Willing Sacrifice
Page 10

She was different from everyone here, and while they all treated her well, she knew she wasn’t one of them. There were no talks of her going on an exciting trip to fulfill her destiny. As far as she could tell, no one here even thought she had one.
Maybe that was for the best, because the idea of walking away from the only world she knew was terrifying. But some days the loneliness was hard to bear, and the feelings coming from the disk helped remind her that she wasn’t ever really alone.
Torr’s voice dipped down until it was a low, quiet temptation. “Tell me, Grace. I want to know.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m sure you have the same feelings, too. Unless I’m imagining the whole thing.” Which she hoped wasn’t true.
“Do you feel angry? Sad?” he asked.
He felt the same thing? Relief washed over her, and until this moment, she hadn’t realized just how much she worried that she was making it all up. “So I’m not imagining it.”
“I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice thick with regret. “If I’d known…”
“Known what?”
He paused for too long. “If I’d known how much talking about this would upset you, I never would have brought it up. I’ll just sit here and be quiet so you can do what Brenya asked.”
Thank goodness. The sooner she was done with Torr, the sooner she could find a quiet place and try to figure out what it was about this man that sent her emotions rioting.
Grace pulled in a long breath, forced herself to put on a smile and went to work.
Chapter 5
Torr had been hurting Grace for years.
That was the thought that kept scrolling through his mind, over and over.
That anger and sadness she was feeling? That was all his. The disks they wore connected them. They allowed her to heal his paralysis by taking it upon herself. But her human body had been too weak to fight off the magical poison the demon had used on him. Only Brenya’s magic had saved Grace from the fate that had awaited Torr. And now the magic that bound them together—the connection the disks formed—was feeding her all the pain and fury he’d felt since she’d nearly died to save him. Four years ago.
He had to find a way to make it stop.
By the time Grace finished cleaning him up and left, dusk had fallen over the area. He slipped out of the hut while she went to get food for him.
Sneaky, perhaps, but necessary.
He asked a little girl where he could find Brenya. Her bright eyes were wide with curiosity as she pointed to a larger hut on the far side of the clearing, just past a giant Sentinel Stone. There were fewer runes on it than on the ones he was used to seeing, but the carvings were just as intricate. Like all Sentinel Stones, this one radiated power. As he neared it, he began to recognize that power as the same he felt humming through Brenya.
Torr slipped through the trees, keeping out of sight as he approached the hut from behind. When the coast was clear, he pushed through the rickety door, not giving a shit that he was uninvited.
Brenya sat in a sturdy chair made from smooth black twigs and branches. Her eyes were closed, and she looked older than he’d ever seen her look before. Skin that had been smooth only a little while ago was now drooping and lined with age. Her shoulders were bowed inward, and her whole body rocked like a metronome.
“You should not have come unannounced,” she said.
As he watched, her wrinkles smoothed and her body straightened. Whatever magic she used to appear younger drained her visibly, blanching her skin.
“Save your energy. I don’t care what you look like,” he told her.
She waved toward the door. “They do. They need me to be strong, not old and frail.”
“So you waste your power looking younger?”
“Do not judge what you do not understand.”
“Fine. Whatever. I came because I need your help.”
“I have done for you all I can, young Theronai.”
“It’s Grace. You said if I hurt her you’d end my world. Well, without even knowing it, I’ve been hurting her.”
“I know. You should have learned to control your emotions better.”
“The woman I love was taken from me, possibly dead. That’s not the kind of thing a man just shrugs off without feeling something. And for me, it’s only been a few months. I hadn’t even had time to think about getting over losing her, if such a thing is even possible.”
She let out a long sigh. “What do you ask of me?”
“How do I take the disk off?”
“You do not.”
“She’s better now. There shouldn’t be any danger.”
“She has worn it for too long. Much longer than you.”
“I figured that out. She said she’s been here four years.”
“Not just that. It is part of her. She has never known a life without it. Or without the feelings flowing through it.”
“So what do you want me to do? Stop feeling?”
“If you must. You said you would do anything for Grace. This is your chance to prove that was no lie. Find happiness. Give that to her instead.”
“Then let me tell her who I am. Who she is. Once she remembers me and the love we shared, we’ll both be happy.”
“If only you had as much intelligence as you do determination.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Some things are best left forgotten. The pieces of Grace that I hid were not ones that served her future happiness. They would have kept her from healing.”
“Are you saying you don’t think we should be together?”
“She is human. Not your kind.”
“So? I’d rather have a short life with her than a long one without her.”
“You will live a long life without her no matter what you do. The closer you tie yourself to her, the harder losing her will inevitably be.”
“I’m already tied to her as close as a man can get. I love her.”
“What about her? You have seen how gentle her heart is. When she realizes that she will die and cause you great sadness, that she will stand in the way of you fulfilling your destiny as a Theronai warrior, do you think that will add to her happiness? Or will she mourn for what she will take from you because you give her no other choice?”
Torr had never considered how it would make Grace feel to know she was going to age and die before him and cause him pain. He’d never even once stopped to consider how it might hurt her to know she kept him from finding the female Theronai who could channel his power and save his life.