Page 71 of Crown of Mist and Heat

"Don't keep us hanging, unless what?" Tavian asked.

"Nallis has a guardian of sorts. No one really knows what it is, but it lives under the building itself. Every so often, you can feel it moving around. The earth rumbles. If I was going to have a hidden tunnel, that's where it would be."

"I think we should include Harel in this," Tavian said. "He can supply his key and then this guardian can have him for lunch while the rest of us run like hells."

"I can get behind that suggestion," I said.

"Me too," Zared agreed. "So, how do we steal his key?"

"We make a plan," Ryze said.

"Khala and I will go," Cavan said softly. "I can get us in, and keep him distracted. Any of the rest of you would be too suspicious."

"I did tell him to fuck off," I pointed out. I wasn’t sure how I felt about any of this.

"But then I punished you and you've learnt your lesson," he said. "He'll believe that I wanted to show you off. To prove that you're beaten."

Ryze snorted.

I was inclined to agree. Pretending to be broken seemed like a stretch, regardless of what was at stake.

"If I have to, I'll order her to behave like she's scared of me, and won't dare to disobey." Cavan gave me a heated look like he wouldn't mind acting out this fantasy.

A sliver of heat went through me and pooled between my legs. I liked when Zared ordered me around. I suspected I'd like it very much if Cavan did it too.

"I hate to say it, but that makes sense," Tavian said. "If you can get both of you in, I sneak in and help where I can. No one would believe Ryze is paying Harel a social call. That puts Vayne out too. And if somehow those attacks have something to do with Hycanthe, she's better off staying out of sight somewhere."

"You go in, do what you have to do and get out immediately," Ryze told Cavan. "And if you get her killed…"

"I won't get her killed," Cavan said evenly. He closed his hand and the magic light went out. "We should leave first thing in the morning. Zared, is there somewhere we can spend the night?"

"Yes, there are visitors’ quarters beside the temple," Zared said. "I'll show you where, but then I'd like some time alone with Khala. There are some things we need to sort out."

After getting his memories back, he probably had at least a million questions. I'd answer them as best I could, although I wasn't sure how much I knew. I didn't know why my touch made the bond push back so hard. I didn't know if it would work on anyone else, bond or no bond. I didn't know if everyone had a block like he did, and I didn't much want to find out. I didn't want to be like Dalyth, violating other people's minds.

Did he feel like I'd violated his? He said he wanted to stay with us, with me, but what if he changed his mind? I hoped like hells he wasn't about to ask me to put the block back. Even if I wanted to, I wasn't sure I knew how.

If he asked me to, I'd try. That was all I could do.

25

Khala

"If I haven't said it before, I'm sorry you got dragged into all of this in the first place."

I turned to Zared as he closed the door behind us. "We should have been better prepared back in the Summer Court. Or stayed in the Winter Court. Or—"

There was a lot I felt I needed to apologise for. He'd been dragged over the proverbial coals because of me. He could have died. I never would have forgiven myself if he had.

He shrugged. "None of that matters now.” He grabbed my wrists and pulled me to him. "Be honest. How much of you coming here was about seeing that map and how much was it about me?" He looked me dead in the eyes.

I met his gaze unwaveringly. "The map was an excuse to see you. I had no idea touching you could bring back your memories."

His grip on my wrists tightened. "If you knew, would you have touched me?" His pretty hazel eyes searched mine, unashamed desperation burning there.

I knew what he needed to hear. I had to take a few moments to consider the question. I wanted to give him total honesty. He deserved that.

"If it wasn't for the bond, you would have accepted what I told you when I said the human version of me was content," I said slowly. "You would have returned to the temple and that would have been that."

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