“I knew it,” Sonah whispered. “I knew it.”
Terena sniffed, letting the tears fall.
Sonah pulled back and looked at Terena with her beautiful, mismatched eyes. “I knew it. I don’t know how, but I always… there’s something… I alwaysfeltdifferent around you. I always wanted to be near you and I thought it was because, well, look at you! You’re amazing. Of course I’d be drawn to you, right?”
Terena laughed and Sonah’s face blurred as fresh tears gathered. “I feel the same about you. And I’m glad you are with me now, and you are never getting rid of me.”
Sonah giggled and hugged her again.
Then she pulled back with a frown. “Wait. Does that mean Croak is my brother now?”
“Whether you like it or not,” Terena said with a wink.
“Does he know?”
“Aye,” Terena said, smoothing back Sonah’s hair. “I told him.”
“So,” Sonah swallowed, “he’s all right with it?”
Terena furrowed her brows. “Of course. You hadn’t noticed?”
Sonah’s smile was radiant. “He’s been different, aye. But I thought he had finally warmed to me.”
“I know he has,” Terena said as she rose. “There’s more to tell you, but I’ll wait until you’re dressed. We’ll go downstairs and have breakfast. All of us. We need to figure out how to get an audience with the king.”
Sonah nodded and flashed her a smile. She jumped from the bed and grabbed her leggings from the end of the bed. Hopping to slide the pants over her butt, Sonah looked up at Terena with a frown.
“I wonder why we were separated,” she said.
Terena paced the room as she waited for Sonah to dress. “Another thing we can ask them when we get north.”
Sonah nodded. She sat on the bed to put on her boots, lacing the first one quickly. Then she flicked a glance at Terena. “Will we leave once we have what you need from the king?”
“Aye,” Terena said with an exhale.
“Does Rydon and Gabriol know about me? About us?”
“Rydon does. When we were attacked last?—”
“Attacked!”
Terena cringed. She held up her hands when Sonah bolted to her feet. “We’re fine! He’s fine. But afterwards I had to tell him about you because of what the woman who attacked us said.”
“What’d she say?”
“Never mind that,” Terena snapped, then smiled to take the edge off her words. She wouldn’t tell Sonah the woman had laid a trap for her that Terena had stepped into instead.
Sonah studied her for a moment more, then bent to finish lacing up her boot. She grabbed her leather corset and put it on over her tunic.
“Ready,” she announced with her arms held out.
Terena cocked her head and strode for the door.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Terena turned and stopped abruptly, her hand flying back to grab hold of Sonah’s wrist.
Standing in the main room of the inn, Daris Antonius turned toward her, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Behind him, four Liodari stood in front of Rydon, Gabriol, and Croak.
