Taste of Darkness

They talked about random, unimportant things like the quality of the whiskey from a local farm and how the dadao’s blade had been made with a metal similar to the liquid metal mined under the Nine Mountains. They joked.

Until Quain went too far. “Are you sure Avry’s still in there? Maybe she slipped out the back door and is playing dead again.”

Loren swatted him on the arm. “It’s a flower, there’s no back door.”

“Back petal, whatever. You know what I mean.”

“Why would she do that? The war’s over. Think before you speak, Quain.”

“She’s there,” Flea said in a quiet tone. “I watched Noak. And the Lily took her right away.” He met Kerrick’s gaze. “That counts for something. She wasn’t rejected.”

True. Kerrick studied the Peace Lily. He’d wait until spring arrived in a month. Then he’d decide his next move.

CHAPTER 24

Tears streamed down Kerrick’s face as he sobbed, holding me tight. I stared at him in confusion. Why was he so upset? My memories swirled and settled on one image. Me, Noak, and Tohon locked together. Did Tohon kill Noak?

Alarmed, I wriggled to break free.

Kerrick tightened his grip, pressing me to his chest. “Just give...me...a moment.”

I stilled. Gaunt and haggard, he looked as if he suffered from the wasting disease. But my magic didn’t stir, so it must be lack of sleep. I sensed his bond with the living green. From what I’d learned about magical bonds, I planned to fix that little problem.

I glanced around. At least we were no longer inside the cave. Buds spiked the trees and a green fuzz coated a few bushes. Lilys swayed in the warm breeze and the air smelled of fresh grass and spring sunshine. Spring? Or Kerrick’s scent?

He stared at me with emerald-colored eyes. Spring. Which meant I’d missed...two months!

“Start talking,” I forced the words from my dry throat.

Instead, he kissed me. I returned it, raking my fingers in his hair. Sometime later we broke apart.

“Bad news?” I asked.

“Not anymore.” He smiled a killer smile and I had to kiss him again.

* * *

Much later, after I’d dressed and eaten a ton of food, I snuggled next to him while he filled me in on the past two months. I marveled that the Peace Lily saved my life again. A faint memory of the Peace Lily telling me it would no longer help and asking to be left alone stirred. I would ensure the knowledge about the flower remained limited to those already in the know. We would not bother it again. Its serum only preserved a body from decaying; it didn’t heal. And I would do everything I could to keep another rogue magician from using its serum to create dead soldiers.

“Where’s Belen and the others?” I asked.

Kerrick beamed. “They’re going to be ecstatic.”

“So they are close?”

“Out hunting. They’ve been keeping me company.”

“That was nice of them.”

“They were upset, too.”

“Gee, this is my third time—you’d think they’d be a bit more relaxed,” I teased.

But Kerrick failed to see the humor. “It was a long two months.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not like you had any control.”

“I meant for lying to you. Tohon had to die.”

“I know. It took me a month, but I forgave you.”

“The good news just keeps on coming.” And one of the best parts—the war was over. “Is Ryne going to keep his promise to reestablish the Fifteen Realms?”

“Yes.” Kerrick explained about the leaders. “And he offered me Tohon’s realm. But I can’t accept it.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t leave the forest. Because I go dormant in the winter. Because—”

“What if I told you I can break your bond to the living green?”

“Without killing me?”

“Yep.”

“How?”

“By doing this...” I kissed him.

He pulled away. “What’s the catch?”

“After spending lots of time together and sharing magic, we’ll be bonded. You’ll be swapping one bond for another. There are some limitations and the whole ‘if I die, you die’ thing and vice versa.” I suppressed a shudder, remembering my link with Tohon. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to.”

Kerrick crushed me to his chest. “Avry, today you just gave me back my life.”

“Does that mean you’ll accept the position of King of Sogra?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“If you’ll agree to be my queen.”

My heart jolted. “And a healer?”

“Of course. Belen figured you might want to reestablish the Healer’s Guild.”

“That’s a great idea. I can work with the Death Lilys to discover more potential healers. Without harming them, of course! And Danny and Zila can live with us.”

“I’d like that.”

“And we’ll have children?”

“As many as you want. That won’t be a problem.” He leered.

“And we’ll have a very long honeymoon?”

“Oh, yes. As long as you wish. It’s going to take a while to knock down Tohon’s castle and build another.”

“Oh, no, you can’t knock it down.”