Bound by Darkness (Bound By Series)

33. Re

Chapter 33

Reunion

MORIA

She struck hard and fast. A swift-moving ember among mist as Euris barely had time to deflect with his blade—a shimmering piece of metal, curved and elongated for maximum damage.

Their blades wailed above the rain splatter as Naexi spun, another quick attack hitting Euris from below the waist.

He was quicker this time as he shoved her back with his blade, the curved steel threatening to latch onto hers.

With brisk footwork, Naexi maneuvered through his fury of attacks.

Despite her best efforts to hide it, her arm disadvantaged her as Euris sent attack after attack toward the broken arm. Sweat crossed her brow as she shoved him back once more. She was losing speed and agility.

I gripped the dagger as I let muscle memory take over. It would not leave. Years and years of training so that Raha might prosper. I would finish it here. I had to end it here as I breathed out slowly. I struck swiftly and efficiently as I angled the dagger toward my father’s vital points.

It was a tandem effort. Naexi struck. I struck .

It was as if we had fought together. Somehow, we instinctively knew where the other would attack. What would pressure him the most as we kept the fury of our momentum.

Euris blocked every attack, not a bead of sweat forming across his forehead.

My dagger hit the curved part of his blade.

“You’ve grown rusty.”

“And you’ve grown senile.” I huffed, my muscles screaming in atrophy.

Euris laughed. “Not once did we spar,” he said as his blade cracked against mine. “Do you know why? Because if you ever learned my fighting style, you’d have taken the opportunity to kill me.”

I gritted my teeth as I held my stance. “I was a child. I wanted a father!” I yelled as my blade struck. “I wanted a father who was proud of me. Why would I ever want to end your life?”

Naexi ducked low as Euris swung his blade wide, his brown eyes narrowing.

“Wanted? What purpose does being wanted serve? You were to serve your House without question. Without fail.”

Our blades sang.

“Did you ever love me?” It erupted from my chest as I sidestepped back, my breathing heavy as I held the dagger between us. “Did you even love mom?”

Euris’ eyes flashed black as kohl as he raised the blade. “Don’t ever question my love for Eddena,” he snarled. “You’re the reason she died. You’re the reason she does not rest beside me at night.”

He sheathed his blade as he moved closer. “You asked if I ever loved you.” He took another step forward. “Not once did I look upon you and see someone worthy of my love. You cursed my home the moment of your birth,” he seethed. “I prayed to the gods that night to take you instead of my wife .” He growled, spewing pestilence as he continued. “You don’t deserve the length of your hair. You think maintaining it will honor the gods as a Rahan soldier? It deserves to be cut. You are no solider.”

My throat bobbed at the truth. He didn’t love me—all those years of pining after his approval was for nothing. He didn’t love me. My father never loved me.

“That’s an asshole move,” Naexi said, her blade still raised toward Euris.

He cocked his head to the side. “Love is a cage. A burden to wear upon the heart. I learned that lesson.” He readjusted his sheath at his side as he brushed dirt from his shirt. “I grow tired of this interrogation, and you have made a grave mistake making an enemy out of me and King Hywell.”

“Let him come,” Naexi spat. “It’s time the High King tasted metal.”

Euris pulled a strand of brown hair behind his pointed ears. “I would stay, but I’m afraid the King must know what has transpired in this alley,” he said. “Keep the rebel plans. I’m sure he will be thrilled to find you stole the plans. Practically a declaration of war.”

“I will not let you leave this alleyway alive,” Naexi growled.

Euris laughed. “I could slaughter you right now, but I’ll find it much more enjoyable when your little camp is trampled to dust.”

“Is that a threat?” Naexi did her best to keep her face neutral, but her eyes widened slightly, her chest fluttering.

Camp? Did King Hywell know where the Hideaway was?

My dagger flew without thinking, striking the wall beside his ear. Euris didn’t flinch as he twisted it out from the stone.

“You’re not leaving.” He couldn’t leave. If he left, he’d tell King Hywell we’d stolen the rebel plans. It was a declaration of war against the most influential figure in all of Cethales.

It was his plan from the start.

Euris tossed the dagger back, the blade skittering across cobblestone as he took steps backward. “Try as you might to avoid this, it is too late.”

With a few more steps, he disappeared into the fog.

Picking up the dagger, I ran after him into the thick mist. My ears bled from the roaring in my head. If he left, he’d find me. The cycle would never end. He would send for King Hywell, destroy everything back at the Hideaway for our insolence against him.

As the mist dissipated, my eyes met nothing but stone. He’d simply… vanished.

“We have to find him,” I exasperated, my eyes darting across the main road and rooftops. He was here. He had been here and I’d let him go .

“He’s long gone,” Naexi said as her voice drifted to me. “We have to leave and warn the others.”

“But if he?—”

“Now!” Naexi snapped, her fingers digging into my arm, grounding me to where we stood. Her eyes blazed brilliant hues of copper as her voice lowered. “Look at me. He’s gone, Moria.”

My lips wavered as my eyes lingered on the amber hues of her eyes.

“He’s gone,” she said, her hand letting go to lift her cloak. The plans rested against her stomach. “We have to warn the others, okay?”

My head jerked down once as I let her guide me to the barn under the pitch of night. After securing the nearest horses, we bolted out of town, the wind propelling us forward as I kept my gaze on the expanding horizon.

“Why didn’t you turn me in?” I said against the roaring wind, the horses hooves stamping the ground like waves of thunder.

Naexi looked at me, her hand holding tightly onto the reins as she shouted above that thunder. “What?”

“My father. Why didn’t you trade me for the plans?” I repeated, my eyes shifting to hers.

Naexi’s braid was frizzy from the rain, strands of yellow adhering to her wet skin. Her cheeks were flushed. “Because no one should live a life dictated by another, and I am not one to compromise.”

She said nothing else as we rode against the countryside back to the Hideaway, the rest of my thoughts slipping away.

We rode to tell them war was coming.