Page 146 of Fortress of Ambrose
“She’s out cold,” Abby says. “It’s too early to tell.”
Jordan stands, his jaw clenched, ire darkening his green eyes. He helps move Dexler to my bed before starting for the door. Darkness bleeds from his steps. When he sweeps past me in a blur of shadows, I race behind him.
We reach the ballroom, and Erla sits at a table, stewing, beside a preoccupied Ube.Yani.Just as I think her name, I spot her adjusting her dress in a corner all by herself.
“Everyone besides Abby is here. The rat has to be in—” I start, but Jordan pulls the grand doors closed. He shoves magic against them, and with wide, sweeping gestures, a curtain of writhing dark mist like I saw in the Shadow Cells forms over the ballroom doors. I gasp.
He marches to the second set of doors. The music stops. The ballroom is deadly silent as Jordan covers the doors in the magic veil, sealing us all inside.
“No one leaves,” he says. “Someone here is a traitor.”
Fifty-Eight
Nore
When Nore reached the stables, there was a figure in dark robes waiting for her. She swung out of her saddle, and Yagrin’s deep brown eyes emerged from the hood.
“You’re alright!”She ran toward him but stopped and cleared her throat, keeping distance between them. Nore had made peace with the physical connection they had. It suited her. She couldn’t feel love for him, but she feltneed. Desperate need to have his brain, hands, and body by her side. He seemed to be tolerating it.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “We have to talk.”
“So much has happened. I was…”Scared. Panicked.She’d woken each night since he was gone, thinking of him. “Under the impression you got into some trouble.”
“You were worried,” he said.
“You were so delayed that it was only logical for me to be concerned.” Her face flushed with heat.
“I should have written. I’m sorry.”
Last night haunted her. The feeling of living in this prison, of being embroiled in a war she didn’t ask to be a part of. She would give anything to forget it all for a moment. His hair brushed his cheek. Their sharp angles sloped to a beautiful jaw and perfect mouth. She strode past him. He grabbed her and pulled her body to his. Warmth rushed through her.
“I did miss you.” He ran a thumb along her jaw, and it tugged at her like a tether tied to the deepest parts of her soul. “But we need to talk somewhere private.I have news about the Scroll. And it isn’t good.”
She grabbed his hand and could feel the thrum of his heart in his fingers. Yagrin was on her side. And he was back by her side. Somehow they would get through this. He watched her holding on to his hand, not letting go.
“I also have news about my brother and the dead.” She gestured for him to follow her to her room.
The minute the door to Nore’s room closed, their insistence to talk died when he pulled her into his arms and drowned her in his loving affection. They lay in her bed now, arms and legs tangled around each other. She listened to the hum of his chest, like a song she loved but couldn’t remember the words to. Yagrin’s hand ran through her hair. The tips of his fingers traced circles on her back. She exhaled, noticing how long had passed since they’d been hugged together like this. She pulled herself up and off him.
“Stay,” he said, pulling her back to his chest.
She resisted.
“I know the Nore with her heart loves me. Forcing me away won’t change how I feel. Let me hold you.”
“We have matters to get to.” She peeled herself away from him. He deserved so much better than this. He sighed, and they moved to opposite armchairs near the fire.
“What happened?”
“You first,” he said.
She swallowed, summoning the horrors she’d seen in the forest to the front of her mind. “No, you, please. I’m still processing.”
“The Scroll is not findable. We’ve been collecting a replica of the original.”
Her grip tightened on the chair.“Impossible.”Her brother was looking for the Scroll, too. He’d done more research and for longer. He would not have missed this.
“I wouldn’t tell you this unless I was positively certain.” He went on to explain how the Duncan Elder he’d spoken with told him all about how the Scroll pieces had been found centuries ago.
