Page 123 of House of Embers
“She said that the fire that gave Bastian the scars, he had to make a choice whether to save Isa as a baby or his wife, and he chose Isa.”
Fordham winced. “So his wife died in the fire?”
“Yeah, and she claimed that’s why Bastian is doing all of this.”
“Great. One death for thousands of deaths. Seems fitting.”
“I wasn’t saying it made sense, only that it’s the most we’ve ever gotten from anyone about what happened in Bastian’s past. I didn’t know he had a daughter. It explains why Isa is still alive. She must be his weakness. He saved her life. He can’t kill her without killing his wife all over again.”
“It’s a reach,” Fordham said. “We don’t even know if any of it is true.”
“And how would we find that out?”
Fordham shrugged. “No idea. I don’t find it relevant. He’s our enemy. He killed and he deserves to die, as if the collar he placed on Isa’s neck isn’t indication enough.”
“Yeah,” she agreed as they came to the end of the greenhouse. “‘The more we know about our enemy, the better equipped we are to take them down.’”
“You’re quoting Kristoffer to me?” Fordham said on a sigh. “The great general was right, but he was still killed by his enemy.”
“Then we need to be smarter than him.”
“And she’s truly his daughter? How does no one tell that part of the story? He’d be a hero.”
“I don’t know, but it feels important.”
Fordham shook his head. “We’ve all lost people. I don’t feel sorry for him.”
“I do.”
“How can you feel sorry for him?” Fordham demanded. “After what he did to you!”
“Not for the rest. He deserves all he’s going to get. But for her,” Kerrigan told him. “I feel sorry for her and for the loss of her. Look at Tieran with the loss of his mate. I couldn’t imagine the loss of mine.”
“I’d die first,” Fordham said.
She squeezed his hand. “Yes.”
“Well, at least Isa’s intel about the greenhouses seems to be accurate,” Fordham finally admitted.
He glanced through the open doors of the greenhouse, which were currently unguarded. Apparently the inside shielding was all they had on this side of the mountain. Not wanting another experience of slamming into a giant vault door, they’d checked out the exit just to be sure.
“Open the portal here,” he said.
“Oh,” Kerrigan said, fiddling with her mother’s bangle. “About that. I don’t have enough magic.”
“What? You were full.”
“Trying to open it in the vault tapped me out. My last shot was taking down the shield.”
“A great shot, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
Fordham sighed. “Well, Netta is getting anxious. I’ll jump us closer to our dragons.”
“Don’t jump too far,” she reminded him.
“I know how far I can jump,” Fordham said, sliding an arm around her waist. He pressed a kiss to her lips. “With my mate.”
