Page 209 of Kingdom of the Two Moons

Riven shrugs. “One has to pass the time. Turns out being king is not quite as fun as it looks.”

Caryan just says, “I need a bath,” and steps out of the ring and is gone.

Riven follows him, entering Caryan’s private bathroom a split second later, watching Caryan undress fully and slide into the hot water. Caryan’s wings are gone, the angel leaning against the edge of the bath with his head back and his eyes closed.

On a snap of Riven’s fingers, a siren enters, bowing her head. Nodding when Riven tells her to bring two glasses of honeyed wine. She serves them before retreating as quietly as she came.

Caryan doesn’t touch his glass, doesn’t so much as open his eyes once. Riven watches him, trying to make sense of everything Kyrith, Ronin, and that witch have told him.

The way Caryan carried Melody in her arms, shielded her with his wings. It would make sense that he didn’t want to lose the girl who’s the key to the artifacts. Or the key to his death. But the restdoesn’t fit. The way he didn’t leave her side to go looking for that relic, but held her in his arms the whole time, trying to keep her warm while life leaked out of her by the minute.

The way Ronin said Caryan hesitated to give her his blood.

That also makes no sense. Caryan gave his blood to all of them—to all of the people who lived again because of him, who he offered the curse to, and who now inhabit his kingdom. His whole army exists only because Caryan gave his blood to every single one of them, no matter whether they were elf, faun, or any other fae.

Riven might have been able to believe that Caryan was too fine to give his blood to a half-mortal—or to a half-mortal who was Ciellara’s daughter, for that matter—if Caryan hadn’t watched over her the way Ronin and Kyrith said he did.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” Riven asks when he grows impatient with the silence. It’s one of the things he has to handle about a true immortal—Caryan’s confounded patience.

Caryan opens his eyes, still black as the sky on a moonless night. “I made a mistake.”

“In what regard?”

Caryan just closes his eyes again.

“What, Caryan? A mistake how—in bringing her to that mountain? Not considering that the mountain she told you about is thecursedholy mountain, and she’s a half-mortal, and that its raw magic would kill her?” Riven can’t hide his temper anymore, his anger.

Caryan meets his eyes over the steaming bath while Riven’s voice echoes from the walls, unusually sharp and loud.

“Or in flying back to the Emerald Forest with her, to Queen Calianthe, so that now everyone in all of Palisandre knows that you have her and that they will hunt for her even harder?”

Caryan stares at him with the stillness of a predator, his face unreadable. The Caryan Riven knew would have lashed him, shown him the ropes. But all he does is answer, “She knows better than that. Or I will burn down her forest.”

Riven shakes his head, then presses, “Why not just sacrifice herfor the relic? She could have led you there with your blood in her veins, could have stayed alive long enough for you to retrieve the relic. Is that what you regret? Your mistake—letting her live? Is that what you mean? Or is your main concern thatdeadshe couldn’t lead you to the other two relics?”

“It was a long night, Riven and I am tired,” Caryan says but Riven’s not yet done. Not this time.

“Tired in the sense that you finally decided that you want to die, Caryan? Is this why she is so important? Because if so, letting us know about it would be the least you could do.” Riven bares his teeth, flashing them at Caryan, waiting, daring him to answer. To react.

But all Caryan does is angle his head slightly and look at him.

After a long silence, Caryan asks, “How long have you known that you are in love with her?”

Riven doesn’t know what to say.

Caryan gets up and climbs the stairs out of the bath, turning his back on Riven. “My mistake was believing, no matter what I told you, that I could avoid the inevitable, Riven. But apparently, even I cannot. Stay as long as you like, but then leave. And don’t follow me this time.”

It’s an order Riven feels in his bones. Unable to follow Caryan, all he can do is watch him go.

67

Melody

The next day, a knock at the door wakes me when the sun is already up.

Nidaw enters, her frustration giving way to worry when she spots me still in bed.

“I’m sorry, I must have overslept,” I say, quickly wriggling out of the mess of sweat-soaked sheets and getting up.

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