Page 31 of An Honored Vow

Riven recoiled back. “Her eyes turned violet?”

“Amber.” I lifted my chin to meet his gaze. “Her eyes turned amber just like her Halfling blood.”

Riven looked down at his own hand. The same thought passed through our minds and we both ignored it.

When he looked up, his jaw was hard and his eyes determined. “Tell me everything.”

So I did. I told him about the panic when I realized that the girls were missing, and Riven grabbed my hand. He grabbed the other as I described the attack of thewaateyshirak. By the time I had finished, his arms were wrapped around me and my cheek was pressed against his chest.

“We worked so hard to get them here.” I sighed into the warmth of Riven’s body. “I know my magic is meant to be a gift, but this …” My voice trailed off. I didn’t even want to imagine the decisions that were to come.

Riven tightened his grip on me. He knew there would be bloodshed too. I leaned into his comfort. The anger was still there, but I had to let it go. At least for the moment. Worry broiled at my throat, and if I didn’t lean on someone, I would drown my anxieties in wine.

Riven’s muscles flexed as if showing he had the strength to help. “What do you need from me?”

I looked up at him. Until that moment, I had been holding the weight of this all on my own. Trusting others still wasn’t habit. But whatever else had happened between us, I knew I could trust Riven with this. And in that moment, that was enough.

“I know I said we can take this day by day, and I meant that.” I pulled back so Riven could see my entire face. “But today I need you to choose me like I chose you. I need an ally in that room. I need to know someone else is there to protect her.”

Riven caressed my bottom lip with his thumb. “Done.” He pressed the gentlest, softest kiss to my forehead. “We only have today. And today I choose you,diizra.”

Those words were enough to slow the hammering inside my chest.

I pulled back and kissed the tip of his nose.

Riven’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “There’s another choice you need me to make?”

I tugged on his collar as I lowered myself to the flats of my feet. “Think of it more as a favor.”

He raised a brow.

“I need you to talk to Syrra.” My jaw pulsed. “I need her to leave the crypt.”

Riven let out a long, cold breath. “She might not go willingly.”

“She must be there.” I fixed my cloak against my shoulder. “I don’t have time to drag her out myself.”

Riven swallowed but nodded. “Which Elders will you ask for support?”

My hand instinctively wrapped around the hilt of my dagger.

“All of them.”

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS FELTsmaller than usual. Sap coursed through the live grain of the walls, and with every pulse, the round edge of the room seemed to get closer and closer.

Riven gave me a nod from where he stood beside Syrra. Her back was as straight as a tree in her chair and her arms bent out at odd angles as if at any moment she would spring forward and run from the room.

I didn’t know how much he had told her. But I felt better having her with us.

Someone knocked on the wall.

The grain split in an instant, curving back wide enough for Gerarda and Elaran to step through. Two hooded figures stood behind them, heads bent low so no one could see their faces under the shadow of the cloth.

Rheih walked in behind them. Her curls were held back with two sticks she seemingly plucked from the forest floor.

“Where were you?” I seethed through my teeth as she took the chair beside me. I had searched for her for hours, but the Mage had been nowhere to be found.

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