Page 132 of The Last One
“No.” Jadon pushes his forehead with the heel of his hand. “People in Peria have sewn and stitched circles, swirls, and elks on their clothes since the beginnings of the realms. They brand it on their horses’ rumps, and they carry totems of this goddess, Kaivara.”
I turn to Veril. “Could you excuse us for a moment?”
The Renrian, his eyes bright lavender, nods and shuffles back into the cottage.
“Sybel shared bad news,” I say, heaving a breath to calm my angry nerves. This is Jadon, I remind myself. My feelings for him go beyond my fury at his sister. At least I hope they do.
“We’re in trouble,” I tell him. “Not just you, me, our little group here—including the thief—but the realm. There are entities that I can’t even get into explaining right now, but they’re working to destroy Vallendor, and all this may sound…delusional, but I must stop that from happening even though I have no idea how I’m going to do it.”
He remains stone still, studying me.
“Believe me: I wanted to laugh in Sybel’s face when she told me,” I continue, “because I hated Maford and Wake and the violent creatures in this world. I have no interest in saving this realm. But Sybel made very clear that my job, mypurposeis to protect Vallendor. She saw me wavering, and then she asked me an important question. My answer involved you.”
His skin flushes, and the muscles in his jaw flex. “Me.”
My chest constricts. “She asked if there was just one person I wouldn’t want to see perish. And that person isyou.Youare part of the reason I’m gonna do whatever I’m supposed to do. But the way you took your sister’s side—it’s making me reconsider.”
His mood shifts, and now his eyes fill with…Sadness?Awe? Shame?Whatever it is makes him take a step away.“It’s true.”That’s the one thought he thinks and thinks and thinks until…silence.
No, this isn’t awe on his face, and worry skitters down my spine.
“We need to deal with this, right now.” I take a step closer. “We’ve been having a great time, flirting and dancing around this, but if you and I are to remain friends, or even go beyond that, we must be honest. We can’t keep secrets from each other that could determine if one of us lives or dies; that can’t happen. There can’t be an us—”
“Thereisno ‘us,’ Kai. There never was,” Jadon interrupts with a frown and, with great effort, takes two steps back.
I blink at him, confused. “Yesterday, we were a breath away from fucking in that tub, and now you’re telling me that I imagined that? You’ve decided you and I are done because you’re pissed that I called your sister what she is?”
He opens his mouth. Closes it. Then says, “I can’t.”
And that’s it. He turns away from me and marches toward the forge.
“Why are you running away?” I shout at his back. Small spikes of anger stab my heart, but then one spike becomes a lightning bolt in my chest, and I yell, “Only cowards run!”
His shoulders droop, then stiffen—I hit my target. He returns to me now, his eyes a hurricane of emotion, stopping only feet away. “There is no ‘us,’Lady.”
My mouth tastes like wood shavings; my tongue is numb as I stare at his beautiful face. “Then I don’t need you to come with me.”
He shrugs, his expression unreadable. “That’s probably best.”
My body numbs. I can’t feel my feet or my lips as I shout toward the cottage. “Veril!”
The old man hurries back to the garden, avoiding Jadon’s eyes. “Yes?”
I clutch my elbows to keep mania from bursting through my chest to my hands and destroying everything around me. “Pack up. We’re leaving. It will be only you and me.”
Veril straightens.“Pardon?”
“We’re heading to Caburh,” I say. “I need as much armor as possible. And then we head to Mount Devour.” My skin hurts as though I’ve been stung by every mosquito in Vallendor. There’s no armor strong enough to protect me from this war waging in my heart.
“Of course,” Veril says, then hurries back to the cottage.
I’m not mad. No, I’m…sad? Perplexed? Angry? Conflicted? I’m all those things, and now I labor to take a simple breath. How could I have been so fucking foolish? So clueless?
Hands on my hips, I turn to Jadon. “Do I get to keep Fury and Little Lava? Or do you plan to steal those back while you’re taking back everything else?”
He rolls his eyes to the sky. “Keep them. Give them back. It’s up to you.”
Breathe. My lungs refuse. Mouth hard and heart harder, I drop Fury to the ground, and then I lift my pants leg and pull the dagger from its sheath and throw it toward his feet with enough force that it punctures the earth and stands upright in the grass.
