The Bound (Ascension #2)(53)

Avoca whirled on Ceis’f and slapped him across the face. The sound cracked through the silent night air.

Ceis’f reached out and grasped her wrist in his hand. “What is wrong with you?”

“You have worn out your welcome,” Avoca spat at him.

He pulled her toward him and bared his teeth. “We’re going home, Avoca.”

“Good! Leave, Ceis’f! I did not want you to follow me from Eldora, and I do not need you here now.”

“You need me now more than ever. I thought you were a leader, the future Queen. If your mother saw how you were acting now…”

“My mother?” she asked in a deadly quiet voice. “My mother would be ashamed that her future son would think so little of her daughter that he had to babysit her while she was away from home.”

“Do you not see—”

“No, you don’t,” she hissed. She yanked him forward at the last second, twisted so that she brought his hand up to her shoulder, and then reached with her other arm to grab his neck and throw him onto his back at her feet.

“You don’t see anything. You don’t see why I’m here or what the purpose is in any of this. You would have had me shamed before my own people for my disgrace in allowing six of my team to die in an Indres attack,” she told him, leaning over his body. Her eyes were blazing bright, and Ceis’f didn’t move at her words. “You see only what you want to see and believe in nothing else. Your parents were killed. Your village was burned. That was twenty years ago. The wounds do not have to heal, but you cannot continue to blame every human for the actions of a few.”

Ceis’f rolled to his feet and stood before her, but she continued speaking, almost as if he weren’t there anymore, “We have found the first Doma in two thousand years. Do you know what that means for the world? She could fulfill the Circadian Prophecy and restore order to a world devoid of it. We could be welcomed in the Nit Decus castle once more. We could make a difference rather than hide in the trees for the rest of eternity. We were once esteemed counselors and allies. I want that again, Ceis’f, even if you do not. It is an admirable goal to strive for.”

“And what of your blood debt?” he asked hoarsely.

“I will happily die for Cyrene to see this come to fruition. If only you were so selfless, Ceis’f.”





Ahlvie disappeared into the gardens. It was a maze he realized. Perfect. He would be happy to be lost tonight.

He already felt it.

He was a fool. Truly this time.

He’d always played the fool. Being quick-witted, a jokester, a drunk, and a scoundrel among other less favorable things had always done him good. He’d never been in a situation where his humor and ridiculous behavior hadn’t helped him through it.

He was way into enemy territory. Nearly as far away as possible from the assignment he had been on back in Fen. But it was all to the right end. He knew where he fit into all of this. It all made sense at least. He’d known since he was thirteen where he fit in with it all.

And then Avoca had crashed into his life.

She was a game changer.

“Creator,” he whispered into the stillness. “Betrothed and a princess at that.”

He hadn’t seen that coming. He’d known that there was something between she and Ceis’f. Cyrene had said as much. But he’d mostly assumed that Ceis’f was obsessed with Avoca. He hadn’t known the whole story. Cyrene had warned him on their way from Strat. He should have listened. He never followed orders, but he probably should have for this one.

How can I compete with a betrothal to a prince?

“No clue,” he murmured to himself as he walked farther and farther into the maze of gardens.

He heard the crack of a twig behind him.

He whirled around. “Who’s there?”

There was no answer.

“Avoca?” he said. “Miss me?”

He couldn’t help it. The witty tone effortlessly fell off his tongue as he shifted back into his role. At the same time, he slid the blades out of their sheathes at his wrists and toed the ones in his boots.

It smelled like trouble. He could sense someone stalking him. He must have really been lost in thought if he hadn’t noticed it earlier. He was usually more perceptive than that.

If it had been Avoca, she would have already called out to him. That meant it was an unfriendly intruder. He was prepared for it. As prepared as he could be for an unseen attacker.

That was when it hit him.

Square in the chest.

All the air rushed out of his lungs as a beast knocked him off his feet. Ahlvie rolled and flipped back onto his feet as it lunged at him again. He was wide-eyed and ready when it came for him again.

He realized it for what it was this time. An Indres.

He would have been glad had he seen the last of those things in the woods the night before he had been captured and dragged to Strat. It seemed his luck had run out.

The small blades in his hands wouldn’t do much against the massive creature.

It stood on all fours, glaring at him with bright golden eyes. It came up to Ahlvie’s chest, and saliva was dripping from its fangs.

“You’re one ugly wolf,” he grunted.

As if the Indres could hear him, it tilted its head in offense and then rushed toward Ahlvie. He held his blades at the ready. He wished he’d had a sword on him, but he wouldn’t have been able to easily conceal a giant sword that could slay a creature of the dark. He was gifted with knives but not like a sword.