Broken Veil (Harbinger #5)(64)

“They’ve already tried,” he replied, his voice husky. “They will try again. It’s no secret where I work. I accept the risk. I cannot let you do this alone.”

“I’m not alone,” Cettie said, her heart aching. “The Knowing is my shield. My friend. My tutor. My protection. I want you to stay with the zephyr until the school is secure.” She put her hand on his wrist. “Promise me.”

“I won’t,” he said forcefully, shaking his head. “I’m a doctor, Cettie. If any of these soldiers is injured, I will rush to aid them. Or the prince. But I will not let them take you again.”

“They won’t take me,” Cettie answered, shaking her head. “They’ll kill me.”

“And I would rather you not die,” he said.

She breathed in through her nose. Just touching him was painful. She took her hand away. “I made oaths to the Medium, Adam. I have powers now I didn’t have before. I don’t exactly understand them, but I can feel them. I have sworn an oath to be Sera’s protector. She is in great danger. They will try to twist her mind, like they did with me.” She took a quick breath. “What I’m trying to say is . . . we cannot be together, Adam.”

Her words caused him physical pain. He flinched. “Why not?” he whispered.

“We cannot go back to what we were. It wouldn’t be fair to you.” She swallowed, trying to muster her failing courage. “You deserve someone like Anna Fitzroy. Someone who is worthy of your loyalty. I am not.”

Her words were breaking his heart. She stopped speaking, not wanting to cause him even more pain. She looked down, her throat bulging, her own heart twisting painfully.

His fingers clenched the book in his hands, his knuckles going white. She’d never seen him so discouraged or depressed. It was for the best, she believed. There would be less pain now to remove the festering splinter. Then he could heal. Then he could love again. She believed it with all her heart. She wanted the best for him—and even if she redeemed herself, she could never reverse the wrongs she’d done to him.

It was several minutes before he mastered himself enough to speak. His voice sounded anguished. “I still want to go with you. I don’t want you to face your enemies alone.”

She looked him in the eye. “You’re not a killer, Adam.” She pressed her lips together, giving him a warning look. “These people are.”



Cettie had taken over the helm. The wind felt wonderful in her face and hair, almost as if it were renewing her. The memories the Dryad had restored to her did torment her at times, but they also brought tender moments back to life. Like the afternoon that Fitzroy had taken her out in the zephyr to test the storm glass. It had been one of the happiest moments in her life, filled with the thrill of discovery and the feeling of belonging to someone.

Adam was asleep, arms folded, head ducked low, and so she did her best to keep the zephyr riding low and smooth, not wanting to jostle him awake. The tenderness she felt toward him at that moment nearly suffocated her. But she’d done the right thing by insisting the relationship was over. She was sure of it. The last thing she wanted him to do was take unnecessary risks for her. To mourn for her if anything happened at the poisoner school or afterward. She wanted only for him to be happy. To choose someone better to love.

Focusing on piloting the craft kept her mind off Adam, off what might have been had life turned out differently for them. She kept the zephyr low as she sped along the coast toward Genevar. The waves crashed on the shore or against the ragged rocks jutting like teeth from the water. Her favorite part was when they glided above a building wave as it crested. There was magic in watching the water curl, turn white at the edge, and crash in a roar and tumult. Skeins of seaweed decorated parts of the ocean, and in the distance, she could occasionally spy the masts, rigging, and bulk of ships far beneath them.

It was at just such a moment, as she watched a long, powerful wave forming, that she saw the tempest rise from a hidden cove in the rocks. She had sensed the Serpentine moments before it came into view.

Aunt Juliana’s mind pressed against her. There you are, you little scamp, she thought with a throb of warmth. Genevar is just around the bend, Cettie. Lead the way.

Hello, Cettie, added Caulton Forshee, his thoughts joining in. Thank you for sparing my life.

She’s still a little scamp. But I love her.

I know, Julie. But try to be civil.

I’m always civil.

A smile came to Cettie’s face as she heard their banter. How she’d missed them. She remembered seeing Caulton lying on his back, his eyes shocked, as he’d watched her at the warehouse. She’d saved his life.

She was hoping she could save more.

As if in response to her thought, Adam joined her, standing shoulder to shoulder. Memories of the day Joses died began to hit her again, like the waves against the shore beneath the zephyr. She found herself blinking back tears, unable to bear the thought of losing another friend. Someone she had loved with all her heart and, despite herself, always would.





CHAPTER TWENTY?THREE

INTO THE VOID



The last time Cettie had approached Genevar by sky ship, she’d been in Lady Corinne’s zephyr. The city had not started shooting at them, but this time she was greeted with the pop and crack of bullets as she brought the zephyr in from the bay.