.

“I hope you do, Sypher.” For the first time, she saw her future with him in it. More than just wielder and Soul Forge. More than a false marriage. He was someone she could no longer be without. “I don’t want to lose you either.”

The three days of travel back to Saeryn were spent in virtual silence, the whole group still reeling from the discovery at the top of the Weeping Mountain. Cerilla and Irileth disappeared as instructed, leaving Elda and Sypher to process everything they’d learned.

The Soul Forge didn’t sleep. When they stopped in Grimgarde, he didn’t even stay inside the walls at night. He spent from sunset to sunrise cutting demons to pieces with the fury of a man possessed. When he ran out of eroni to slaughter, he searched for other beasts to kill farther afield.

In the morning, he returned to his room at Genevieve’s inn to wash off the demon blood, then fetched Gira and started the next leg of their journey. When they stayed in the forest, he spent the night patrolling the trees, tending to the fire, sharpening his new sword – anything to stop himself sleeping.

By the time they reached Saeryn, he was on the verge of collapse. His knees buckled a little when he landed, but he stayed upright when Gira slipped off his back.

Yani and Clover weren’t at the villa, but Lillian was there to greet them. Sypher’s eyes darkened when he spotted her leaning against the doorway leading out to the gardens. Elda laid a hand on his arm, hoping to redirect his attention.

Reiner slid from Atlas' saddle and scowled. “You’re supposed to be out in the city,” she admonished. “Why are you here instead of trying to locate Arden?”

“Where’s my family?” Julian asked.

Lillian shrugged. Her pale blue tresses were arranged in a perfect coronet on her head, her tight armour swapped out for a flowing shift dress and a pair of sandals that laced up to her knees, making it obvious that she hadn’t been out traipsing the streets with the others.

She waved a hand in the air, her nails freshly painted. “Out searching for information on Arden, I assume.”

“Why aren’t you with them?” Gira pressed.

“I prefer to research on my own.”

“So why aren’t you?” Reiner asked through gritted teeth.

Lillian rolled her eyes, and Elda’s panic spiked when she felt Sypher’s forearm go taut beneath her hand. She looked down to see his fist clenched, the leather of his glove straining over his knuckles.

“I was hungry.” The fae set her hands on her hips. “I’ve been out looking for Arden long enough. None of us are coming up with anything useful. I didn’t see the point in pursuing dead ends.”

“Arden could bedead,” Sypher snapped, the words laced with steel. “You should be out there looking for him like the others.”

“Keep your hair on, half-breed,” Lillian muttered.

A vicious growl rumbled through his chest, and in a second, he was across the garden, gripping the fae by the throat. Her eyes bulged, a startled gasp escaping her when her air supply was choked off.

“I have had enough of callous people. I have had enough ofdeath. Give me one good reason why your life is worth more than his,” the Soul Forge demanded, the red in his eyes dangerously close to going out.

“Sypher,” Elda pleaded gently, approaching him and laying a hand on his wrist. “Let her go. You’re hurting her.” He didn’t move. “You don’t want to do this. It’s not who you are.” His fingers relaxed slowly, and Lillian landed on her knees, coughing and spluttering.

Julian and Gira were frozen in shock, staring at Sypher like he’d spontaneously sprouted horns. Reiner looked ready to punch Lillian, her dark eyes flickering between the Soul Forge and the fae.

Elda reached out and touched his cheek hesitantly, forcing him to look at her.

“I can’t be here,” he told her, his brow still furrowed. The fire in his eyes banked low again, and she sensed Vel watching her from their depths.

“Then take me somewhere. We have time before Yani and Clover return,” she suggested carefully. He nodded and turned away, crouching so she could jump onto his back. She was barely seated in the hollow between his wings when he shot upwards, leaving the villa in his dust.

Elda was astonished that he even had the energy to fly with her. His eyes were ringed by dark circles, his shoulders perpetually stooped under the weight of exhaustion. His wings laboured through every stroke, but he flew like an arrow away from Saeryn and out towards the nearby coast. Elda let him travel in silence, waiting for him to break it.

Over the last few days, he’d become volatile. Learning he’d had a family and then losing that family, along with his own life and the rest of his race, had changed him beyond recognition. Shehoped she could be enough to bring him back from the edge of his breakdown.

Eventually, Sypher landed right on the edge of a high cliff that looked out onto the ocean. Seeing the sea for the first time in her life took Elda’s breath away for a moment.

Far below them, waves crashed against the rocks in a steady rhythm, spraying upwards and tainting the air with a tang of salt. The sun glinted off the scaled dorsal fin of a huge creature in the distance, emerald green and followed by a cloud of sea birds she didn’t know the name of. The sound of the ocean was everywhere, washing over her in a calming accompaniment to the cawing of birds and the gentle whoosh of the wind.

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