I lifted my shoulder. “No idea. I use it to remove heads from bodies, so I suppose that is severing one’s destiny. Can’t have one if you’re dead.”
Meera snorted. “You sound like my brothers right now.”
“I imagine they are right every now and then.”
She chuckled. “So do you always carry around ... god-blades?”
I cocked my head. “Just these two. Hex Cleaver, because it’s useful. Wyrd Reaper ...” How did I explain the complicated history that belonged to this blade? “The last person to carry it was my father. I like to think that in using it, I’m righting the wrongs.”
“That’s very ... noble,” she paused. “I’m surprised you didn’t have it melted down instead, given your relationship with your father.”
“I hated him,” I said bluntly. “But I can’t change who he was or what he did. All I can do is be better, do better, and hope that it wipes some of the red out of my family ledger.”
Her lips pressed together in a sympathetic smile. “It’s not your job to wipe it out.”
I shrugged. “If I don’t, no one will. My family fucked over an entire realm and a half. Reparations must be paid. Besides, you can’t simply unmake a god-blade.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re sentient, in a way. It comes from the power that gods used to create them. Trying to unmake one is a great way to end up on the sharp end of its curse.”
Sadie’s voice interrupted before Meera could ask more. “If you two are done comparing magical cutlery, some of us are still prepping to avoid becoming the next course.”
“You two were literally just arguing about everything while we made plans to leave,” Meera said, “so sue me if we were talking about weapons.”
“We were still listening to you.” Sadie scoffed and held up a pouch. “Food for maybe two days between the four of us. Fruit won’t travel well, so we need to eat that first. The cheese will be okay for a day, and the bread will be stale, but we’ll have something. I have some flint. A few herbs. And this,” she said, patting her boot, “for motivational stabbing.”
“We should fill up our canteens too,” Meera added, taking ours and handing them over to Damon. He took them and casually went to a table, filling them from a pastel pink pitcher. After capping them off, he slipped the straps over his head crossbody style and refilled a wine goblet to avert any suspicions.
“We should learn each other’s abilities,” I said when he returned, taking the sack from Meera and tucking it into her backpack. “Assuming your magic still works in this realm. It will help to know what each of us can do in a life-or-death situation.”
“Mine are simple,” Sadie offered, twirling a dagger between her fingers before sheathing it in one fluid motion. “I’m all redcap. You probably already figured that out.”
“Yeah,” Damon muttered. “The homicidal edge gave it away.”
She grinned without apology. “What can I say? It’s part of the package. We don’t have flashy magic, but battlelust is a real thing. If my eyes turn red, you should run and leave the fighting to me. I won’t be able to differentiate between friend and foe.”
“Good to know,” I said. “Do you have any minor abilities? I know some redcaps do and some don’t.”
Sadie picked at crud beneath her nails with the sharp end of the blade. “My bracers summon axes, and so far, that has worked here. I’ve got aslighthealing power, and I do mean slight. It’s not strong enough to actually heal most injuries, but I can take away pain for a short amount of time and sense where people are injured.” Her eyes glowed for a brief second and she flicked her gaze to my side where the Nameless had stabbed. Point made.
I lifted a brow. “I’m assuming that’s a useful skill to have as a professional fighter.”
The grin she flashed was nothing short of diabolical. “It is.”
I nodded, then looked at my nephew. “Damon?” While I knew the broad strokes of what he could do, I wasn’t sure on the specifics. Except now those specifics might make all the difference in the world. He was my heir to the throne, and I realized how little I actually knew about him. As a king, it wasn’t a proud moment.
He sighed, brushing hair off his forehead. “I’m pretty standard high fae. My element is air. Mom is light fae and Dad was dark fae, so I’ve got both aspects to my power.”
“That’s cool,” Meera said. “Do you also have the same ... peculiarities as Vareck?”
Damon’s eyebrows shot up and he looked at me. “You told her about that?”
“She’s my mate,” I answered. Never mind that I told herbeforeI knew that. “But to answer your question, Damon can’t lie. Amoret’s affinity passes to those who are spirit elementals.”
“Wait,” Sadie held up her hand. “You can lie?”
“I can. I’m a dark fae spirit elemental and a fury. The Einer bloodline descends directly from the goddess Amoret.”
