Witchlights! In the nick of time.
Rosetta of Chel Grove inclined her head. “My apologies for my tardiness. I headed this way as soon as I received your message.”
At the sound of the female’s singsong accent, Valeriana let go of my leg and turned to face her. She blinked her huge green eyes, and something in her face seemed to change, something almost imperceptible that, for the first time since I’d met her, made her look fully at ease.
“Not a problem,” Jeondar said. “The important thing is that you’re here.”
“Where is the child?” Rosetta asked.
“Here.” I stepped away from Valeriana, who remained mostly hidden by me.
Rosetta’s face lit up with a smile, and so did Valeriana’s.
“I have come to take you home,” Rosetta said.
The child hugged herself, and it was clear to me that she was trying not to cry with relief.
My heart warmed up for her. I leaned down to talk to her. “It was great meeting you, Valeriana of Mid Crosswood. I will never forget you.”
“And… I will never forget you. Maybe we’ll meet again.”
“Maybe.”
“This is very auspicious,” the king said. “Rosetta and Valeriana, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you want until you’re ready to depart to your home.”
“Thank you, King Elladan. A couple of days of rest will suffice, and I hope I may be granted an audience to talk about what happened to Valeriana’s clan, and the threats now looming over my clan.”
The king’s face darkened at the possibility of more bad news. Kalyll also seemed to tense. He seemed frustrated, as if he wished he could do something here and now, but his quest was more important. In order to be able to serve his people, he needed to be in control of his full capacities. His eyes met mine from across the room, and I offered him a reassuring smile.
I’ll do everything I can to help youwas the message I tried to convey.
He nodded as if he understood, as if he trusted me.
I just prayed I wouldn’t let him down.
An hour later, we were outside the walls of Imbermore, headed north.
The Sunder Mountains loomed ahead, looking closer than ever. Still, I didn’t let that fool me. I’d gotten better at estimating distances, and my guess was that traveling only in the morning would take at least twenty days to reach them.
Kalyll rode ahead, setting the pace. I hung back for the first hour, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t take my eyes off his straight back, couldn’t stop craving the feel of his muscles at my fingertips—not to mention his lips on mine.
When the craving for his company got the best of me, I rode forward and joined him.
“Hey,” I said, as eloquent as a rock.
“Hey back.” He winked, which was charming as hell.
There was an awkward silence until I got my raging hormones in order.
“How long will it take us to get to Mount Ruin?” I asked.
“Around twelve days, I hope. We need to arrive on the first day of the new moon.”
“Why the new moon?”
He shrugged, avoiding the question. More secrets.
I sighed. “Well, at least that’s less time than I thought.”