Page 290 of Lady of Starfire

It took another few excruciatingly long minutes, but Eliza sucked in a breath when the mist began to lessen. The peaks of the Nightmist Mountains far off in the distance began to take shape, and then Cethin was standing there.

Razik was passing Kailia to him as quickly as Sorin had dropped to Scarlett’s side.

“All is well, Tiny Fiend,” the king murmured into Kailia’s hair, and a small sob escaped from her. Razik clapped Cethin on the shoulder, the two of them exchanging looks of relief before Cethin turned to Scarlett, taking Kailia with him.

“You are free?” Scarlett asked, lifting her head from Sorin’s chest to look at her brother. Her hand was pressed to Sorin’s forearm, taking power from him to ease some of the strain of giving so much.

“We’re all free, Scarlett,” Cethin said, lowering to his knees before his sister. “Because of you, the Fae? Avonleya? The realm? We are all free.”

* * *

She turned the page in her book as she sat snuggled on the sofa before the fire in the cave. They had Callan and Tava’s coronations to attend tomorrow. Hale’s and Drake’s had already happened over the past week. One more day of celebration, and then they could all take a nice long break.

Razik was reading his own book beside her. One she couldn’t read, of course. He promised to teach her more once things settled down, but it still bothered her she couldn’t read most of the books here. Or in his study at the Greybane Estate. Or in his rooms at the Aimonway Castle.

“You are restless,” Razik commented, turning the page of his book.

“I am not.”

“You are.”

She huffed a sigh, snapping her book closed. “What are you reading?”

“A book on runes and Marks.”

She hummed something in response before she got to her feet and made her way to the small kitchen. Opening the icebox, she found some dried meat and grapes. When she turned back around, he was leaning against the counter. Shirtless. Obviously.

“What?” she demanded, setting the food on the counter.

“I have been searching for days trying to figure out how Balam transferred that life bond. It should not be possible.”

She gave him an incredulous look. “You are still on this, Raz? Does it matter? It worked.”

“But at what cost?”

“That seems pretty obvious,” she answered, popping a grape into her mouth. “His life was the cost.”

He made a noise of contemplation. “Maybe, but I came across something else.”

“Okay…?”

“If there was a way to remove that Mark atop your heart, would you want to pursue it?”

The grape she was about to eat dropped from her fingers, rolling across the ground. “We had an agreement not to talk about this again. Ever.”

“I never actually agreed to that.”

“We arenotdiscussing it, Raz.”

“Eliza—”

“No.”

Then he was sweeping her off her feet and setting her on the counter, caging her between his arms. He brought his brow to hers, his voice low, as he said, “Hear me out,mai dragocen. After that, if you never wish to speak of this again, I will agree.”

Her lips pursed. “Fine.”

“There are other worlds out there. Worlds these books came from. Worlds more advanced than our own. There is a chance that someone out there knows how to remove this curse, Eliza.”

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