Page 52 of An Honored Vow

Riven pulled his hood forward and leaned against the wall. In the dim light, the shadows were heavy across his face and body. If I didn’t know his powers were gone, I would have believed that he still had command of the darkness.

I turned my attention to the slab in front of me. Each of Kairn’s limbs were encased in thick roots that wrapped around the base of the slab. I pulled the pendant from my pocket. “Kairn used this to control thewaateyshir.”

Feron frowned. “That isn’t possible.”

“Damien has done impossible things before,” I said with a shrug. “I saw him use it. It pulsed just before the beast arrived, like it was answering the pendant’s call. The beast only fled because I made Kairn use the pendant to send the beast away.”

Feron held the pendant in his palm. “Then this is an invaluable asset.”

I nodded to Gerarda. “Wake him. I want Damien to know he’s lost hold of his secrets and his weapon.”

Gerarda opened the vial. The scent of rotten eggs and brine, more intense than any sea I had ever come across, wafted into the air.

Kairn’s nose twitched and then his eyes opened. One dark gray. One black.

I used my gusts to send the foul odor out of the room, and his amber pupil pulsed.

Or Damien’s, from the way the pupil pulsed brighter and turned in a circle to count the people in the room.

Finally, it landed on me.

I held back a sigh of relief when Kairn’s eyes didn’t lower to my scars. Instead, a vile grin grew over his thin lips. It was haunting and unnatural, like a creature had taken its time to cut Kairn’s flesh from his bones and wear it as a disguise.

“I thought I glimpsed a change in your eyes,” Kairn said in a cool tone that was unmistakably Damien. Even though it was the dirty, scarred face of the Blade that looked up at me, all I could see was the man who had carved the scars into my back.“Niinokwenar,” Damien spat like the word was poison on his tongue. His gaze shifted to something over my shoulder and his smile turned into a scowl. “You’ve put your remaining days into an hourglass, Keera.” He looked back at me. “Or did you think I would let my brother ride you long enough that your filthy womb could sprout a new Fae?” Damien huffed a laugh. “Or birth an army to rival my forces?”

Kairn’s body tried to sit up, but his head barely moved an inch.

Damien noticed Feron standing at the Blade’s feet. “How long do you think it will take, Lord Feron, for my men to burn your forest to the ground and seize the cities my father was too lazy to take from you?”

Feron lifted his chin but did not deign to respond.

Damien huffed another laugh and turned back to me. “Is that your plan, then? You gave up being the kingdom’s Blade to become Feron’s whore?” He turned to Riven. “Do you let him fuck her too, brother? I suppose it needn’t matter who fathers the brute as long as it has purple eyes.”

Something solid smacked Kairn’s jaw. I whipped around to cool Riven’s temper, but he hadn’t moved.

A bloody root sunk back into the ground. Feron took two menacing steps along the slab and squeezed Kairn’s face. “You will not disrespect theniinokwenaragain.”

“Torture this body all you want.” Damien shrugged as best he could against his bindings. “It’s not me who feels the pain.”

Feron’s eyes glowed violet. Kairn’s body shook against the magic as Feron entered his mind. The ancient Fae’s nostrils flared as he rifled through the Blade’s mind, searching for something. Or someone.

Kairn let out a high-pitched scream. Feron’s lips twitched into a momentary smile as Kairn’s body went limp.

Feron let go of him, and his amber pupil was nothing more than a solid, crisp circle. Kairn’s head darted in every direction, taking in the room for the first time.

Feron sat on a stool he’d constructed of roots. “Damien will not bother us again.”

“That seemed unpleasant.” Gerarda crossed her arms.

Feron nodded solemnly. “Mindwalking is a blessing, but like all gifts, it can be sharpened into a powerful weapon when needed.” He tugged at the long sleeves of his robe. “Anyone wanting to access the Blade’s memories with me must touch his bare skin.”

“You’re doing that to me?” Kairn’s voice shook.

“No.” Feron stilled. “How much pain you experience in this process is entirely up to you. A willing participant will feel nothing but warmth. Fight the magic and the more uncomfortable it will become.”

My chest tightened. I was the only one in the room who knew just how uncomfortable it was having Feron walk through one’s memories.

“Or you could just tell us what other uses your pendant has to Damien.” I lifted my brows at Kairn.

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