Isobel stroked back a lock of dark hair from Castel's brow, loving the soft feel of the strands against her fingers. In the early hours of the morning, he had finally succumbed to sleep, and he now lay on his stomach next to where she sat on the bed propped up against some pillows. The covers had ridden down to his waist, revealing the wide expanse of his muscular back, and she could see it rising and sinking slowly while he breathed.

The pale, thin lines serving as a stark reminder of his days as a prisoner in Highglaive marred his skin, and she wished she could have come to his rescue sooner. That he never would have had to go through what he did. But she could not change the past, only look to the future. And right now, the most important part was to ensure nothing like it ever happened again.

Pale sunlight told her the snowstorm had passed through the night, and while it was a relief, it also meant Son of Deva's army might soon march on Fort Mael. She could only hope she had regained enough of her strength to be of help during the battle.

Castel stirred for a moment before jerking awake and pushing himself into a sitting position. The wild look in his eyes gave her pause. He didn't regret last night, did he?

"Why did you allow me to fall asleep?" he asked, his voice still hoarse from sleeping.

She smiled, relieved that was his only concern. "I'm not sure I could have kept you awake at that point, my love."

He inhaled sharply at her use of the epithet, but it felt right. He was her love. The one and only. If she could have stayed with him forever, she would have.

"You've dressed already?" He nodded towards her simple blue dress.

"Yes, I had agreed to bring Kairn a book today that he wanted." She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his for a soft kiss. "I won't be gone long, but I suspect you need to see your soldiers and the recruits?"

His hand grabbed the front of her dress and pulled her back for another kiss, hungry and passionate. Heat soared through her as his tongue devoured her, and she wondered if perhaps she could quickly straddle him before leaving.

With a half-smile, he pulled back again, his golden-brown eyes hooded. "My second-in-command can handle the troops today. He's more than capable. I suspect many of them are still sleeping off last night's revelry anyway, and no one is expected to report until midday."

"Then perhaps I will wait," she murmured as she slid her hand down his warm chest.

"As much as I enjoy that idea"—he chuckled—"I think perhaps you should bring that book to Kairn before he comes looking for it. He's always been an early riser, and I expect he will quite happily find any excuse to seek you out."

She dipped her hand under the covers to find him hard and waiting for her. When she wrapped her fingers around him and stroked his length, he closed his eyes and moaned. The sound made her want to stay right where she was, but he had a point. Kairn's interest in her had only increased after he found out her true identity. It was quite possible he would come to find her soon if she did not show up as promised.

Leaning forward, her hand still working on him, she kissed Castel's neck before whispering in his ear, "Maybe get some rest while I'm away. You might need it."

With a sound somewhere between a strangled laugh and a growl, he flipped her onto her back and covered her with his body. The skirt of her dress rode up her thighs as he settled between her legs. He nipped at her lower lip while rocking his hips against her, his rigid length pressing against the sensitive spot at the apex of her thighs.

"You were saying?" he mumbled against her mouth.

Another roll of his hips had her gasping. Maybe Kairn could wait a little after all.

   The sun shone brighter when Isobel finally walked across the ramparts a while later. Castel had remained in her room to await her return, so she wanted to be quick about this errand. With the book in question in her hand, she hurried into the main stronghold and found her way to Kairn's room. When she lifted her hand to knock, the door swung open.

"Kairn?" She pushed the wooden door open further to peer inside but saw no sign of the emissary. He must have gone out in a hurry and forgot to shut it properly.

Wanting to get back to Castel, she stepped inside to leave the book somewhere easy for Kairn to see. The room was large—befitting Ler's emissary—with a large four-poster bed, a closet, a settee with a small table, and a desk. Perfect! She crossed the room to the desk, which was filled with various papers, books, and what appeared to be correspondence and an inkwell.

After placing the book on the only clean surface left on the desk, she was about to turn and leave when the corner of a parchment caught her attention. Judging by the frayed edges on one side, it looked like old pages ripped from a book. An uneasy prickle at the back of her neck made her pull the papers out from underneath the other items.

With a frown, she stared at the papers. It was the missing pages from the book she had tossed across the room the first time she had met Kairn. Part Four: Legends of the Gods. If he had the pages all along, why hadn't he told her?

A sound behind her made her whirl around. Kairn stood just inside the door, watching her. Who was he? Why did he have these pages?

He silently closed the door behind him, and unease prickled the back of her neck.

"You weren't supposed to see that," he said, his voice deceptively soft.

"Who are you working for?" She put the pages back down on the desk while watching the tall man warily. "Why are you looking into the Godstones?"

A glint of interest sparked in his green eyes. "Ah, so you are searching for information about the Godstones. I suspected as much."

"Apparently we both are."

"Yes."

"Are you the one who killed the men who attacked me?" Something about how calm Kairn was in the face of being found out sent an icy shiver down her spine. He didn't seem the least bit bothered. In fact, he smiled slightly.

"I am," he confirmed.

"Are you also the one who told them to attack me?"

He nodded. She swallowed back the feeling of unease that threatened to overwhelm her.

"Who are you?" she asked, even though she suspected she knew the answer. It should be impossible. How had she not sensed his presence? "Are you not magically gifted like your father?"

The smile on his handsome face widened. "We have picked up a few tricks the sorcerers never taught. There's magic out there that can do so much more than the sorcerers ever allowed my father to access."

"Dark magic from the Dark God," she said through gritted teeth.

He shrugged. "Perhaps. But no darkness is without light."

"So you truly are him." She drew a shaky breath. "Deva's son."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." He made a mocking bow. "I had hoped you wouldn't realise until I was long gone, but this works, too."

She looked him up and down, taking in his appearance, trying to find traces of his father in him she had not seen before. He was tall like Deva and had the same dark hair and similar green eyes, but the likeness stopped there.

"You don't look like your father."

"I take after my human mother." He smoothed back his shoulder-length dark hair to show his ears. They were rounded like hers rather than tapered like an elf's. "It makes it much easier to blend in."

Her entire body felt ready to burst from the anxiety of waiting to see what his next step would be. So far, he had made no attempt to attack her. What was his plan here?

"You know they're keeping things from you?" he suddenly said, surprising her.

"What?"

"The sorcerers. They don't tell you everything. There's information and important knowledge that they lock away and only the Grand Sorcerer and the Master of Words know the full extent." Kairn took a step towards her, and she automatically stepped back. He smirked. "Do you not think you deserve to know the truth?"

"I would never trust you."

"You don't need to. One of their secrets lies in the man you've been fucking."

She flinched at the crude expression. How did he know? She shuddered to think he might have seen them.

Seeing her agitation, Kairn smirked again. "You must have sensed it at some point. Hidden deep in his soul. Far beyond the lingering magic from his torture."

The reminder of Castel captured at Highglaive freed her from her petrified state. "Did you torture him?" she whispered. "Why did he not recognise you?"

Kairn shook his head. "No. I only ever showed myself to a few of our prisoners since we wanted to keep my existence a secret. And when I did, I pretended to be one of the guards and was often shielded by a hood. He would never have seen my face."

"Why haven't you attacked me now?"

"I would rather have you join me. Our cause is not such a terrible one." He took another step in her direction, and again, she stepped back, but this time her hip hit the edge of the desk behind her. "Ondastos is the Dark God, but also The Broken One. His siblings imprisoned him unfairly. He only ever wanted what they all had. His own kingdom. His own worshippers. But they refused to allow it. Their mortal armies raided his lands and seized it for their own. They hunted down anyone he had granted the gift of magic, anyone who still worshipped him. In the end, they left little but ruins."

Her eyes widened. "Dreadlands?"

"The Forgotten Kingdom." Kairn nodded. "It was once a flourishing area. The Kingdom of Daes. But the other gods refused to leave him in peace."

"But it was Ondastos's beasts and monsters who destroyed the kingdom in the First Age, once they were banished from Erya."

"That is what the history books would like us to believe. But it was destroyed before they banished Ondastos. Its destruction by his fellow gods' followers turned him against them."

She shook her head, reeling from this new information. "I don't believe you."

"I thought you might not, but it is the truth." He straightened before her, forcing her to tilt her head to meet his eyes. "If you won't join me, I suppose we shall have to remain enemies."

It was as if a veil fell from him. Whatever had shielded him from her faded away like the snowstorm from last night. The sheer power he exuded nearly left her breathless. She didn't know how he could have hidden this from her so well, but now that he was no longer concealing his power, there was no denying that he possessed magic far greater than anyone she had encountered since Deva. It was pulsating around him like a glowing aura, so tangible it felt like she would have been able to reach out to touch it. The air crackled with potent power.

He was magnificent.

And utterly terrifying.