The Stone Wolf (The Chain Breaker Book 4) by D.K. Holmberg (digital book reader TXT) 📕

Gavin shrugged. “You wouldn’t be the first one I tried to target.”

“You would not have been able to,” she repeated.

Gavin looked over at Gaspar. “That’s what this was about. I’ve been trying to figure out what reason he had for all of this. It’s all about these Toral rings.”

And if Gavin was right—and, increasingly, he thought he was—then it wasn’t just about any Toral ring, but about the specific one she had. Cyran had tested Gavin to determine whether he would be able to take on a Toral and claim the ring from her. Cyran would’ve known Gavin had faced one of them before, and he would’ve known that Gavin had failed.

Which was why he’d tested him now, why he had brought all of the power to bear against him early on, wanting to know whether Gavin had discovered some secret part of himself that would allow him to fight back. Cyran had learned of Gavin’s connection to magic.

Of course he had, though. Gavin hadn’t hidden that from anyone. When Cyran had been in the city, Gavin had been learning about that connection, developing it. Cyran had even gone so far as to try to use his strange powder to mitigate it.

“Dammit,” he whispered. “All of this because he wanted me to take a Toral ring.”

“For Tristan?” Jessica asked, standing near the kitchen.

Gavin shook his head, looking over to her and smiling tightly. “I don’t think this is about Tristan. At least, not directly.” He rubbed his hands together, trying to think, but it had been a long day. His mind was tired, much like his body was. Cyran might want the ring, but Tristan had already gone after one before. “He might have wanted it for Tristan, though. Cyran had made it sound like he had gotten away from Tristan, but what if he hadn’t?”

Tristan wanted a Toral ring. Gavin had been unable to get it for him, despite being Tristan’s most skilled student at the time. In that failure, Tristan had been angry enough that he had almost killed Gavin because of it.

And Cyran had known. He and Gavin had spoken about it, which meant that Cyran knew that Gavin had gone to that house. He would know how to use him, how to guide and direct him, and…

It all made a sick sort of sense, but he didn’t know what Cyran intended to do with the ring.

“You said something about not being able to use the ring,” he said to Jayna.

“A Toral needs to serve a Sul’toral,” she said carefully. She frowned as she did, and Gavin had the distinct sense that she didn’t care for sharing even that much with him. “Without that, you would not be able to use the power of the ring. It would simply be a ring.”

Gavin wondered if that was true or not. Maybe there would be some power that would be innate to the ring itself. “And without knowing the Sul’toral…”

“It’s not a matter of just knowing the Sul’toral,” she said. “You have to be granted the ability to use the power by the Sul’toral.”

“And yours is this Ceran?”

“Yes.”

“And would Ceran be able to help if we were to go against Cyran?”

She snorted, shaking her head. “Ceran only helps when he wants to.”

“Why?”

“Do you even understand what a Toral does?”

“Other than serve a Sul’toral, I suppose not.”

“We have a specific type of power. The ring allows me to access that power and add it to what I have of my own.”

“Sorcery.”

She nodded. “The Sul’toral is a person of incredible power—more than any sorcerer you’ve ever encountered, and the ring lets me sort of borrow his power.”

Gavin found himself frowning. “I don’t know. I’ve met some powerful sorcerers.”

“The Fates.”

He nodded. “And we chased them out of the city. If this Ceran is anything like them—”

“He’s not. He’s far more powerful.” The words hung in the air, leaving Gavin’s mouth dry. He’d felt how powerful the fates were. “And there are those who would use that power in dark and dangerous ways. Most would, in fact. I am tasked to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

“You wouldn’t misuse this power,” Gavin said, hoping that was the case. He didn’t know anything about this woman, other than the fact that she had stopped attacking him because she was curious and wanted a chance to learn more.

“If I wanted to embrace the darkness, I would have done so by now,” she said.

“Then what?”

She shook her head, and she glanced over to Eva. There was something more going on here, something Gavin didn’t know, but perhaps it didn’t matter.

“So, if your Sul’toral won’t help, then we’re on our own,” he guessed.

“Yes,” she said.

“I suppose that’s fine. I’ve been on my own for a while.”

He frowned as he focused on what he might need to do, the power he might need to summon. But if it came down to figuring out a way to get Cyran to come, that was what Gavin had to do.

There was only one way to lure Cyran here.

Cyran had to believe that Gavin had the ring.

“He’s pitted us against each other at every point,” Gavin said, looking from Eva to Jayna. “And he believes I have enough skill to overpower you.”

“You do not,” Jayna said.

Gavin smiled. “Maybe.”

He liked her confidence. It was possible he didn’t have enough skill to win against her. She was more powerful than he had expected. She had managed to stop him more than once and had nearly overpowered him the second time he’d faced her. The first time, Gavin had gotten lucky by surprising her. The second time, without the enchanters, he didn’t know if he would have stopped her. The third time…

The third time, she had broken up the fight.

Here he liked to think of himself as one of the most skilled assassins and fighters in all the world, but when it came to magic, he was not as skilled. When he fought those with magic, Gavin had limitations, even though he had his own