Page 125 of Vasmora

My frown deepened as I lifted my gaze to his and shook my head. “She told me he became ill. He tried to revive dead veins.” The moment the words slipped past my lips, realization dawned on me. In the thick of all that’d happened, I’d failed to remember the vein that’d come to life in Mortasia. “She longed to turn him back. To what he was before he became–”

“A god’s vessel,” he said, running his hands over the back of his neck. “There is no cure for him. He was chosen by a god. Her efforts were in vain.”

“So, then, how do we keep the Umbravale from falling?”

“By keeping Dorjan alive.”

I hesitated to say what I was thinking, already anticipating his thoughts. “Or sacrificing me to the mages.”

“That’s not happening.”

“And what if I choose it?”

“You told me two nights ago that you don’t need a choice. You want me to act on instinct. And my instincts are telling me to kill every mage who crosses my path.”

I would’ve told him that, had I known he would use my words against me, I’d have never spoken them, but a thought struck me. “Did you just say two nights ago?”

“Yes. You’ve been asleep for two days.”

I frowned. “Why would you let me sleep so long?”

“You needed rest.” He tucked a stray hair behind my ear. “Although, you suffered so many nightmares, I wasn’t sure how restful it was for you.”

“You said the Solassions will be hunting us.” Panic settled over me, the words frantically spilling out of me. “Th-th-the mages. We’ve lost so much time. We could’ve been far away from here by now.”

He gingerly stroked the back of my neck. “Lothare has the wolves and his men monitoring the woods for any sign of either now.”

“You truly trust this Lothare?”

His eyes darkened. “As I’ve told you before, I trust no one where you’re concerned, and I won’t hesitate in that regard. But at the very least, Lothare has no love for the Solassions.”

“And the mages?”

He sighed and lifted a lock of my hair, threading it through his fingers. “Seems he doesn’t care for them, either.”

“So, we’re safe?”

“I suspect we’re safer than if we’d kept afoot in your state. Particularly with your outbursts, which would’ve alerted anyone within a league.” The corner of his lips pulled to a smile. “And your snoring.”

I pressed my lips flat. “Clearly, I’m no longer dreaming. I’d have made a point to forget your teasing while asleep.”

He smiled, running his hand down the length of my hair. “This isn’t a dream.”

I couldn’t help staring at that handsome face. Those intense eyes. Far more beautiful than in my many dreams of him.

Running his thumb over my bottom lip, his brows lowered to a mantle of anguish.

“What is it?” I asked, tipping my head to draw his attention.

“Seeing you in that cell. The chains I once wore. The bruises and cuts.” A muscle in his jaw ticced. “Seems no matter how much I’ve trained, how many I’ve killed … I can still be brought to my knees.”

I lowered my gaze. “I’m sorry you had to see me that way. I’m sorry for all of this.”

“Sorry for what, exactly? The torment you suffered at her hands?” The brief silence that followed prompted me to look up, and I caught a glimpse of rage flash across his face. “I’ve killed her so many ways in my mind. It’s never brutal enough. Never long enough.”

“She can’t die but she feels pain?”

He nodded. “The only consolation I feel for letting her breathe.”