Page 33 of Of Blood & Stone

The warrior retained his focus on his task, the blade glowing as the liquid traveled the groove.

“We aren’t just fucking, if that’s where your concerns lie.”

“If you think that’s my concern, then you’re missing the point entirely.”

“Suppose bigotry isn’t dead.”

“Bigotry?” Elnok exclaimed, “My brother’s a psychotic madman who tried tokillme when I was a child, andyouare in love with him.”

Kharis took a deep breath as he sealed the vial and swung his blade in a full arc.

“He didn’t try to kill you, Elnok. He wasn’t in his right mind.”

“Ah yes,” Elnok said, standing, “Let’s pretend Tosh’s apologies actually mean something for once, hm? Do you know how many times he told me the same thing? And then the next day he forgot every word and tortured me until I passed out.”

“Look, I know this a lot for you, and that’s why…” Kharis let out a controlled breath. “You weren’t supposed to know.”

“Well, you did a piss-poor job hiding it. I should’ve seen it the other day, when he’d threatened me. You came out of his cabin where you’d probably been inciting his madness.” Elnok steppedback, hand on his hilt. “Are you taking me into the forest to dispose of me… for my brother?”

“Elnok—”

“Fuck,” he whispered, heart pounding and blood pumping. The gray stone walls of the dungeon closed in on him again, his brother’s laughter echoing off the empty space. “Fuck.”

Kharis turned to him, grabbing his shoulders as his eyes flickered with a yellow glow. “Elnok, I’mnotgoing to harm you. I swear upon Aretta herself.”

Elnok stilled, sword steady, body rigid. “Your power says otherwise.”

Kharis released him, his yellow eyes doused. “I’m sorry, I just… Elnok, when he almost attacked you on the ship, he hadn’t been drinking his wine. We’ve recently learned that when he doesn’t drink it, his madness increases tenfold. One of the guards informed me he hadn’t drunk any for an entire day, so I went in to coax him to, but he wanted to believe he didn’t need it. He hated the way you looked at him, could tell you disapproved of it, and so he convinced himself he could do without it. Instead, he relapsed.”

Lowering his sword, Elnok took a long deep breath, the warrior’s gaze softening with it. The gray stone walls melted away into blue sky and the steady ocean spray.

“I held him back to make sure he didn’t hurt you,” Kharis said. “Once he came to, he made the decision to stay away from you the rest of the journey.”

A cold wind whipped across his face. Elnok avoided the warrior’s gaze, tapping his hilt.

Kharis continued, “What he did to you was wrong, Elnok. Horrifying. I’m not going to defend his actions even if he wasn’t in his right mind. And I’m not asking you to forgive or reconcile with him, either. But whether you came to know or not, our plan is the same. We’re going to find this tree so we can get back andheal the ones we care about. Once we’re done, you never have to see him again. Can we at least agree upon that?”

Elnok turned to the warrior, eyes narrowed. There would be no turning back, not now that they were just outside of Estea—not now that they were this much closer to the healing tree.

“Fine,” Elnok said. “We can agree on that.”

Rot and sulfur burned Elnok’s lungs for hours as they traversed through the crooked trees of Lhaal Forest. Mist swirled just above their thighs, like wading through high tide in the summer. Elnok steadied his sword in front of him, the blade pulsing with an ethereal glow, his and Kharis’ weapons the only sources of light as the warrior led the way through the deadly terrain.

Elnok cracked his neck. He wasn’t used to wearing armor, his strengths centering in stealth, not brawn.

“We’ll need to set up camp for the night,” Kharis said as he came to a stop at a clearing. “I’ll take first watch.”

Elnok didn’t argue as he sat in the grimy dirt and leaned against a fallen tree. He ate a rock-hard piece of potato bread, his molars aching after he finished. Tilting his head back, he tried to fall asleep, but the noises were unlike anything he’d ever heard. Metallic chitters and nails scraping against bark echoed through the dark leaves.

“I might as well take first watch,” Elnok said. “Won’t get much sleep tonight.”

Kharis raised his sword. “Nothing will harm you in here, Elnok Rogdul. I swear on my life.”

“Your nobility is contagious,” Elnok drawled.

The warrior ignored him as he placed his weapon down, folding his arms across his chest and closing his eyes.

Elnok spun his gold signet ring around his finger as the hours went by, attempting to keep himself calm despite the sounds seeming to get closer. His grip on his hilt tightened as he turned around, something moving through the trees—something glowing the same way their swords did.

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