Althy’s already by Yadosha, scouting. We’ll relay word to her to ride to your location. Tea, I want to—

I was at my limit. The message relayed, I slammed the door between us, cutting off the rest of his words and frantically building until I could hear no more from him. No anger, no disappointment, no sorrow.

But the dam had broken, and I cried fresh grief at losing Daisy and at Fox’s distrust, twin swords through my heart. It took a minute for the Calming to take effect, and it washed over me in waves. My sobs stifled and quieted, growing softer after every sweep.

Kalen was himself shaken. “I didn’t realize—I didn’t understand why you were so reluctant, until I…”

“Y-you shouldn’t have been able to eavesdrop.” The bond I shared with Fox was unique as far as I knew. I looked down at Kalen’s heartsglass and then at mine. We beat in perfect synchronicity. I loved Fox, and I always would, but the years-long bond we shared paled in comparison to what Kalen and I shared. In that moment, I understood how completely he loved me. But as the minutes passed, the link ebbed, and Kalen’s presence slid away.

“Heartshare,” Kalen murmured. “It’s a permanent dependence, isn’t it? I am sorry, Tea. I won’t ask you to do that again.”

“No. I had to. There’s more at stake than me and my feelings. More at stake than us. I can live with Fox’s anger. As long as he’s safe and under the empress’s protection, then that is enough.”

“You have no reason to hide your hurt from me, Tea. I’ll be here for you. Always.”

He kissed me as he was wont to do, slow and lingering. I returned the favor as his arms slid around me. The heartshare’s effects had disappeared, but in that moment, it no longer mattered.

“They will control no daeva here.” Lord Knox sounded pleased and disappointed all at once. The Hollow Mountains loomed before us, thin, craggy peaks that decorated Odalia’s southern coastline like the lower jaws of some gargantuan sea monster. It was a natural barrier between the kingdom and Drycht, one that Odalian kings have long harnessed as a defensive position against invaders. I was not privy to the military roundtables that went on among the generals, but I could see Arhen-Koshon ships closing in on either side of the range. It was likely that they prevented Drychta ships from landing anywhere but along these mountain shores, which gave us the advantage of terrain.