Page 23 of The Midnight Arrow

We heard a pair of men approach my cottage, and with dread and bitterness building in my gut, I realized who it was.

Veras.

The Allavari crime lord parading himself around as a noble.

Veras, who my sister had fallen in love with. The head-over-heels, insane kind of love, where nothing else had mattered to her except him.

Veras, who’d ultimately gotten Aysia killed.

Ten

“How dare you show your face here,” I said quietly, not moving from my position at the basin, staring at Veras from across the clearing. “Again.I warned you once before.”

Veras was a handsome full-blooded Allavari male. His skin gleamed, not a blemish or scar marring his face. His silky, pin-straight hair tumbled down his back in a silver waterfall, the tips of his sharp ears poking out on both sides of his head. His lavender-colored irises might’ve been mesmerizing if I didn’t want to tear them from his skull.

He was dressed in impeccable Allavari silk, stitched with delicate metal beads which made a vine pattern. His pants were creased cleanly, his boots shining, though I delighted that a scuff of mud covered the toe. Veras would hate that if he noticed—appearance was everything for someone like him.

When I saw the beautiful wreath of goldwood blooms and lakelight leaves, bound and entwined in a silver ring decorated with blue jewels, my mood only darkened. My sister’s favorites. I knew why he was here.

“If you had let me bury her at my estate, Marion, I wouldn’t need to trek all the way out to the Black Veil,” he returned, his voice calm, matter-of-fact. But Veras wasn’t even looking at me. He was looking at Lorik, who’d stepped in front of me.

Veras had one of his guards with him. A burly Ernitian-Kylorr male from the looks of him, all muscle and mass, with a pair of giant wings tucked against his back.

“Lorik Ravael,” Veras purred. “You were the last person I expected to see here. Actually, I take that back. We are in the Black Veil, after all.”

I cut a look to Lorik, but his eyes were only narrowed on the intruder. His arms came across his chest. His bare chest, I realized, and I saw Veras note that too.

Veras said looked back to me and said, “Ignore me, Marion. I’m just passing through.”

“You can’t just come here whenever you wish,” I told him, finally standing so he wouldn’t see me kneeling any longer. I rounded Lorik, my pace quick toward Veras. “Enough of this charade already. It’s beenten years.”

Veras smiled at me. “I don’t do this to torment you, Marion, despite what you think. I commissioned the wreath. The lakelight leaves are beautiful this time of year, and I know Aysia always thought so.”

“Don’tyou dare,” I said quietly.

Veras went still. I saw his jaw tick. Up close, I noticed lines beginning to form around his mouth and eyes—lines I’d never noticed before.

“Ten years is a long time, yes,” he said. “But it would take more than a lifetime for me to forget your sister.”

“What would your newest lover think about that?” I wondered. His guard stepped closer to me, but then Lorik was there, pushing him back. The guard had nearly fifty pounds of bulk on Lorik, but there was something about his expressionthat told me Lorik would win any fight he started. Something unseen, especially given how quickly he could channel magic—a skill I hadn’t seen even in the highest of Allavari.

Veras held up his free hand, and his guard stepped away.

“We’re just passing through,” Veras said again, but this time, his lavender eyes were pinned on Lorik. “We don’t want trouble.”

“Neither did she,” I couldn’t help but bite back.

Veras’s gaze shuttered. His chin tilted back, and I saw the way his throat bobbed when he swallowed.

“I only want to make the offering, Marion,” he finally said, his voice steeling. His tone was clipped. Final. “Nothing more.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lorik regard me. Waiting for what I would say? I couldn’t help but remember his offer to me. That all I had to do was ask and he’d give me whatever I asked of him in repayment for helping him.

In the beginning of their relationship, I’d never liked Veras. But I thought that had had more to do with Aysia and me than him. He was a dangerous Allavari male with more than questionable morals. But Aysia had loved him, and that was the only reason I allowed him to make his offerings on my land…where she was buried.

“A Sever will take it anyway,” I said, looking down at the wreath.

“One might. But they know better to stay down Below where they belong. Despite what you think, I’ve always looked after you, Marion. Aysia would want that,” Veras said. “Some advice? Stay away from this one.”