Page 24 of Of Blood & Stone

He raised a brow as he replied, “Orym.”

His friend sighed. “Yenna, can you give us a moment?”

The nurse eyed Elnok as she left the room.

“We need this ship docked at the next closest port,” Orym said as the door closed with a thud.

Elnok continued to fold the sheets. “Are you in need of something this ship doesn’t have to offer?”

“You told me you were a fugitive of the king.”

“I was.”

“You’re a fucking royal of the Rogdul line. You lied to me.”

“Omitting information that no longer reflects my life isn’t lying.”

“Can you just be real with me for one godsdamn moment, Elnok?” Orym snapped, his brown eyes wide, “Ten years we’ve lived our lives on the run and not once have you mentioned your family. I never pushed because I assumed you would tell me when you were ready, but now I see it for what it’s always been.” He turned his pale face to the ceiling.

“And what is that?”

“You never really trusted me.”

Elnok scoffed, “I’m putting my life on the line so this sickness doesn’t kill you.”

“I didn’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t need to.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“It means Icare,Orym,” Elnok replied, the sheet he’d been folding now in a clump on the floor. “I never talked about my family because I wanted to forget them—needed to. But if it really means that much, I’ll let you know that after my parents were murdered, my brother drank himself mad and aimed all his anguish towards me.”

Orym opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped, eyes softening.

“So when I escaped,” Elnok continued, “and found you and our crew, I swore I’d never look back.”

His friend took a wheezing breath. Blood dribbled from the side of his mouth and down his chin as his brows dipped.

“What did your brother do to you?” he whispered.

Elnok said nothing, allowing the silence to be his answer. Orym gave him a knowing look, his eyes roaming to Elnok’s back—his scars.

“He’s a cunt, then,” Orym growled.

Elnok huffed a breath. “I’ve never taken to using one of my favorite parts of a woman as an insult quite like you have.”

His friend paused, a small smile. “Fine. A bastard.”

Elnok nodded. “A cunt-ish bastard.”

Orym sat up, his laughter turning into a fit of watery coughs.

“Even cunt-ish bastards die some day, you know,” Orym said.

Elnok stiffened.

He continued, “I don’t think I would’ve laughed half as often during this godsdamned famine if it wasn’t for you and all our misadventures.” He paused. “But good things must come to an end, even if it’s sooner than we had hoped. And just because I’m gone doesn’t mean your life stops too, Elnok.”

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