Preparing to offer an excuse to leave — any excuse — Kiva opened her mouth just as Jaren cleared his throat and said, “I want to give you something.”
Kiva snapped her mouth shut.
Instead of continuing, he angled his head and asked, “Is there a reason you’re not leaving the bathroom doorway?”
A shaky breath left Kiva but she started toward him, determined not to show how nervous she was. When she reached him, he motioned to his bed, and they both shuffled in and reclined against the headboard, side by side.
“I should have given this to you sooner,” Jaren said, turning a small box between his fingers. “I didn’t even think about it. But that was stupid of me — I should have known better.”
Bitterness filled his voice toward the end, enough that Kiva placed her hand over his, stopping his fidgeting.
He blew out a breath and opened the box, revealing a shiny amulet resting on a bed of velvet.
Kiva had seen it before. She’d worn it before. It had saved her life from the Trial by Fire, after which it had ended up in Naari’s hands, and Kiva had forgotten all about it.
At the end of a glittering chain sat the Vallentis crest, the four elemental quadrants — made of ruby, emerald, topaz, and sapphire — divided by a golden sword and an arrow, then topped with a crown.
It was beautiful, Kiva could admit, albeit grudgingly. And that beauty only grew when Jaren pressed a finger to it, his eyes focusing intently, and the gemstones began to glow.
Red, green, white, and blue, the colors grew brighter and brighter until Jaren finally removed his hand and they faded back to normal.
“What just happened?” Kiva asked, squinting at the amulet.
Jaren held it up and said, “May I?”
At the open, patient look on his face, Kiva shrugged and turned her body away from him. A moment later his hands came around her neck, the amulet dropping against her breastbone before he clasped it into place.
“This will protect you from any magical attack,” Jaren said when she was facing him again. “I’ve pushed my power into it — not just fire, like with your Ordeal, but earth, water, and air, too. If anyone tries to use magic to hurt you, it’ll act like a shield, keeping you safe.”
Kiva stared at Jaren.
“You don’t believe me,” he said, misreading her expression. He reached for her hand. “Look.”
Fire burst from his fingertips and Kiva tried to jerk away, but Jaren held firm.
“Look,” he repeated, indicating where the flames shifted from his flesh to hers. She couldn’t feel anything — no pain, no burning — just like when she’d been in the crematorium.
“How long will it last?” Kiva croaked, unable to process the value of his gift.
And what it meant.
Jaren was protecting her — from his own family.
From himself.
“Long enough for you to get away next time,” he said, clearly still upset. He then shook it off and added, “You shouldn’t have problems from anyone else here, but there are anomalies out there — people with magic outside of the royal line. This will keep you safe from them, too.”
Kiva looked down at the amulet. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll keep it. Say you’ll wear it.”
“I will,” Kiva agreed. “I promise.”
The amulet had saved her life once before. Regardless of whose crest it was, she would be foolish to reject such a powerful gift. Especially given what was coming.
Don’t think about that, Kiva told herself. Not tonight.
“It’s been a long day,” Jaren said, pulling the blankets over them. “We should sleep.”
Kiva nodded, burrowing into his impossibly lush bedding. With both of them on their sides facing each other in the dark, she couldn’t keep from saying, “Your bed is better than mine.”
A startled laugh left Jaren. “I’m glad you think so.”
She burrowed even deeper, marveling at how natural it felt to be lying so close to him without any shred of discomfort.
“How did you know about —” Kiva couldn’t finish her whispered question, but Jaren knew what she was asking.
He tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear, the action raising goose bumps on her skin. “I went to your room to check in on you, but Tipp said you’d left. He’d overheard Oswald delivering Mother’s invitation, and the moment he told me, I just — I knew something was wrong.” In a quiet voice, he finished, “I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”