Page 48 of Kingdom of Today
I gave Cyrus a little nudge. “Let’s go.”
As soon as we cleared the depiction of Theirland’s leader, Cyrus looked back. Confusion and longing etched in his features. “I remember ...” He pursed his lips and cursed. “Nothing. Memories form only to slip away just before I grasp them.”
The same used to happen to me when I wrestled with anxiety. Calm would help, but considering the look he’d just given the statue, I didn’t have any to spare. “Astan has chosen you,” I stated. We might as well put everything out in the open.
“He has, yes.” The high prince drew in a fortifying breath. “That doesn’t mean I’ve accepted his offer.”
Wait. If he’d already made an offer ... “He’s spoken to you.”
“More than once,” Cyrus confirmed.
My grip on the gun tightened. “Don’t make me drag details out of you. Start talking.”
Aggression crackled around him, an invisible barrier that dared anyone to step too close. “I’ve not seen him, but there have been times I’ve heard his voice inside my head, mingled with mine, as if I’m thinking his thoughts.”
Acid singed the edges of my composed facade. “Go on.”
“He likes to remind me of my last visit to the library, when I read a portion of my book. A snippet of the future. It claimed I must ... let you go. Astan alleges I can keep you, if I serve as his host.”
“For starters, Astan lies, always, without exception.” Using Cyrus’s revelation as a key, I must assume the god intended to tear us apart. But. My book predicted the same. Astan and Soal never shared the same goal, and yet, they seemed to do so now. “I was supposed to stay away from you while we’re in Theirland,” I admitted.
Cyrus spun, and I crashed into him. He clasped my hips, holding me steady as he seethed. “Did you read it in a book, or did the order come verbally from the librarian?”
“Both,” I said, and winced. “He inferred you had been chosen by Astan, and I would be chosen by another. That you would say yes, and I would say no, which supports the snippet where we seemed to be enemies.”
“The war. Yes, I remember that part.” His nostrils flared. “I will continue to refuse Astan. I willneverharm you, Arden. Tell me you know that.”
I didn’t need to consider my response. “I do know that. I trust you. As you can see, I didn’t stay away.” The reason we were now in trouble. Inner flinch. “You don’t need Astan to keep me.”
He flicked the tip of his tongue against an incisor before muttering, “You should put on a new shirt and armor. CURED will note your lack of a wound and want to know why you stripped.”
“Good thinking,” I replied, letting the subject change slide without comment. We both needed time to think.
We searched the fallen until we found someone my size, without blood. Once he liberated the desired garments, we set off and I dressed. Feeders followed us, their wiggling worms hissing.
“You good?” Cyrus glanced at me over his shoulder.
“Yes, sir.” The usually raised, puckered flesh of his facial brand had flattened a bit, and I gulped. Did this mean anything? “Why did Victors mark your face?”
“I asked him to do it. I wanted a vivid reminder of my true allegiance every time I glimpsed my reflection.”
“No wonder I’m so enamored of it. And you!”
He turned and gave me a playful wink. A moment of levity I treasured.
“I think we should visit the Rock together,” I suggested. “Find out why Soal is urging us to remain apart.” Something bigmustbe happening behind the scenes.
A glowering Domino appeared, walking at my side, matching my speed. The hem of his robe flapped around his ankles with an elegant flurry of ripples. “Ember imparted so much of her own energy to you, she required a healing of her own.”
“I’m sorry, okay,” I cried. “I screwed up, and I take full responsibility.” As Tsuri had done for his Rose, Ember had poured her life into me. I would be forever grateful. “The lesson is learned, I promise.”
The librarian had warned me. Had asked for my trust, and I’d chosen to rely on myself, allowing fleeting, fickle emotions to lead me. Turned out Cyrus hadn’t even needed my help to survive the battle. I’d seen him fall, yes, but my eyes had deceived me. He’d recovered without injury or aid. By leaving my post as Lolli’s bodyguard, I’d put myself in her line of fire, giving her a green light to attack while she had the chance.
“Domino is with us, I take it.” Cyrus swooped down to collect a fallen clip of ammo.
Right. Only I could see and hear the librarian. “He’s not happy with me.”
“I’m furious with you,” the librarian agreed easily enough. “But you need me if you’re going to reach the base in one piece, and that matters more. See for yourself.” He motioned up ahead.
