A Baron of Bonds (Conduit of Light #2)

41. Karus

Chapter 41

Karus

The minutes passed by as everyone gathered themselves.

Madame Zoreyah’s newborn began to cry on the muri’s back, and the black creature stalked over carefully.

The Prince slumped against the wall with his arms folded across his chest as the Queen spoke quietly to him.

I wondered briefly if I had been too hard on him. Not just on his body, but emotionally as well when I had slammed him against the wall.

In truth, I had hardly registered it was a choice I made. No one would be touching Rev if I was there to stop it, regardless of if Rev could handle it himself.

Lanna left my hands and shyly asked to pet the muri who purred loudly at Zoreyah’s feet while she fed her infant.

“Such an interesting display of power, Karus of Felgren.” Lady Lamoral walked gracefully to us, her long silk gown accentuating her eyes in a cornflower blue rimmed with white fur. “Tell me Karus, do you desire power? If the Blightress gave you hers, did she also give you her ambitions in this world?”

I watched as her gaze flickered to Rev’s jaw, where a small cut, red and jagged, had not yet been healed. Her eyes then trailed up to his mouth where they stayed, transfixed.

What the fuck?

Nothing had happened between these two, I was sure of it, but she looked at him as if he was a meal to be consumed.

I twisted my jaw to the side and gritted my teeth. “I have many ambitions and desires in this world, Lady Lamoral. One of them is standing right in front of you.”

She glanced to me and laughed. “Oh, Karus, don’t take it personally. It must be the most obvious to you how handsome your companion is. Though I will say, you two make a fine pairing.” She slid to my side, holding my arm and leaning in close to whisper, loud enough for Revich to hear. “It’s a shame. He told me he’s a one-woman man, though he could easily have two, and all in the same night.”

About to tell her off for good, Rev beat me to it.

“Lady Lamoral, you’ve been turned down on several occasions at this point. I would think an intelligent woman such as yourself would have the sense to understand no when it had been implied, so let me be more direct.”

He grabbed my waist, pulling me to his chest. “No.”

She rolled her eyes. “Alright. I will not ask again. But know that my door is always open if either of you would like to come in.”

I sneered as she walked away.

“Who does she think she is?” I stormed at Rev, watching her join Geyrand and Captain Yarah’s conversation.

“I believe her and Heimlen had an…understanding when they met.”

“And what? That means she gets to have every Baron of Felgren in her bed?” I shook my head, still irritated at her persistence.

“I’d guess she’s not turned down by many men or women. I think it’s gotten to her head a bit.”

I rubbed my temple, reminding myself why we were here. “What are we going to do, Rev? We know the Blightress won’t stop. We know where her heart beats in that cave. Do we wait for her to strike against us? What if there’s something more dangerous than the Blight? What if she sends syphoners to the cities?” I touched his chin and whispered, “ sarchio” , watching as his cut begin to heal.

“I don’t want to wait, but I don’t think we should rush into this, either. If we’re going to go after her heart, we’ll need power. We’ll need more conduits. And I have an idea.”

He gripped my neck and kissed me, his thumb brushing over the golden cusp of moons on my ear.

“If we could all reconvene, I’d like to propose a plan.” He checked in wordlessly to Zoreyah. She nodded back, her babe asleep again in her arms.

The room grew quiet, waiting for the Baron of Felgren to speak.

“We cannot sit around, waiting for the worst from the Blightress. We know she holds immense power. We know she seeks to return more of it. This threatens our way of life here on Arcaynen. We cannot risk Felgren’s destruction and risk the magic we rely on. If anything, we need to be training more channelers—something I plan to do.

“But, for now, I ask this of you. Each of the three great cities will gather two of their most powerful channelers. We will come to give their Offerings a few months from now. They will be trained, knowing their task is to enter the Northern Steppes and stop the Blightress from stealing more power. I will also make inquiries to conduits throughout the isle if they wish to join us when the time comes.”

“How are we to choose these channelers? Is that not the job of a Baron?” Lamoral crossed her arms at her chest, lifting her chin.

“Usually, yes, but if I was to take the time to go to each city and search for channelers, that time would be wasted when I could be training the ones I already have. I am asking for your help. I believe each of you great leaders possess the necessary skill to choose two channelers. Your conduits can help you as well. Karus and I will depart from Felgren when you have chosen. We will bring them to train and, hopefully, we will be ready to approach the Blightress. Keep in mind, these channelers need to know what they are getting into. They need to know that they come to train for a dangerous excursion into the Blightress’s lands.”

“It takes years to train a conduit. We don’t have years,” the Queen argued.

“It takes years to train a conduit in all of the ways and history of Felgren. Since we do not have that time, we will not spend it reading those books. We will spend it controlling their magic and harnessing the power of Felgren.”

“I think it is a solid plan. I will begin the search the moment I return to the Attatok Mountains.”

“I think it has holes,” Lamoral sighed, putting her hands on her hips. “But…it’s the best thing we’ve got so far. We can’t sit around and wait to see her next move, and we obviously can’t just shove our people into her lands and hope for the best, either.” She eyed the Queen.

Rina clasped her hands in front of her plum dress. “I agree to your terms, Baron Revich. We can pause the Treaty and discuss its terms another time. I will begin the sear?—”

“I’ve already chosen the channelers from Hyrithia, Your Majesty.” Revich slid his hands in his pockets. “Mychael,”—he flicked his head toward the guard at the door— “and Philius.”

The Queen gasped, “If you think I’d send my son?—”

“It’s not up to you, mother.” The Prince stepped forward, facing Rev, loathing still withering on his face. “I accept.”

“Good. Mychael?” Rev turned to the guard.

He flustered, clearing his throat. “Y-yes, Baron. I will accept as well.”

“It’s settled then.” Lamoral clamped her hands together and sighed. “Now let’s move on from this subject. Queen Rina, I am in need of a drink.”

The Queen glared at Rev, then me, and back to her son who still met Revich’s gaze.

Madame Zoreyah stood, her muri with her, and she excused herself from the room in an obvious state of exhaustion.

I moved to Geyrand as Captain Yarah took Lanna’s hand, leading her out of the room.

“Do you think this will work?” he asked, taking my hands in his.

“I do. I believe in Rev. If he can just get more channelers to Felgren, he can train them quickly. I can help.”

“I need to go.”

“I know.” I let go of his hands to embrace him one last time. “Please send word when Viv has the baby. I’d like to visit after a few weeks and do what I can to help.”

“I will write to you.” He brought my fingers to his lips, just like that fateful day before I left Hyrithia behind. “I’m glad I was the one who found you, Karus.” He glanced toward Revich. “I’m glad I was able to bring you back to him.”

“Me, too, Geyrand. Me, too.”

Rev and I made it back to our room in The Spinning Wheel, both of us exhausted, both of us sipping styris tea along the way. We fell into our one bed, sliding our hands over each other, undressing slowly, carefully, and slipping into the sheets.

We’d hardly spoken, our minds processing everything that had happened.

“How can I say goodbye?” I whispered as he held me to his chest, my tears free-falling off the bridge of my nose, only to land in a cold splash onto my other cheek.

“Clairannia and Figuerah know how much you love them. It is that love that has endured over years and that love that will continue to grow and nourish. Even when you are apart.”

“I don’t know Felgren without them,” I sniffed, wiping my nose with my hand. “They have learned to live without me, but I still need them.”

“You have them. You will write to them, and they to you. And if you ever wish,”—he pressed his forehead to mine—“if you ever cannot stand the thought of not being near them a moment longer, I can send you to them through a portal. You can visit for a few days.”

I brushed his neck and kissed him.

“Of course, I’ll be pining the entire time you’re gone, but that’s secondary.”

I laughed, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling my body over his.

He traced the lines of growth on my hips and murmured, “Do you believe in me, Karus?” His hands flitted up my waist before settling back down over my backside, his thumbs smoothing over my skin.

“If I believe in anything, it’s you.”

“And do you trust me, Karus?” He pulled my hips forward, sliding over the length of him, my body silken with the desire he continuously pulled from me.

“If I trust anyone, it’s you.”

He pushed me back, and I moaned at the friction between our bodies.

“Do you want to go home, Karus?” Pulling me along again, I instead shifted, slipping him inside my body, the movement forcing a breath through his clenched teeth.

“If home is anywhere, it’s with you.” I bent forward, sliding up and down, my mouth crashing into his as we loved each other one last time in the tallest inn, in the highest room, of the city of Hyrithia.