Page 131 of Of Serpents and Ruins
I wouldn't let her take him from me.
Wouldn't let her destroy what he and I shared.
My head bowed low, my lips pressing to his brow. "It's not too late. It happened so fast, it couldn't possibly count. You're going to be fine. I know you are." My voice cracked.
His ragged breaths heated the shell of my ear, his chest rising and falling beneath me.
Arjax held the necklace up without touching it as he shouted something about where it was from. Lorna shouted about something else. Kine was asking to see the necklace.
A hand rested on my shoulder, light but firm.
I looked up into Elias's eyes, tears pouring down my cheeks as I sobbed.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, his dark-blue eyes filled with compassion. He placed his hand over mine, squeezing it tight and lifting it from Brandt's chest. "I am so sorry, Stella."
"It's not too late." Sobs racked my voice, shattering it. "He's still got his sanity. Maybe we can finish the ceremony and end the curse before it claims him again."
"We still have a day to get through the Keening Pass." He stroked my hand. " Even if he finds a way to fight it off for a few hours—even if you accomplish the impossible—the curse will take him again, and he will never awaken." He shook his head, his eyes shuttering. "I'm sorry."
"No! No." My voice choked. The screams became whimpers, pinched and desperate. "It might take less than a day to get through the Keening Pass and to the Ember Lord’s Crest. As long as we don’t hit trouble, we can do it. We just have to go fast!"
"How likely is that really?" He leaned even closer, his breath hot against my cheek. "All you can offer him now is mercy," hewhispered. "The last thing Brandt would want is for you to see him descend into eternal madness."
"No." My whole body trembled, terror churning alongside rage.
"It is the kind thing to do. It is the loving thing to do. He would want you to. Brandt would tell you to do it himself, especially if it could save you. This is the only way you can both escape your fate in the lava."
His words snagged my attention. "What… What did you say?" The tears froze within me.
He dipped his head forward, his dark-red hair sliding over his shoulders as he gave me such a gentle, trustworthy look. His finger brushed the curve of my cheek. "The Gola Resh has shown a measure of mercy. Accept it. Take her deal. Slay Brandt so the Gola Resh will save you. Perhaps you can even negotiate for more from her."
Cold anger rippled within my chest. "Elias." My gaze snapped to his, my voice harsher than it had ever been. "How do you know about what the Gola Resh offered me?"
STELLA
My gaze remained fixed on Elias, horror deep within me. He shouldn’t have known that. My tears were cold on my cheeks. Though I was still too close to him for my own comfort, I refused to move away from Brandt.
Arjax and Lorna’s argument continued as they pressed Kine with questions. The moonlight shimmered on the hot spring, the steam rising and coiling into the night.
Elias hesitated. Then a glimmer sparked in his eyes. His upper lip curled as he tilted his head forward. "I’m a seer, Stella. I told you I’ve been seeing more. My gifts are changing."
"No." My fingers twitched.
Where were Elias's hands? Did he have a weapon? His right hand pressed at his chest, the other lingering near the waist of his robe.
"Get away from him," I growled as I lurched to my feet. "Get away from him now!"
"Why would I harm him?" Elias kept his gaze fixed on mine, but that hint of a smile danced in his eyes. "Stella, I wouldn’t."
"There’s something in the necklace charm. You’re the one who gave me the necklace. You’re the reason the curse keeps moving forward."
"I’m just a seer, Stella." He spread his arms as he moved back. Though his tone was soft, almost meek, it had an edge to it. Coyness glinted in his eyes as if he could no longer contain it. "It’s like I told you from the start. I have no shifting abilities. I’m nobody. I am defined by the vow I swore. All I want is for you to be safe. I could never harm you."
My muscles tightened. The mockery in his voice. The glint in his eye.
"Letting Brandt go is the best thing for both of you. He is becoming more beast than man. He will lose all that made him the Brandt you knew."
I knew this. I knew it! All that mattered was keeping him away from Brandt. Brandt might have tried to kill me because of the curse, but he had done everything in his power to stop.
