felt a bit self-serving to claim credit for the work Ersken was doing, but if it backfired—and there was still a chance it would—Elliot wanted the blame to land squarely on him. “And if he’d talk about her.”
“Talk about her?” Latham repeated flatly. His eyes were dark shadows, the moon above providing only the barest illumination.
“About Xoe. Ersken knew her best… knew her better than Xane, and I thought…” Elliot paused, looking around Latham to where Ersken sat. Xane had settled down again, listening avidly to what Ersken said, gaze fixed on the feather. “I thought Xane should know what she was like. I thought it might make it easier to… let go.”
Latham took an angry step toward Elliot, who reached back for Sparrow, pressing her protectively behind him. But before Latham could do more than grip the front of Elliot’s tunic, a low croon sounded from Xane. Latham whirled around, staring at his phoenix. Then he glanced back at Elliot, releasing his grip. They were close enough now that Elliot could see the haunted, slightly desperate look in Latham’s eyes…. It was something close to hope.
“I think he wants you to hear this too,” Ersken called out. Latham started nodding, then turned away from Elliot and came to sit next to his phoenix. They leaned together, both staring at that single shining feather, and the gentle murmur of Ersken’s voice filled the silence once more.
Remembering his lesson from earlier, Elliot withdrew his arm from where it was still pressed against Sparrow. “Sorry,” he whispered. Luckily her cat friend hadn’t joined them, else they might have gotten tripped up in the scuffle with Latham. As it was, only the bluebird remained, perched atop her head. “We should go.”
Elliot turned and walked along the dark ledge toward the archway that led out into the stronghold, Sparrow behind him. There he paused, looking back at the small group.
“I hope…,” he began, then hesitated. What did he hope? That he’d done the right thing? That he’d made things better and not worse? He glanced down at Sparrow, who was stroking the bluebird’s feathers and waiting patiently for him to continue. “I thought it would be better than not knowing,” Elliot said at last. “This way they can grieve properly.”
“Grieve properly,” Sparrow repeated thoughtfully. “I had a family, you know,” she said matter-of-factly. “Two brothers and two sisters. I was the oldest, but I couldn’t work in the shop”—she pointed at her eyes—“so they couldn’t keep me. Gave me to Miseriya to be an acolyte, but I hated being inside all the time,” she said with a shudder. “I ran away. Didn’t know where I was… didn’t know how to get back home. If…” She hesitated, picking at a knot in the wood of her spear. “If I could know more, if I could remember, I would. Even if it hurt—I would want to know. I think what you did… I think it was very kind.”
Elliot walked back to his room, wondering who he was really doing it all for and deciding he didn’t care either way. Whatever it took to keep the warm glow inside his chest, he’d do it.
Avalkyra Ashfire wanted to rip more than bodies apart….
She wanted to tear the whole world asunder. And so it
was up to me to piece it back together.
- CHAPTER 20 - SEV
LORD ROLAN’S ESTATE WAS huge, spanning multiple wings and floors. Sev and Kade decided that their best course of action for the time being was to get familiar with it and the people inside. And though finding the hostage Riella was no longer his mission, Sev kept an eye out for her just the same.
While Kade explored the servant passages, Sev wandered the main halls and soldiers’ haunts. He walked every corridor and stairwell, peered into every room and closet and cupboard, learning not just the layout, but the very heartbeat of the house—memorizing the schedules, habits, and hangouts of the occupants from the guards to the governor himself—but found nothing useful for spying on Lord Rolan or uncovering his war plans.
Kade filled in the gaps in Sev’s knowledge, doing his best to settle back into his old role among the estate’s bondservants, many of whom were likely acquainted with Ilithya one way or another. The problem was, Trix’s allies—especially those who had been on the Pyra mission—didn’t have a high survival rate. If any of her surviving associates knew anything of value, they weren’t talking. Kade also reported that the servant passages that