“The same amulet that can keep you on Earth permanently and send a Replacement back here in your stead?”
“The very one,” I whispered, easily taking it from his hand so I could hold it up to the light for both of us to study.
He laid his head beside mine so he could look up at it with me. “I had no idea that’s what they looked like. It’s smaller than I thought it’d be.” His finger came up to trace one pointed tip.
When he drew his hand away, a small white two-inch scar marring the inside of his forearm caught my attention. Dropping the amulet back to my chest, I caught his arm and frowned. “Where did you get this?”
Indigo smiled sadly as he looked at the old wound. “That would be a gift from your dear cousin Qualmer.”
I lifted my face in surprise. “You’ve fought Qualmer? In the flesh? When did you even meet him?”
His lips curled with amusement. “Meet is kind of a strong word, but sure, we crossed paths once. When the tenth reaping started, your family knew High Cliff would retaliate, so to stave off the news of their reaping reaching the king too quickly, they sent someone to the home of the current High Cliff emissaries living in Lowden—which were my parents—to take them out. That someone was Qualmer. Or maybe he volunteered. I don’t know. But just my mom and I were there when he arrived.”
Hissing out a breath, I ran my finger over the old wound, trying to soak up some of the pain from his memories. He covered my hand, then took my fingers and brought them to his mouth to kiss them in gratitude.
“There was this knock on the door. Loud and urgent. Mom answered it, and this bedraggled boy—only a teenager—surged inside, covered in blood and soot. He’d just lost an eye, so of course, Mom pulled him into a comforting hug, ready to assist him however she could.”
“Good God,” I uttered, already knowing where this was headed.
“He pulled out a knife and murdered her then, stabbing her in the back before I even realized what had happened.” Indigo shook his head and swallowed thickly. “When he turned to me next…” He sighed. “I don’t know. I was only eight. I fought him off as best as I could. But he still got a few good licks in. Here’s another.”
He showed me a white scar high on his rib cage.
“And another.” This one ran along the outside of his thigh.
I touched both of them, smoothing my fingers gently across the old, healed wounds. “How did you get away?”
“My father returned,” he said. “Qualmer saw him as a bigger threat, so he turned his attention to my dad and managed to kill him too. Others showed up then to assist us, and your cousin got away, jumping out a window and escaping.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, hating that it was my family who had caused him so much heartache.
“Not your fault,” he assured me, combing his fingers through my mass of hair. “Nothing anyone in your house has ever done has been your fault. Okay?”
I nodded, even though a part of me couldn’t fully believe that. The Graykeys were my blood. My people. And they’d caused a lot of destruction. It was hard to separate myself from that kind of darkness, and yet being here with Indigo, like this, I think I did feel a little cleaner.
Maybe enough time with him would convince me to completely believe him one day.
When his gaze dropped to my amulet again, a million thoughts swirled through his eyes. I swore he wanted to say something, so I softly asked, “What?”
His gaze lifted. “Before we seek out that jeweler in Tyler, do you think Melaina would reject the idea of taking a quick detour first? There’s a loch just outside the village. Someone I trust lives there. They should be able to tell us if the jeweler is a reliable source or not. Maybe give us a little background information to use as leverage.”
I nodded and smiled. “I’ll make sure she agrees to it.”
Shifting the amulet across my breast with the tip of his finger until the jewel purposely got caught on the tip of my nipple, he grinned.
“Thank you. But until then…” His gaze lifted to mine, and his eyebrows waggled suggestively. “How much more of me do you think you can handle tonight?”
Chapter 28
Indigo
I was having the perfect sleep when a boot kicked my