Page 16 of An Honored Vow

“Yes.” Feron smiled. “Her blade was said to have speared the heart of manywaateyshirak.”

“They have hearts?” Myrrah crossed her arms. “They look to be made of shadow and smoke more than anything else.”

“They do.” I nodded. “I saw it.”

Riven snapped his head to me, his eyes wide with worry as if the beast was flying over our heads at that very moment.

I ignored him and spoke to Myrrah. “When I was leading it away from the Halflings, I flew under its wing. The shadows move andshift like watery feathers, but underneath is a red light. It pulsed bright red the moment before it attacked.”

“So we spear it through the heart with a blade?” Gerarda tossed her knife into the air and caught it through the hole in its hilt with her ring finger. “Easy enough.”

I scoffed. “Are you volunteering, Gerarda?”

“Scared, Keera?” she replied with a devilish smile.

Riven clenched his armrest.

“You can’t use just any blade.” Vrail sighed and leaned on the table. “Faelin’s sword was blood-bound and so were the other warriors’ fromNiikir’na.”

Feron cleared his throat. “We are not alone,” he whispered. “Come in.”

The wall split immediately with his command. Gwyn and Fyrel stood, the latter’s hand still lifted as if she were about to knock.

Gwyn’s eyes sparkled with delight. “There is a message from the scouts.” She ran a burnt piece of parchment over to me. “Thewaateyshirwas spotted making its nest in the north.”

Feron took no offense as I read the letter instead of him.

I confirmed the message and slid it across the table for the Elders to read for themselves. “Are the Halflings settling in?” I raised a brow at both of them. They’d had orders to stay in Myrelinth.

Fryel’s cheeks burned bright red, but Gwyn grabbed her wrist and shoved the girl behind her. “They were tired and went to sleep in one of the dormitories in the lower city.”

I narrowed my eyes. There was something suspicious in Gwyn’s tone, but I didn’t have the energy to infer what it was. There were more pressing matters at hand.

“Good job, both of you.” I nodded in the direction of the door. “Make sure they have food and clothes waiting for them when they wake. Get the other Shades to help you.”

Fyrel nodded, but Gwyn glanced around the room.

“Now,” I pushed. They stepped back slowly. “I’ll come check on you soon.”

I waited for Feron to close the doors before I turned back to the group. “The spearing is going to have to wait.” I took a deep breath and explained everything that had happened in Silstra. The way my magic had been connected to every living thing in Elverath and the undeniable coldness I felt when Victoria had been killed. “It was too powerful a feeling. I would know if something like that had happened since Elvera.”

Riven turned in his seat, his back straight like he was made of stone. “You think you would have felt it if Nik had died?”

“I know I would have.”

Riven’s eyes were misted with hope. “Can you use it to track him?”

“That had been my plan.” I turned to Feron. “To ask you to train me.”

Feron nodded without hesitation. Then his brows furrowed. “‘Had been’ your plan?”

“Dynara has been planning a ball as part of her ruse to get the courtesans and Halflings out of Cereliath.” I crossed my arms. “Of course, it’s being hosted by the new mistress of the House of Harvest. A celebration in honor of the new king.” My lip curled around Damien’s title. “Dynara is certain that Damien will not attend but send an emissary in his stead. She has already begun pulling strings to make sure it serves us best.”

Riven stilled beside me. “Who does she think will serve as emissary?”

“Kairn.”

“Damien could be expecting a ruse.” Riven shook his head. “He could kill Nik out of spite in the meantime. Kairn might not show. Waiting for a ball is leaving him too long.”

---