Arcana Rising (The Arcana Chronicles #4)(70)

“Again, I love you too, Aric. Now, wear your f*cking armor.”

His thumb brushed over my cheekbone. “I’m likely to fall in battle.”

“You haven’t in two thousand years.” Then I frowned. “Do you no longer expect us to have a life together?”

“A long one?” He shook his head. “I told you the odds of us both living to eighty in this world was exceedingly slim, especially if the game toils on. We’re soldiers, and we’re at war. But we will return.”

“Where will players come from in the future?” I asked. “Most of us have no family left.”

“But every Arcana has a closest relative somewhere in the world. That person will continue the line.”

Digesting everything he’d told me, I said, “If we’re soldiers at war, then let’s go out in a blaze of glory—together.”

“Should both of us lose, how will we know not to kill each other in the future? The mere idea that I might hurt you again . . .” His eyes flickered with emotion. “We could write to our next incarnations, but who will deliver such a missive?”

“When you asked me to be with you months ago, how had you planned for this?”

“I would have trusted Lark to carry letters on,” he said. “Now we each have a target on our back.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do another seven-century stint.” He’d told me and Jack that immortality was the utterest hell. “But I couldn’t handle it either. I’m not built to be alone. Aric, if something happened to you . . . I couldn’t . . .” Losing them both? There was no tourniquet tight enough. “Winning the game would be my absolute worst nightmare.”

Voice gone gruff, he said, “You truly mean that.”

I nodded. “We need to figure out another way to preserve our memories.”

“We could bargain with the Fool—”

“Out of the question.” I inhale a breath, then softened my tone. “What about Circe? Maybe we could ask her to cast a spell.”

“Though we might not even trust her not to kill us?”

Good point. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

“We’ll talk to her.” He reached for me, pulling me closer. “Come here.”

I went into his arms, and for a time, I didn’t have to think at all. . . .





44


Day 511 A.F.





“The unclean one!” Lark called when I stopped by her room. She was sitting on her bed, in the middle of a pile of animals.

Aric was finishing up some other translations, so I’d told him I would go check in with Lark. Secretly I wanted to make sure she wasn’t planning our murders with all her animals and such. “Are you taking a break?”

“A few minutes. Just to rest my wings. I mean, my falcon’s wings.” She waved to the bed. “Cop a squat.”

I waded through animals, then scooted a grumpy badger family out of the way so I could sit beside Lark.

“You’re making the boss happy,” she said. “Like a thousand times more happy than when you two hit it off before. I heard the man whistling the other morning. For real?”

“For real.” I reached over and plucked feathers from her hair.

With an irritated growl, she shook her mane out.

I insistently tucked her hair behind her ears. “Your ears are getting pointed.”

She slapped her claw-tipped fingers over them and hissed at me.

“I think they’re adorable.”

With a wary expression, she lowered her hands. “Whatever.” Fretting her lip with a fang, she said, “Do you think Finn’ll be cool with my changes?”

“I do. In past games, he loved your animal attributes. I have a memory of him telling you so.”

“Really?” That got her to smile. “I’m so ready to get back together with him. When he was at Fort Arcana, we passed letters via falcon, really getting to know each other. I’m a goner for that boy.”

“Cyclops was supposed to lead him to you.” As soon as Finn’s leg had healed enough for him to ride. “What happens now if you find him?”

Fidgeting with a claw, she said, “My falcon can reel him in.”

“Reel him in . . . where? Back here?”

More fidgeting.

“Oh, shit. Seriously, Lark?” Aric would have an aneurism.

She finally met my gaze. “Where’d you think we’d go? Either Finn stays or I leave. You wanna get rid of me?”

“No, not at all.” I sighed. “I don’t know what I was imagining. Maybe that he would have a pad nearby, one as tricked out as his old one. You two would date.” If he was even still alive.

“Will you help me with the boss?”

“Once you find Finn, I’ll try to talk to him. But I can’t promise anything.”

“Thanks, Eves.” She grinned widely, flashing her sharp fangs, reminding me why Aric would balk hard at this. Finn might be my ally, but he was still an Arcana. “So what’s it like to, uh, live with someone?”

“I thought it would take some getting used to, but it’s been easy.” Because Aric and I fit together seamlessly. Plus he was turning out to be a perfect husband, no training necessary.