Page 64 of Bound By Darkness

“Laias isn’t under Hywell’s immediate control,” Fin answered. “They seceded from his political agenda years ago. They pay the taxonlyto keep its citizens safe, but Hywell is growing impatient.”

“That’s—”

“Awful?” Fin picked at a patch of dirt on his arm. “If it weren’t to keep Laias safe and operating, I’d tell them to stop paying.”

“It would be a final declaration against Armas,” Ivan added. “Laias doesn’t have enough resources to take on an army of their size.”

“What about those who can’t pay? Do they send them away when they seek refuge?” Laias wasn’t involved with Hywell? They weren’t fueling this war?

Fin bit his lip, eyes scanning the forest as if someonewould hear before he whispered, “There are rumors the guards pay the fee for any refugee who cannot as a token from the King and Queen of Laias.”

“Hush,” Ivan snapped, his head whipping around the empty forest. “These oak are not foreign to spies, especially as we draw closer to Laias’ border.”

The conversation ended like a leaf blowing in the wind as Fin nodded. Seeing Fin listen to Ivan was strange, and it made my heart race. Whatever we’d discussed bordered on dangerous, and I wanted no part of it.

“So,” I drawled, my hands sweeping the hair over my neck to expose the skin beneath. “How much further until we reach the border?”

“Not much.” Ivan pointed to the path ahead as it split into two. “Once we take the path on the left, we’ll follow it until we see the gates. You should still be able to spot the castle from behind them.”

Curiosity bit me again as I opened my mouth. “What does the castle look like? My father often came here and told grand stories when he would return home.”

“Oh, it’s better,” Fin beamed. “It’s made of thin sheets of glass which reflect the light from the sky. It shimmers like shards of starlight, especially at night and midday. They say the Mother herself blessed the castle before the curse flooded the land. The last real jewel of Cethales.”

Maybe my father had been telling the truth when he said he’d visited the most dazzling place in Cethales, and perhaps why he spent so much of his time here, away from his family… away from me.

“It even rests by the se?—“

Fin stopped.

A rough cough escaped his mouth as a trickle of red spilled from his lips. His eyes grew distant, hazy as they swiveled to me.

He coughed again, liquid spewing in fat droplets against his shirt and pants.

“Shouldn’t be there,” he rasped, more of it flowing from his lips.

Red liquid.

The air smelled of copper as blood gurgled from his throat. A scent I knew too well as my eyes trailed down to find the source of the pungent smell.

An arrow protruded from his side, his fingers wrapping around the wood.

Blood.

So much blood spilled from the wound, a dark stain against the light-colored shirt he had picked this morning.

It coated the wooden arrow and his fingers as it spilled onto the saddle.

His eyes grew heavy as his wheezing filled my ears?—

His body toppled over Beau, smacking into the dirt with a jolting thud.

“Fin!” I yelled, my eyes widening. “Fin!”

Chapter 19

Blue Veins

MORIA

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