My eyes bulged.
“Iaso is well over 1200,” Rogue said.
My face snapped back to him, and I must have looked dumbfounded because it set off another round of laughter from him. “Then why does she look so much younger? She looks our age,” I asked, turning back to Alden.
“She takes a special tea she creates from her herbs to stay youthful, and I’m sure she’ll outlive us all. She’s offered it to me a time or two, but I quite like the look of age. It reminds me of how far I’ve come.”
My mind could not wrap around the fact that they werethatold.1200 years?Iaso would have seen the building of Draig Hearth, which is incredible, but also unbelievable. And yet, I believed them entirely.
I glanced down at Rogue. He was grinning at me with his chin propped on his hand.
Young. We aresoyoung.
“I’m only twenty-six,” I uttered.
He sat up to close the distance between us, resting his elbows on his knees. His grin shifted into a soft smile.
“Yes, I know,” he replied, patting my thigh with his hand. My eyes dropped to the subtle movement and my cheeks flamed. As Rogue took a deep breath and turned back to Alden, I took a step away from him. “I’ll tell the messengers a rough age and general location of birth. At least it narrows it down a little.”
Alden nodded as Rogue turned to leave and I hesitated, facing him. I opened my mouth to speak just as the fire spit out a folded note. It drifted until it reached Rogue and he caught it in midair, quickly opening it to read its contents.
“They’re not far. He said they decided to check in with local villages along the way and see how people were faring. They should be back tomorrow.”
Alden nodded in response and Rogue stepped out of the study.
“I’m sorry, I found Vaelor’s chambers and the journals inside. Once I read that bit, I just felt like Rogue should know first, before I talked to anyone else.”
“No, don’t apologize. You did the right thing. That was something we should’ve discussed a long time ago. And I’m glad you found his room and the journals. He would’ve wanted you to have them, I think, some small part of him.”
I offered him a light smile and turned to follow Rogue. As we left the office, my eyes snagged on the fireplace, reminding me of the note we sent to Evander. The confirmation of my death that he was happily awaiting.
My stomach knotted. I blinked rapidly, forcing myself to look away.
As we strolled down the main hallway, I bit at the inside of my cheek. “What do you think he’ll do when he finds out I’m not actually dead?”
“I think he’ll be long dead before he ever finds out,” Rogue declared, his voice laced with restraint. “I’ve always planned on ending his miserable life for what he’s done to my people, but now… Now my desire to cleave his head from his shoulders is stronger than ever.” An angry muscle ticked in his jaw.
Once we reached the fork, leading to either my room or his, he stopped to look at me.
“Which will it be? Are we staying in yours or mine?”
“We?”
“Yes, we. Everything is still so… fresh. I wouldn’t want you getting too lonely without me,” he teased, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Mine.”
He stifled a smile and led the way to my room. Once we entered, my heart sank a little, halfway expecting to see Thana reading in a chair as I had so many times before.
“Where is Thana now? She has been released, right?”
“Yes, she was released from the dungeon, but she is still being kept under guard in her own room.”
I released a breath of relief.
“Thank you,” I said. Tension rolled off my shoulders, and I made a mental note to visit her as soon as I could.
“You’re welcome,” he uttered, looking about the room with furrowed brows. “I’m sorry I locked you in here.”