“Couldn’t stay asleep.” I looked up at the stars. “We can’t run away, Kalen,” I said softly. “I can’t sit by while Druj and the Drychta attempt to create darksglass. Without us, they could force Khalad to create lightsglass for them. And if they find the First Harvest, then it will only be a matter of time before they combine the two to make shadowglass. Once we’ve found a solution to that, we can leave. I’ll go with you anywhere.”

He tried to hide his disappointment and nodded. “Fair enough. Lord Garindor says a mountain must be passed to gain darksglass. There is something more to that than simply spells.”

“I’m not sure we can rely on the books. Darksglass alone is enough to frighten me. A spell where all the seven daeva are contained therein. That must be the daeva’s bezoars. And then there’s lightsglass, which requires the souls of the Five Heroes or their descendants—which Khalad can do. We must prevent Druj from getting his hands on them.”

“That should be easy enough. You have the azi, and I doubt it would willingly turn itself over to anyone else. And there’s the nanghait’s bezoar that we’ve taken, and the zarich’s.”

“And part of the taurvi still back in Kion. I could try to send word to Mykaela to keep an eye on it.” I looked at him. He smiled, and it was like our previous fight had never happened.

“I’m not going to ask you to talk to Fox,” he said. “I…don’t know how to fix what’s happening between the two of you, but it might be easier once we put down the Drychta threat. It was a courageous thing you did tonight, even if it was a little spontaneous.”

“You saw?”

“While I was sleeping. Not all, but enough to understand. I can’t explain how.”

“I don’t know if it will ever be the same between Fox and me.” I closed my eyes and kissed him slowly. “But I have you.” I burrowed my fingers into his hair. “Every path I’ve chosen and every decision I’ve made, you were my one constant. I meant what I said last night. If anyone tries to hurt you, I swear on everything that I am I will hunt him down.”

“And what about the rest?” His hands moved lower. “About exchanging heartsglass?”

“In a heartbeat, if I could. When this is over, as you said.”

“Agreed. But you can’t control the future,” Kalen reminded me gently, his breath warm against my mouth.

“I don’t care. I’ll bring us back from the grave if I have to, silver heartsglass or not.”

“And I will kill anyone standing between us,” he promised, before his lips closed over mine, “even if I have to crawl out of my grave to do so.”