Bound by Darkness (Bound By Series)

39. Ghostly Deals

Chapter 39

Ghostly Deals

KAYDN

Iyanna clicked her tongue. “What the hells are you doing?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Wasting my time with the both of you. Especially since you like putting orders on Thalia whenever it’s convenient for you.”

Iyanna’s fingers curled around the edge of the desk as a snarl rose from her chest. “You reek of her .”

“Watch it,” I said, my voice rumbling inside my chest.

The way my blood was thrumming beneath my skin, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop.

“I know who you are,” Moria interjected, her arms crossing her chest. “It took me a while to put the pieces together, but I knew I recognized your name.” She mirrored me, her body matching my mannerisms. Even if she tried to hide it, her legs and arms slightly trembled as she stared at me. “Your silver eyes solidified it on the hillside.” She pointed a finger. “While I thank you for rescuing Thalia from Armas, if you venture close to her again, I’ll shred the skin from your bones.”

“Sounds like a challenge,” I said, my lips curling into a grin. “I could say the same for you.”

“Oh bullshit,” Moria cried, her hands clenching together. “Stop pretending you care for her. You’re the reason her family is dead, Kaydn .” She spat my name out into the air, her nostrils flaring.

“Who told you?” I said as I turned to Iyanna, ready to threaten her for the deal she had broken.

Moria flashed a primal grin. “Naexi does endless amounts of talking when she’s drunk.”

Of course it was Naexi. She could never keep her mouth shut once ale flowed through her system. “Look, I understand the preconceived notions about my family, but I wouldn’t hurt Thalia.”

“Yet you won’t tell her who you are,” Moria added, her hands shaking slightly.

“I didn’t kill them,” I stated firmly. “And I don’t plan on hurting her. My business when I tell her is mine and mine alone.”

Moria bared her teeth. “I suggest you go on with your business quickly.”

I bared mine back. “If you tell her?—”

“Enough,” Iyanna yelled, her fists slamming against the table. “Finish your squabbling outside of my tent. I don’t have time for your petty fight. What I need from you is to leave her alone. I can’t have Thalia sidetracked by your” —she paused, her eyes narrowing—“primal instincts. Any distractions must be eliminated if she is to serve her purpose.”

“She’s not a weapon.”

“You are wrong. She is a weapon, Kaydn, and it’s time you viewed her that way instead of pretending like she isn’t.”

“Iyanna—” Moria said, her voice shaking as she stepped closer, her lips turning into a thin line.

I flicked my gaze to Moria. “You view her that way too? You’re okay with sticking her on the battlefield with trained soldiers when she’s barely able to stop me?”

“Maybe if you spent less time fucking her, she’d be prepared,” Iyanna mused, cutting off Moria.

My nostrils flared. “Take it back, Iyanna.”

Iyanna grinned. “You forget you work for me. I protect your true identity and hold the bond of the woman you care for.” Iyanna hummed. “One whisk of the hand, and I could drag her back here. Explain everything you’ve so desperately tried to hide.”

“Iyanna,” Moria cut in. “That’s enough?—”

But Iyanna’s eyes glowed brighter in the dim light as she splayed her hands against the table, her frame leaning a breath away from my face. “Be a good boy. If I find you staring at her, talking to her, hells, brushing past her outside of what is necessary, I’ll see to it Thalia is the first on the battlefield every single time.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” I bellowed as I stared back at her white eyes, my hands curling around the desk to keep myself from punching her.

“Are you willing to test it? I am an ancient,” Iyanna purred.

My eyes narrowed, but I took a step back. “I hope you’re thrilled with your decision, Moria.”

Moria bit her lip, but said nothing as she looked to the side.

“If either of you cared about Thalia, you’d ask her to be involved rather than deciding her fate alone. She’s had enough people dictate what she can and cannot do?—”

Beads clinked together as Thalia and Naexi walked through, Naexi holding her recently bandaged arm.

“This better be fucking important, Iyanna,” Naexi grumbled as she plopped into the empty chair .

My eyes narrowed at Iyanna, a slight curl remaining on her lips as she turned her attention to Naexi.

“Everything alright?” Thalia asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

“It’s fine,” I muttered as I turned to Iyanna. “As you were saying?”

Iyanna cleared her throat. “I’m going to send an owl in the morning asking for reinforcement from a few acquaintances. We’ll need every fighting hand here to stop the rebels from attacking. As for King Hywell, let’s hope he has not discovered where we are hiding yet.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem with the wards,” Naexi said.

“True. The wards are impenetrable anyway,” Thalia replied.

“Almost impenetrable,” I answered. “Remember the witch who lured you into the tent? It’s the same principle except the larger the ward?—”

“A witch?” Moria questioned aloud, her eyes swinging to Thalia’s.

She gave a meek smile before stating she’d explain it later.

“The larger the ward, the more weak points there are to burst and bend,” Iyanna interrupted. “The rebels are skilled in ancient casting and their leader contains the Book of Spells.”

“Do we need to be concerned?” Thalia asked.

“Possibly,” Iyanna answered. “It would take an incredibly talented caster to master a single spell from the book.”

“Do you think it lists a spell to undo wards?” Thalia said the unspoken words we were all thinking.

“Probably,” I said, my footsteps light as I stood beside her, my eyes peering over the board. “Which is why we need to plan as if they had mastered the spell.”

It was not wise for me to be in this room with her after Iyanna’s threats. It was hard enough to maintain composure as that thread strengthened between us. Picking up a few pieces, I shoved her citrusy-wine scent to the back of my mind as I manipulated the board into defensive and offensive zones.

“If I had mastered such a spell, I would attack here.” My finger stamped the page, the tree I’d turned into my secret hiding spot underneath. “It’s high enough to give a wide vantage point of the camp while also leaving enough space to advance in droves.”

Iyanna’s eyes narrowed. “Do speak of this spot besides tapping against my page,” she said as she swatted my hand away.

“Apologies,” I said as I cleared my throat.

“The tree atop the hill,” Naexi filled in for Iyanna. “It’s the most advantageous spot for them to attack. It gives them the high ground, especially if they have as many casters as you theorize.”

Grabbing the pieces I’d moved, Naexi reconfigured them into tiny groups, each one positioned at the main entrances and exits of the camp. “Smaller formations are ideal to prevent the rebels from attacking within.”

My eyes narrowed as I adjusted the pieces again. “Ideally, but in practicality, we need a strong front here.” I tapped the tree once again. “Stopping them here will prevent them from attacking further into the camp.”

“Which is exactly what they’d be expecting. It leaves these three areas”—Naexi pointed to the other entrances—“wide open for them to beat us from the inside out.”

“But if they break the ward, they’d have to funnel into one spot,” I argued.

“Not necessarily,” Thalia added, her hands grabbing four soldiers as she set them around the outskirts of town until they formed a ring. “Would it mess with the wards if multiple casters attempted to dispel it from different angles?”

A click sounded from the desk as Iyanna opened a secret drawer.

Reaching into the compartment, she took out a leather-bound book. Its pages were dusted in yellow and brown as she placed the binding atop the battle plans.

“This contains the spell for the wards around us. I wove my name into this spell to prevent those I deem unworthy from entering.” She placed a hand atop the leather. “However, it came with drawbacks.”

“What drawbacks?” Moria asked, her eyes fluttering over the markings on the book.

“It’s not as strong as your traditional ward. To protect the people inside this camp, the spell needed something to draw power from,” Iyanna stated. “It needed substantial power, and the only way I managed to succeed was by decreasing its durability.”

I stepped forward to peer over the pages as she flipped to the spell’s undoing. It was written in the Language of Old.

My eyes read over the last line. “You decreased the stability of the wards?”

Iyanna nodded. “It refused to hold otherwise. I didn’t expect anyone to figure out our location, let alone ever attack.”

“What purpose does a ward serve if it can be broken so easily?” I asked.

“I wove my casting into the spell which left me blind,” Iyanna snapped.

“What do you mean you wove your casting?” Thalia asked.

Iyanna rubbed her temples. “To create the ward, it required a tax. Half of my seer abilities are in that ward and my eyesight.”

“You did that much for these people?” Thalia asked.

I cleared my throat. “Touching story, but let’s not get off-track here. We now have to deal with the fact the ward surrounding us is unstable.”

“It will hold,” Iyanna interrupted. “We will go with Naexi’s plan.”

“I ask you to reconsider. I think?—”

Iyanna raised a hand silencing me. “You will spend your time fortifying the camp. If I hear notice of what we discussed, my threats stand.”

Thalia glared at Iyanna. “Threats? How dare you?—”

“You’re dismissed,” she said with a quick motion of her hand. “Moria. Naexi. See to it the rest of the camp begins preparation.”

“Sure,” Naexi stated.

“Okay,” Moria answered, her eyes lingering on Thalia.

“And you two,” Iyanna said as she pointed between me and Thalia, “out.”

“Come on,” Thalia said as she tugged me outside, pulling me between two vacant tents.

Winter air chilled my face as I stared down at her, her brows crinkling.

“Iyanna threatened you?” she hissed.

“It’s nothing.”

“Nothing? You expect me to believe she said that for no reason?”

A hand rose through my hair. “I’m not asking you to,” I said. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Droplets of water stained my skin, rain beginning to pelt against the ground.

“I get it, but if it involves me I should know.”

I shook my head, lies flowing from my lips as I spoke, “It didn’t involve you, I promise.”

“Iyanna can’t control you too. I’ll talk to her,” she yelled above the roaring of the rain.

This woman—she’d do anything for me, and it made the ache in my chest hurt worse for the lies I spewed at her.

Thalia took a step forward, my hand reaching out to stop her as I blocked her path. “Leave it be for today. We’ll discuss it tomorrow, okay?”

Her brows were still furrowed, but a bit of lightness returned to her face as she said, “Okay, but we are going first thing tomorrow.”

A smile lit my face as I reached down, kissing her temple. “Sure.”

Grabbing my arm, she pointed toward the direction of our tent. “Let’s go before either of us get a cold,” she said as she sniffled.

“Thalia?” Moria appeared from the tent, her figure falling into frame.

Thalia turned to Moria, her eyes glancing between the two of us.

“Go on. I’ll meet you later.”

“Just because I’m ditching you doesn’t mean what we talked about is over,” she said in hushed tones.

“Then find a way to expel the information from me,” I whispered before taking a step back.

Try as she might to hide it, her ears gave her away as they turned a shade pink. With a wave, she bounded over to Moria, her arms embracing the woman in a tight hug. The pair walked off, their laughter echoing among the rainfall as I remained behind.

I needed to tell her who I was before it was too late. Out of everyone here, she deserved the truth. I hated the lies. I hated hiding my identify from her, but the thought of losing her kept my lips sealed. I was going to tell her under the tree, but then we’d done that and all confidence had withered away. Resting my hands against the back of my neck, I let the rain soak me from head to toe. I’d tell her tomorrow. No matter the consequences. I owed her that much.

A hand slid down my back.

“I thought she’d never leave.”

Turning around, I swatted the hand away as my shirt clung to my wet back.

My eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

The hooded figure chuckled darkly. “My, my, Kaydn. So demanding.” The figure gestured to their side where the Book of Spells rested beneath her cloak. “It was surprisingly easy to slip through the wards with this on me.”

I took a step back.

No one was around us as the rain pelted the ground. “What do you want?”

The hooded figure whistled. “Not going to introduce me to her? And here I thought we might make excellent friends.”

“That’s not part of our deal. You?—”

“I touch her and die. Whatever,” the hooded figure mocked as they revealed a letter from their cloak. “It’s time. I suggest you complete your end of the bargain soon. Otherwise, the consequences might be severe.”

“You said we still had time after I brought her here like you asked. It’s too early and she’s not ready.” I wasn’t ready.

“Rip the bandage off. It’s time Iyanna faced real loss, and we can’t accomplish that without her.” The figure chuckled, rain concealing their voice. “Don’t make me use the blood oath.”

Snatching the letter, I stuffed it into my back pocket, a slight growl to my voice as I spoke, “Understood.”

The scars on my fingers twitched—blood oaths. Each scar represented blood oaths I’d made in my lifetime, but none were as potent as the one I’d been forced into years ago.

The hooded figure stepped back. “Just because you followed instructions by bringing her here does not mean I’m irritated at the pace you are going. Do not fail me, Kaydn.”

“Do not forget your oath, too,” I said into the shadows. “Thalia stays safe.”

But the figure was already gone like a ghost seeping into shrouded mist.