Truth of Embers

by Caitlyn McFarland

  That made it more difficult for her than anything else, the fact that Kavar truly thought she could be so easily manipulated. That he was so focused on “taking” her from Ashem that he didn’t notice she was leading him around by the nose.

  It wasn’t even a little bit challenging.

  On the third day, while Ashem sheltered from a storm on a tiny island with Kai and the rest of their group, Juli drew Kavar into conversation about his past.

  She shivered, drawing her ever-present fur blanket closer around her. “How long did it take you to adjust to this cold? I don’t know if I can ever get used to it, and Colorado winters were bad.”

  Kavar frowned at her. He’d brought fresh food, which was good, because her stock had been running low. She sat close to him as they ate. Juli had never been next to him for so long without him grabbing her. He smelled distractingly enticing—clean and masculine.

  “I’m not used to it.”

  Juli tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and tilted her head. Today. She was going to get the key today. She didn’t want to seduce Kavar. It made her feel sick, remembering what her last semi-voluntary kiss had done to Ashem. But she had to get out of this room, out of these cuffs, or her whole time here would be wasted. People might die.

  She just prayed she wouldn’t have to do more than kiss.

  Juli gave in a little more to her bond with Kavar, allowing the longing from their heartswearing to float to the top of her mind. If he was listening, that’s what he would pick up first. “You miss...the heat?”

  He flicked a glance at her, then went back to his food, so casual that she knew he’d heard the innuendo. “The heat. The food. The people. The gardens. The groves. But it doesn’t matter. It’s been more than a thousand years. The home I knew is gone.”

  Juli rubbed a finger along her lips, as if thinking. She’d allowed Kavar to pour her a cup of wine. Every once in a while when he wasn’t looking, she’d dump it into the thick dark wool of the blanket that puddled around her feet. When she wasn’t looking, he refilled her cup again. Kavar was working her almost as hard as she was working him.

  Kavar watched her finger like a starving dog might watch a steak. “Are you curious about Ashem’s childhood?”

  “And yours,” Juli replied smoothly. “What did you do for fun?”

  Kavar’s eyes went distant. “Explored. Our clan had a stronghold in the mountains. We had a game, a tally of who had found the most caves.” He smiled. It shocked Juli, not because he was smiling—Kavar smirked as much as Ashem scowled—but because it was a real, genuine smile. “I was winning.”

  “How many caves did you find?” Juli stood, letting the wine-soaked blanket fall, and took her dishes into the kitchen. She loved Ashem. Kavar’s smile would not get to her.

  “Twenty-five.” Kavar followed her. Coming to stand by her side, he placed his own dishes in the stone basin that served as a sink.

  Juli leaned one hip on the basin, facing him. “Impressive.”

  Kavar shrugged. “It was the one thing I was better at than my brother.”

  She quirked an eyebrow, seeing the obvious opening. I will not enjoy this. I will not enjoy this. She swallowed. “I doubt it was the only thing.”

  Kavar’s eyes widened. He leaned back, then seemed to realize he had retreated and stood his ground instead. “What are you doing?”

  She resented his tone. As if he wasn’t trying to get her drunk and seduce her, too.

  At the same time, a pit of panic formed in her chest. If he saw through her, this would never work. So she kept her voice easy. “I told you, I’m interested in learning.”

  Once she got the cuffs off, she’d be able to use her magic to put him to sleep. That was all she needed, just to get close enough, distract him long enough, to fish the key out of his pocket like she had the first day. She smiled lazily, letting her eyelids droop as if the wine was getting to her.

  Kavar’s narrowed-eyed suspicion turned to a smirk, and Juli’s disgust almost overwhelmed her ability to act. He was insufferable.

  Kavar leaned in and trailed a finger down her arm. “I’m more than willing to...educate. But I don’t know that my brother would approve.”

  Juli smiled wistfully, but her brain was whirring. She’d have to goad him into it. She let her normally crisp words run together just a little. “I didn’t realize you needed Ashem’s approval.”

  A shadow of anger passed over Kavar’s face. “You’re the one who’s supposed to love him.”

  She shrugged, loosening her body far more than felt natural for her. “There’s love and there’s...love.” Idiotic. No one had ever said something so blatantly asinine in their lives.

  She relaxed into the heartswearing more than ever, letting go of her reservations and broadcasting the longing. She shut down her connection to Ashem even further, so he couldn’t tell more than that she was alive. He was busy dealing with the humans, in any case. Juli expected word of the cordial’s destruction to reach Cadarnle anytime.

  Besides, he didn’t need to worry about this.

  “Ashem isn’t here, Kavar.” She hooked her finger beneath the edge of his jacket and ran it up his chest. “You are.”

  She stepped into him. Kavar watched her, mesmerized. His voice, so smooth a second ago, was choked. “I told him you would be faithless.”

  Juli smiled lazily. “I’m heartsworn to you, too.”

  His lip curled, but he didn’t stop staring at her mouth. He was hungry for her, Juli could feel it. And heaven help her if part of her—the traitorous part that had heartsworn to him—wasn’t starving, as well.

  But now that she was offering herself to him, Kavar had apparently decided to have doubts. “I don’t need Ashem’s leftovers.”

  Juli’s anger sparked and her tipsy act slipped. “I’m nobody’s leftovers. I am myself. Who I’ve been with has no bearing on what I’m worth.”

  Kavar stepped closer, so that their bodies brushed. It was as if he’d tried to get her drunk, but, despite himself, wanted her sober. “You’re up to something.”

  “Oh, you can count on it.” If she was honest with herself, Kavar had surprised her. He was ruthless, but loyal. A good friend and a better solider—like Ashem. But his moods changed like the wind. And unlike Ashem, whose silences were filled with thought, sometimes Kavar could just be quiet.

  Sometimes a woman needed quiet.

  Kavar was not evil. He just had a different cause.

  She jumped when he kissed her. For the first time, he wasn’t mocking or bruising or desperate. He was soft, exploratory, curious, playful. Kissing him like this—a real kiss—was also a bit like having a bucket of ice water dumped over her head. Or an electric shock. Or both at the same time.

  Her treacherous mind took off running down forbidden paths. What if she had sworn to Kavar first?

  Would she love him instead?

  Was love so arbitrary?

  She was so surprised by the kiss that she almost forgot to slip her hand the rest of the way inside Kavar’s jacket and pull out the key. She told herself that she should stop there, that she’d gotten what she wanted. Instead, she let him carry on. Just for a minute.

  What she wouldn’t do to get rid of the part of her that craved him.

  Finally, she broke off, pretending to yawn. She smiled at him sleepily, though her heart was thudding in her chest. “Thanks for the food. And the wine.” She ran her thumb across his stubbled bronze cheek, and the gesture wasn’t empty. She might not love Kavar the way she loved Ashem, but—despite everything—she couldn’t help caring for him.

  That didn’t mean she felt guilty about her deception. After all, it had been a mutual seduction. She stepped to the side, and Kavar let her go. “When will you come again?”

  He seemed dazed. Then he came back to himself, pressin
g his full lips together in something that didn’t quite have the heart to be his normal smirk. “Tomorrow.”

  Juli nodded. With a little more verbal wrangling, she got Kavar to leave and pulled the key from her pocket.

  Time to get back to work.

  * * *

  Juli slipped out of her rooms early the next morning. She moved through the halls, invisible once more, and settled in her spot behind the tapestries. Preparing for a long—and hopefully fruitful—day, Juli leaned her head back against the wall and searched for Owain’s mind. When she found him, he wasn’t alone. In fact, he was with Jiang, and they were—

  Juli backed out of their minds like she’d stuck her hand in a fire. No, thank you.

  More than a little grossed out, she scanned for Kavar instead. He was training with his vee. Good. That would keep him more than occupied enough. This time, he wasn’t going to catch her until he realized she’d stolen the key.

  The only other minds she sensed within Owain’s large complex of rooms were a handful of guards close to the door. She skimmed, but none of them were thinking about anything useful. One wanted a nap, the other had missed breakfast, things like that.

  Twenty minutes passed, and only a few low-level thugs walked down the hall. They didn’t know anything useful, either. The only thing Juli had been able to find out since taking her cuffs off the night before was the news about Rhys and Kai’s raid of their human-killing factory had finally hit Cadarnle. Owain had been waiting for enough cordial for his whole army. Now he had none, and Rhys and Kai were getting stronger by the day. Things were looking up.

  “Juliet.” Ashem’s voice in her mind was soft as a feather falling.

  Homesickness for him rose up, threatening to overwhelm her. “I miss you.”

  He enfolded her in something like a mental hug. They wound around each other, knotting her insides tighter and tighter until she was sure she would crack and shatter.

  “I miss you, too.” It came as a feeling more than words.

  “Where are you?” Juli asked.

  “Nearly to Eryri. The storm yesterday only grounded us for an hour.”

  She smiled. “Good. I’m glad you’re safe.”

  He hesitated. “I don’t want this anymore. I want you home. Have you found out more about the poison?”

  Juli pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around them. “Not yet. I stole the key again and got my cuffs off, so that’s what I’m doing now.”

  Distress. Ashem might say he had no feelings, but just because he refused to talk about them didn’t mean they were nonexistent. “Be careful, nooré cheshm-am.”

  His love surrounded her like a cocoon, warm and safe. Juli returned the feeling, tears pricking the back of her eyes. She wanted to go home and be with Ashem, away from this cold and darkness. Away from Kavar, so pitiable and so tempting. Even if love was arbitrary or magic-driven, she had chosen Ashem. Romantics could deny it until the cows came home, but love was choice. It was commitment despite temptation.

  It was forgiveness, even when forgiving hurt. Ashem had taught her that. “Have you spoken to Kavar at all?”

  A grumble. That was a no, then. Juli sighed. Ashem had taught her to forgive—he’d forgiven her, after all. But some wounds were too old to heal easily.

  She was just about to check in on Owain and Jiang again—heaven, help her—when the door to their rooms opened. Startled, Juli peered through the crack between tapestries.

  Jiang had exited the room, Owain and four guards behind her.

  She was looking straight at Juli.

  Thought fled, replaced with terror. “Ashem—”

  Before Juli could even think about moving, Jiang strode over and ripped away the wall hanging. Juli pulled a barrier over herself, but it was too late.

  Jiang slapped Juli across the cheek so hard that Juli tasted blood and saw stars. She was so shocked that someone would actually hit her that she dropped her barrier. Jiang’s rosebud lips curled in triumph. She addressed Owain over her shoulder. “Can you see her now?”

  Owain’s eyes narrowed. “I can.”

  “Juliet!” Ashem’s exhaustion had turned to panic.

  “Bring her,” Jiang said, moving out of the way.

  Juli tried to edge around the statue that took up most of the alcove, but she was trapped. The guards grabbed her and hauled her out of the corner. She tried to resist, but her socks slid across the smooth stone.

  Desperate, she opened her bond with Kavar. “Kavar! Help me. Please—”

  Only she wasn’t the first one there. Ashem had already told him. Like Ashem, Kavar panicked. Only his panic was colored with rage. He called her a foul name, then broke off.

  “You know her?” Owain put two stone-cold fingers under Juli’s chin, tilting her face up so she had to look into his eyes.

  Jiang was practically purring. “Her name is Juliet King, Wingless. She’s Ashem’s heartsworn.”

  Owain’s fingers tightened painfully on her chin, growing cold enough to burn. For a long moment, she was caught in the ice of Owain’s gaze. A wave of dizziness swept over her—not because Owain had some kind of special magic.

  Because she knew she was going to die.

  The guards dragged her into Owain’s rooms. Juli had an impression of a two-story foyer worthy of a palace, a long, black-and-white hall, a lavishly furnished but coldly colored sitting room, and then they were in an office. A black desk took up most of the room, cluttered with papers and glass orbs that projected holograph-like images from record stones into the air above.

  They guards forced Juli into a huge black chair. She didn’t try to run—she didn’t have a chance.

  Owain rummaged through the chaos of his desk.

  Jiang paced. “That must mean her mate is here, too. We can use her to catch him.”

  Owain pulled a communicator out of the mess and jammed it over his ear. His eyes went distant for a long minute, then he yanked the communicator off and tossed it on his desk. “Kavar is on his way. He’ll find out what she knows.”

  Owain’s eyes darkened and he glared at Juli. “You have had the misfortune of catching me in a very bad mood.” He sighed. “At least I’ll be able to repay Kavar for the business in Eryri. He’s been wanting to kill his brother for years.”

  Kavar. Owain was calling Kavar here to question her. Owain was supposed to be Kavar’s friend. How distant had they grown that Owain hadn’t noticed that his general was heartsworn?

  What would Kavar do when he arrived?

  “H-how did you know I was there?” Juli hated the way her voice shook. If she was going to die, she didn’t want to sound weak.

  Jiang patted her on the cheek and Juli had to resist the urge to bite her. “Emotion. About five minutes ago you started practically screaming at me.”

  Juli closed her eyes. She’d been stupid. So very, very stupid.

  Ashem, once he’d started talking to Kavar, had gone silent. He was there, though, offering her strength that was tinged only a little with his own gut-numbing fear. “We won’t let anything happen to you, Juliet.”

  Juli could sense Kavar, as well, storming toward her in a wordless rage. For the first time, she wondered if he would help her at all. “We’ll see about that.”

  She found her voice, though her throat was dry as cotton. “Ashem isn’t here. He’s in Eryri.”

  Owain’s lip curled. “As if he would leave you here alone.” He came around the desk and grabbed a handful of Juli’s hair, tipping her head back so far that her neck and scalp both began to burn. “Tell the truth, and things will go easier for you.”

  “I—” She swallowed convulsively, and her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible. “I am telling the truth.”

  Owain bared his teeth. He let her go and gestured at one of the guards. “F
ine. We won’t wait.”

  The guard, a burly man with a green indicium, took Juli’s hand in his and snapped her little finger.

  Juli screamed. In her mind, Ashem’s cool and Kavar’s rage dissipated. Their emotions surged, overwhelming her. Everything became a jumble.

  Owain had taken up a casual position leaning against his desk. His face was devoid of compassion. “Tell me where your heartsworn is.”

  Juli tried to speak through the sobs that were clawing their way up her throat. “He’s in Eryri.”

  Owain nodded at the man who still held Juli’s hand. Juli braced herself.

  “Where is your heartsworn?” Owain asked again.

  Kavar burst through the door so hard that it bounced off the wall. “Stop! Don’t harm her.”

  From the look on Jiang’s face, Christmas had just arrived.

  * * *

  Kavar stood in the doorway, panting.

  “I know you have no love for me, but Blood of the Ancients, Kavar, don’t let him hurt her.”

  Kavar had never heard Ashem so desperate. Somehow, it wasn’t as sweet as he’d thought it would be.

  Owain smiled, obviously pleased. “Do you know who this is?”

  Kavar gave a tight nod. The pain on Juli’s face made him see red. He balled his hands into fists. He could not lose control. There could still be a way out of this.

  “I want to know where your brother is. Then you can kill them both.” Owain obviously thought he was giving Kavar some kind of gift.

  “I—” Ancients, he had no idea what he could say that wouldn’t end in both of their deaths.

  Except, perhaps, the truth. Which did he value more—Owain’s trust or Juli’s life? Owain’s trust, or Ashem’s happiness?

  Kavar thought about lying, saying that he’d captured her when Rhys had freed Kai and kept her for his own pleasure. But Owain always saw through his lies. If Kavar had captured someone so important, and with such potentially dangerous magic, he would have told. Things wouldn’t go better for any of them if he lied.