“Echnid was?” I repeated, and Vale nodded. “Why do you think he didn’t show up himself? He didn’t go after the real Ophelia either.”
She and Tolek heeded Vale’s letter and raced back to Xenovia as quickly as possible, Rina and Lancaster not far behind.
“Whatever information Valyrie offered him must have been a large enough deterrent.” She traced my palm, the calluses from my scythe seeming like beacons calling for her attention. “I haven’t seen what it was.”
“She hasn’t shown you directly?”
Vale shook her head. Fuck, what was the Starsearcher Angel doing?
Massaging her shoulders, I asked, “Do you think they’re interested in my scythe because it injured Thorn in the mountains?”
“Perhaps,” Vale said. “Normal blades aren’t capable of harming an Angel.” Perhaps Valyrie had been feeding Echnid information about the weapon and that’s why Vale kept seeing it.
“What the fuck could he want with it?” I asked, sighing. “Have you been able to read anything?”
“Now you like the readings,” Vale chided with an arched brow, but the tension between us had dissipated.
I just wanted to hold on to her while everything was…a fucking mess. So, I merely grunted in acknowledgment of her mocking, sent a wave of a laugh down the Fatesworn bond that I was pretty sure I did correctly since her cheeks flushed, and I nodded for her to continue.
“I haven’t seen anything other than Soulguider symbols and Xenique—which makes sense since it’s her clan’s weapon—but you can bet on Valyrie’s wings that I’ll keep looking,” she swore.“No matter what it is, though, we need to find out more. And that means we need answers about why that weapon was given. We know it was gifted to your father by a chancellor or someone else of high status. Maybe there’s more to it.”
I nodded slowly, reluctantly. “And that means I’ll have to find out about my father.”
Chapter Fifty-Four
Tolek
The shockof power that rocked through my body when I’d fought Thorn in the desert followed my every step, even days later. It sharpened my senses as I hunted for Ophelia in the sculpture garden outside the guest house the day after we returned from Mindshaper Territory. But a different voice called for me, and Vale came rushing up.
“I was looking for you,” she said, one hand behind her back.
I quirked a brow, stifling that unnamed energy. “I think CK was looking foryou. I had to drag him to our meeting this morning.” He’d grumbled about leaving her side the entire walk there, and as soon as we were done, he’d been off again.
Vale’s cheeks flushed, one hand fiddling with her skirt. “He found me right as Harlen was arriving with the Starsearcher cavalry, so I told him I’d meet him shortly.”
“I’m sure he was thrilled,” I said with a laugh.
“He’ll be fine.” Vale waved me off. “I wanted to give you this.”
She pulled a dagger from behind her back and held it out to me. The weapon was delicate, the blade pristinely crafted, etched with an elegant constellation along one edge, and the handle?—
My heart stuttered. “L.V.?”
“For Lyria,” Vale whispered. “The constellation is tied to an ancient story of a female warrior born of music. It was said she was fierce on a battlefield and with her voice.”
I ran my finger along the sharpened edge, memorizing the grooves of each etched star. It was perfect for my sister who sang with her blades but also maintained a dreamer’s soul.
“Harlen just gave it to me,” Vale explained. “It was Lyria’s idea to imbue weapons with the resins comprising Titus’s seeing chamber. We now have hundreds of blades that will aid sessions while fighting, thanks to her.”
My throat was thick, and when I met Vale’s gaze, her eyes were glassy.
“Thank you for this, Vale,” I whispered. “It means a lot to know this battlefield will be lined with a piece of her.”
“Her heart and memory are fueling this fight as much as anything,” Vale agreed. “Now I really should go find Cypherion. I left him to help Harlen settle in, and I have a feeling that’s going swimmingly.”
As she disappeared, I hung the blade on my belt beside the Vincienzo family dagger. The weight was right. Like a piece I’d been missing was returned.
And it gave me the strength to face something else I’d been avoiding.
