Page 91 of Crown of Wrath

I need to share my soul completely with Maeve. If this battle is the one I don’t walk away from, I want to go to it knowing that I have done the only thing that truly mattered.

I need to know that I have loved Maeve completely. I need to know what it is to be a part of her, and that she is just as much a part of me. Then, in whatever world comes next, I will know that she’ll come to me. There is no till death do us part because she’ll be mine in the next world as well.

“I love you, Maeve,” I whisper. “More than anything in the world. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I hope you know that.”

She looks up at me, a sparkle in her eyes, but she doesn’t say anything. She just moves her hand to my cheek and lets her nails glide over my skin.

“I love you,” she finally whispers. A glimmer of shadows flicker from her fingertips, and it washes over my cheek, but the darkness feels different, dangerous almost.

“Ten days,” she says as she pulls away. “Ten days before we become one, and then nothing in the world can separate us.”The words are like what I’ve thought, but the tone behind them makes me shiver as a new kind of darkness rolls over me. Maeve was such an innocent and kind Wyrdling when I met her, but she’s changed. She’s become more of an Immortal than I think anyone understands, and I’m not entirely sure what she means by that response.

She gives me one last smile before turning and walking away, leaving me to puzzle it out.

Chapter 44

The world is bound together with oaths. The very air that we breathe has sworn that it will give us life. Everyone with any magic in them can be bound by oaths. This is a universal truth. Know it, Son of Darkness. It is one of the few truths that are irrefutable.

~Vyran the Black, A History of Magic and Dragons

Maeve

Darian smirks as we all sit at the table for breakfast. It’s not what you’d find in Draenyth or Stormhaven, but it’s a far cry better than the bits of this and that we had in Aerwyn and Blackgrove. “Maeve, your cousin is a significantly better cook than you. I’m a little worried that you two aren’t even related with how much better she is.”

I cock my eyebrow at him as he shoves another griddle cake smothered in honey into his mouth. “My bloodlines have nothing to do with my ability to cook. I was busy catching the food while Hazel was learning to cook it. Plus, I’ve never even made you griddle cakes. They could be the best ones you’ve ever tasted.”

Cole turns to me, a very controlled expression on his face. “My love, you are many things, many wonderful things, but you are not a cook. Do you remember when I let you set up the stew pot in Aerwyn?”

“He’s right,” Rivertail says, nodding emphatically. “I’ve never smelled anything that bad. It took hours to scrape it clean. No one was even hungry by the time we could cook.”

I huff. “That’s still not griddle cakes. None of you have any idea what mine are like.”

“I do,” Hazel says as she sits down next to Darian, a very smug expression on her face and two griddle cakes in her hand. “I tried to teach you how to make them when I was seven. Do you remember that? Ma was sure you were burning the house down and came in with a bucket of water.”

“That’s not fair. I was nine, and it was the first time I tried to cook anything! You can’t hold that against me!”

Hazel chuckles and dips a cake into some of the leftover honey on Darian’s plate. He arches an eyebrow at her. A corner of her lips curls up as she takes a bite, and he watches her.

“How do you know I wasn’t getting some more?” he asks.

“Because these are the last of them. You should know that the cook always gets the last ones, and if you don’t, then this is your lesson. The cook never goes hungry. Now, since these are the last griddle cakes, I don’t think you’ll need your plate or honey anymore.”

This is not the Hazel I remember, but I like the changes, and I can’t stop grinning even though everyone at the table waspicking on me for my cooking only a moment ago. Darian slides his empty plate to Hazel, who dips her cake into the honey again.

And Darian watches every movement as if he’s forgotten that Rivertail, Cole, and I are even at the table. I’ve seen Darian look at women like this before, but it’s strange to see him take this much notice of my cousin.

“What are you all doing today?” she asks. “Something important, I’m sure.”

She says it as flippantly as she talked to Darian about griddle cakes. “I’m going to teach Echo to shadow walk,” I say.

Cole glances at Darian and says, “We’re going to go back to Stormhaven for a few hours to check on their progress. Then I have some planning to do.”

“Right,” Hazel says with a grin at me. “A wedding. My cousin, the Wyrdling, is getting married before I am. Funny how that works, isn’t it?”

I grimace. That had always been Hazel’s dream. “I’m sure you’ll find a…”

She shakes her head, the grin only getting wider. “I’m not interested in finding anyone, thank you very much. I’m as happy as a bear in a honey tree that you’ve found your Prince, but that’s not something I’m even looking for at this point. I’ve had less than four months of freedom, and the last thing I want is to be tied to a man who will decide everything about my life. It’s not like I’m suddenly going to be unable to feed myself. My dear cousin happens to be Queen of the world, so I’m going to enjoy sunny… or misty afternoons while I do whatever my heart desires.”

“Like making more griddle cakes?” Darian asks, a gleam in his eyes.

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