Zara Grayson's Arc

Chapter 5 of 6

They stopped by an elven gate at the edge of the village. Graceful wood curved overhead, carved with leaves and vines. Zara pressed her hand to the post and caught her breath. Her cheek still bled. Beside her, Fabin stood too close, and her charm burned hot against her chest. It pointed past the gate, toward the palace. But her pulse pointed at him. She had to know which one was true. Her crows landed on the gate's arch, watching them both. Zara pulled the charm out and held it flat on her palm. "I need to test this," she said. "On you." Fabin looked at the small stone. "It says the palace." "It said a fencepost once. And a cat." She wiped blood from her jaw. "It lies when it's scared. So I'm going to hold it against you and see." He didn't move. "And if it goes dark?" "Then you're a distraction." Her voice cracked on the word. "And I stop wasting time on you." She pressed the charm to his chest, right over his heart. Her hand shook. The stone flickered. It dimmed, then flared, then dimmed again. Not a clean glow. A stutter. Zara's stomach dropped. A stuttering charm meant fear had crept back in. Her fear. She pulled her hand back. "It won't answer. It's scared again." "Whose fear?" Fabin asked. She couldn't say it. If he was the wrong one and she let herself want him, she'd doom the real mate waiting behind those palace walls. That was the fear rotting the charm. Hers. Fabin took her wrist. He'd done this once before, in the village, when he'd pulled her fear into himself so the stone would work. He did it again now. He closed her fingers around the charm and held them shut in his own. "Give it to me." "Fabin—" "Give it to me." His grip tightened. "So you can trust what it shows." Warmth drained from her chest into his hand. The knot behind her ribs loosened. When he let go, the charm sat cool and clean in her palm. It glowed. Steady. Bright. And it pointed at Fabin. Not the palace. At him. The light bent away from the gate and settled on the elf bleeding beside her, scar to scar. Zara stared. "It was you." The words came out small. "The whole time. It sent me to the palace, but the palace led me to you." Fabin looked at the glow on his own chest. He touched his scar, then hers. "You matched me first," he said. "The stone just caught up." Her crows lifted off the arch and circled once, screeching. The gate stood open behind them, the palace beyond it. Her mate was found. But he was the king's shut-out son, hunted by his own father, bound to a deal that would kill someone if it stayed unbroken. Finding him hadn't ended the danger. It had chained her to it.