Page 106 of A Fate Unwoven
Lena pulled Maia into her chest. “This isn’t your fault, little wolf. Venysa and theHæstahave been planning this for years, but we’re going to stop them, okay? I won’t let anything happen to Finæn. He’sthe closest thing to family I have left.” Lena paused, her voice breaking. “You both are.”
She could barely sense Maia’s threads through the bangle’s suppressing magic, but she could have sworn she saw the air around Maia brighten.
They stood together in silence like that until Casimir came out of the cave, his expression somber. “It’s almost time.”
Reluctantly, Lena pulled back from Maia. The girl’s tears had stopped, and as she looked between Lena and Casimir, who were both doing their best not to meet each other’s gazes, she said, “I’ll give you two a minute,” before brushing past them both into the cave.
“I’m sorry,” Casimir said, “for not telling you about the bangle. I was telling the truth before; my father thought it was lost, and so did I. So when I first realized you were the Fateweaver, I … thought I could convince you to join Queen Anja. I thought it wouldn’t matter if the bangle was lost if we had you on our side. I know that I saw the Fateweaver as a tool to be used, just like everyone else.” Hesitantly, Casimir took a step closer. “But the more time I spent with you, the more I started to see you asLena,and after a while, I knew that if you walked away at the end of all this—that if you decided not to come with me to Verlond—that I wouldn’t try to stop you.”
He was right in front of her now, the depth of emotion in his eyes enough to make Lena’s mind run blank. She was still searching for what to say when he pressed something into her hand, the smooth wood of it so familiar it made her chest ache.
Her mother’s dagger.
The one he’d been holding as collateral until she’d upheld her end of their deal.
“I think it’s about time you have this back,” Casimir said.
Lena’s breath hitched. Without her dagger, Casimir had no collateral against her. No bargaining chip to ensure she went with him to Verlond to fulfill her end of their bargain.
“But your father … You wanted to clear his name.”
“I do. But you’ve had enough choices taken from you; if you’re goingto help me, if you’re going to help Verlond, then it needs to be becauseyouwant to.” Casimir closed her fingers around the dagger just as the approaching footsteps of the rest of their group cut through the air.
The smuggler stepped back from her in one swift movement, and by the time Dimas, Ioseph, Maia, and Yana appeared, all traces of vulnerability were gone from his expression.
“It’s about time you guys showed up,” said Casimir.
“Maia made us go over the plan again,” Dimas grumbled, and the younger girl gave an innocent shrug. Dimas turned his attention to Lena. “Yana will return to the city as soon as we give the word; she’ll do what she can to convince General Mirena that Roston is behind this, and to send reinforcements. It’s a long shot, but Yana assures me that Mirena has been suspicious of Roston for a while now.”
“She really hates him,” Yana interjected. “And Mirena … she trained me. She’ll come if I ask her to.”
Lena hoped the soldier was right.
“In the meantime,” Dimas continued, “Casimir, Maia, and Ioseph will trail Lenora and me whilst we head to the meeting point. Once there, they will wait nearby for Yana and General Mirena to arrive, before launching their attack.”
“And if the cultists take us somewhere?” Lena asked.
“I’ll follow them if they do,” Casimir said, “and then I’ll loop back to inform Ioseph and the others.”
Dimas dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “For this to work, we have to be quick, and we have to be careful. I’ll buy us as much time as I can. Does anyone have any questions?”
The statement was directed at everyone, but the emperor’s gaze lingered on Ioseph as he waited for a reply.
When none came, Dimas dragged his attention away from his guard to look at Lena, his expression unreadable as he asked, “Are you ready?”
Lena’s heart was pounding so loudly she could barely hear herself think. The urge to run, to do this by herself, was so strong she almostgave in. Instead, she tightened her grip on her mother’s dagger, the familiar sensation of it quieting her fear, and stayed put.
“I’m ready.”
Iska was waiting for them at the base of the Eastern Mountains.
The acolyte had changed out of her usual dark robes into a crimson-colored cloak, the hood drawn loosely around her sharp features. There was no sign of the obedient worshipper in her as she watched her cousin drag Lena toward her.
“Where’s my uncle?” Dimas asked when they were a few feet away. He wasn’t gentle as he tugged Lena to a stop. Iska’s attention quickly drifted to the bangle around Lena’s wrist, still visible beneath the fabric the emperor had bound her with.
“My father said you refused to join him,” Iska said, the suspicion clear in her voice. “And now you show up with your Fateweaver bound in a relic suppressing her powers. Which is it, cousin? Are you with us or against us?”
“The Fateweaver told me the truth. About Lady Venysa. About … Næbya.” Dimas paused, and Lena knew the grief in his eyes wasn’t an act as he asked, “Is it true? Is everything the church told this empire—toldme—a lie?”
