Sin and Soil 10 by Anya Merchant

Author:Anya Merchant [Merchant, Anya]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-02-09T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

Damon worked rather hard to keep his anxiety from consuming him completely until he finally reached Silke after two days on the road. He’d ridden through the first night and barely slept through the second, his mind doing him the disservice of imagining all the different ways in which the situation with Seffi and Malon might have already gone horribly wrong.

He was also fuming at Vel for not reaching out to him with her dreamspelling. She’d said she’d contact him if anything of importance happened while he was gone, but now it was just the opposite. He was the one with news that she and Kastet desperately needed to hear, and unless she reached out to him, he’d only deliver it at the speed of a fast courier.

It was late in the day when he arrived back at the seaside city. The sun was low on the horizon, casting a blood-red reflection across Veridan’s Bay and the water of the canals. He rushed through hiring a gondola to take him back to Kastet’s tower. The process felt so sluggish and inefficient, and he watched the gondolier handle his paddle with the efficiency of old molasses.

He had no idea what to expect as he rushed up the jetty’s stairs and pounded on the door. When nobody answered after a pause, he was already sizing up where to kick in case he needed to brute force his way inside. Had something happened to Vel and the others? Was he already too late?

Malon opened the door.

It was all Damon could do to stare at her for a timeless, breathless second. She wore a pale white gown with thin shoulder straps and faint embroidery across the chest and sides. Her hair was down, unbraided, a rare sight that doubled the surrealness of the moment.

“Solas…” she said, blinking in surprise. She lifted her arms, and Damon was suddenly rushing forward, pulling her into what was surely a candidate for the tightest hug he’d ever given.

“Aesta,” he whispered.

She smelled over-clean, as though she’d only just dried completely after leaving a bath. Damon knew that, after days of traveling, his own hygiene was the exact opposite. She didn’t care. He felt her head against his shoulder, so warm and familiar. His heart beat so hard in his chest that he almost mistook it for hers, or both their hearts, the tempo doubled up, hard and noticeable.

He pulled back, cupped her face, and kissed her. His aim had been for her lips, but he found her cheek instead. That was fine. The coy, knowing smile she gave him was even more than fine, and it sent a swirl of excitement through him.

“You’re back,” he said, finally finding words.

“I’ve been back,” she said. “We’ve been waiting for you. There’s so much… so very much for us to discuss.”

She took his hand, threading her fingers through his with gentle but insistent movements. He would have believed her if she told him she’d never let go of that hand again, and he would have been fine with it, on top of that.

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