my help,” Bastian says to me tersely, “then it’s time to tell me what’s going on.”
Only the two of us are left in the room. By my command, Nelly waits outside while the others have vacated entirely. Looking at Bastian now, my skin flushes hot and my stomach twists. I can’t help but think of when we were last together, and the words he’d admitted.
The woman I love.
The woman I love.
Something between us changed here in Curmana. From the moment I caught him placing protective curses on my door, to him distracting Elias enough to save me despite the poison in his body and the toll of soul magic, my frustration with him has waned. Curse or no curse, I trust Bastian with my life, no matter how hard I’ve tried not to.
“I found a way to break the Montara curse.” It’s time I tell him everything—about Blarthe and the clue he gave me, and how I can’t sleep. About the faces I see every time I shut my eyes. I tell him of the power said to be left behind by the gods, and how, with it, I can repent for the damage my family has done. All the while he keeps his eyes to the floor, wordless, contemplating. I talk enough for the both of us, because once the truth starts, I can’t stop it. There’s freedom in releasing it.
“Does Vataea know you’re working with Blarthe?” is the first thing Bastian asks. “You need to tell her.”
My shoulders cave in. I know I should; Vataea deserves to know we’ve captured the man who caused her years of pain and trauma. But I’m closer than ever to my goal, and I can’t risk losing this opportunity. Besides, what might she think now that I’ve kept it a secret this long?
“When the time is right,” I tell Bastian, “I’ll tell her everything.”
I tense when he stands and runs a hand along the dark beard that’s beginning to take shape over his jaw, waiting for his reaction. Waiting for him to yell, or to tell me how naive I’m being by risking it all on Blarthe’s word.
“I want this, too,” he finally says. “I want my freedom, and to travel freely. But if we’re going to do this, you and I need to be on the same page. I’ll help you, but only if you promise that we’ll work together from this moment on. No more secrets.”
I flinch, remembering saying those same words to him last summer. I never expected how guilty I’d feel being on the opposite side.
“You’d forgive me?” I ask hesitantly. “Just like that?”
He huffs a small, quiet laugh. “You’ve forgiven me for worse, Amora. Do we have a deal or not?”
I nod, skin hot. “We have a deal.”
“Then it’s time to find out what Ornell has to tell us.” Bastian crosses the room to fetch Nelly, who waits anxiously behind the door. “Did you bring it?” he asks, to which she nods and hands him a large, smooth stone. He’s quick to set it upon the small table he drags between them, and takes a seat close to Nelly.
“All you have to do is think about what you want us to see,” he instructs. “Let your memories flow freely. Can you do that?” As he speaks, he tries to still his trembling hands on the stone as another aftershock of soul magic seizes his body. It makes my own feel like it’s boiling before it passes. Shakily I exhale a breath while Bastian only grips the stone tighter, as if to pretend he hasn’t felt a thing.
While Nelly could simply tell us her story, memories fill the gaps where words cannot. Using Bastian’s curse magic, she can show me everything she knows about the artifact, though it’ll be up to me to decipher what it means.
“Nelly, since we’re accessing your memory, all you have to do is add your blood to the stone,” Bastian says. “You’re the one doing the work. I’m just here to guide you through it and attach the memories to the stone. Don’t pull away until you’ve shown us everything.”
Nelly nods and peeks at me as I lounge against the cot, leg propped up, trying not to let my pain show.
“Are you sure this will work?” I ask. “She doesn’t have curse magic.”
Bastian cuts me a look. Drawing his push blade, he takes hold of Nelly’s hand and gently presses its tip into her index finger, enough to draw blood. Lifting the stone,