Page 108 of Kissed By the Gods
I stare at her, my glare a dare. “It would be easy enough for you to find out, wouldn’t it?”
Elowen steps between us, putting a hand on each of our chests.
“This isn’t helping,” Elowen says. She turns to me. “You’re too weak for this. You should be lying down.”
But I barely hear her, because something is stirring, something old and deep and dark. It begins as a whisper behind my thoughts, threading itself between pain and memory.
Comenow.
The dream comes rushing back, though it doesn’t feel like a dream at all.
The Veil waits for you.
It wasn’t a dream. It was a summons.
I sway on my feet.
“Leina?” Elowen’s voice sounds distant. My heart pounds as the pieces lock together, sudden and clear. The Veil. Elandors Veil. That’s where the dream was pointing. That’s where I have to go. The Veil—it’scallingme.
“I have to go,” I breathe, almost in disbelief as the words leave me. “Now. I have to climb Elandors Veil.”
Elowen’s head snaps toward me, horror flashing across her face. “What?”
“The Veil. The voice in the dream—it’s pulling me there. It wasn’t just a dream. It was a summons.” I’m rambling, I know. Rissa looks confused. Elowen—horrified.
“You’re delirious,” Rissa mutters.
“No,” I say, sharper now. “I’m not delirious. I’mcalled.”
Elowen steps forward, hands raised like she’s approaching a spooked horse. “Leina, listen to yourself. You want to climb Elandors Veil as we come into winter? That’s a death sentence. The wards only climb it in the spring or summer, and even then, you’re as likely to die as not.”
Rissa’s lips curl in disdain, and she flicks her hand as if batting away a gnat. “Let her go. She’s a big girl, isn’t she? And if she dies on that godsdamn rock, that’s one less burden for us to carry.”
Elowen’s head snaps toward her so fast it’s a wonder her neck doesn’t break. Her glare could strip flesh from bone. “Will you be telling Ryot you said that about his ward, or should I?”
Rissa pales, and I look away. I refuse to think about whatever history might exist between Rissa and Ryot—about what she might know of him that I don’t. About why she hates me so godsdamn much. It’s a sharp edge I’m not ready to bleed on.
“Elowen …” My voice comes out thinner than I mean it to. “I’m sorry.” I don’t even know what I’m apologizing for—hurting her, worrying her, leaving her. All of it. None of it.
I lower myself onto the edge of the bed, breath catching as I reach for my boots. Elowen watches as I struggle, arms folded tightly across her chest, fury radiating from her like heat off a furnace.
“This is madness,” she says, low and pleading. “You should be flat on your back for another week at least. Let me heal you. Please. You?—”
“No.”
I cut her off, breathless but resolute. I shake my head, and the movement makes stars dance behind my eyes. I reach down with my free hand, and my scythe—propped quietly in the corner—pulls itself into my palm. It’s been waiting for me. The moment my fingers wrap around the shaft, I steady. My spine straightens. My heart quiets.
Elowen’s expression shifts. Maybe she sees the change in me. She nods, slow and solemn. “Silent skies upon you, Leina of Stormriven.”
“May the gods have more mercy on you than I would,” Rissa mutters, her voice is cool, but there’s less of her typical bite in her words. “That’s the most honest benediction I can offer.”
She’s still furious—not because I’m going to Elandors Veil or the risk I’m taking. She’s angry because I put Ryot in danger.
I don’t like her. And not just because she’s a spoiled, sharp-tongued princess. Not only because she’s heir to a throne that’s crushed my people under its heel. Not even because she wields her words like weapons.
No—right now, I don’t like her because there’s history between her and Ryot, and it twists in my gut like rotten milk.
Still, I offer her a grim smile. “I appreciate your honesty, Princess.”
