“Ian.” Kalliah gasped. “What are you doing?”
She moved to stand next to Corbin, mimicking his stance. “We stick to the plan. We get Lan an army and wait for her to return.Thatis what you can do. We’ve never let her down before and I sure as Fates am not going to start now.”
My whole body twitched, darkness clouded my vision. Hate, vile and bitter, swelled up in my throat, burning like fire. “Who are you to say what I can and cannot do? You’re a lady’s maid, Kalliah.” Striding forward, I stood directly in front of her. “Who died and made you queen?” I exploded in a fury unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
Kalliah’s jaw dropped, and she took a step back in shock.
“You dare speak of the fallen like that again, and you won’t live to tell the tale, Ian Stronholm.” Corbin flicked out his wrist, and thorny vines shot out from the ground, separating me from them.
He grabbed Kalliah’s hand, turning back toward the Knotted Willow, and they walked away, leaving his thorny barrier standing between us.
Corbin had never spoken to me that way before. In fact, he’d never spoken to anyone that way before. The burst of magic and sternness from him shattered the anger latched onto me, loosening it to a place where I could wrestle it back into submission.
What the hell had I just done? And said?
Shaking my head, I tried to rid myself of this inexplicable feeling of doom. What was happening to me?
“Kalliah, wait,” I shouted, dodging around the vines as a few thorns ripped at my pants, scratching my legs when I tore them free. “Wait.”
She’d taken three more paces before she finally faced me, a tear slipping down her cheek.
“I’m sorry.” I grasped her hand, bringing it to my chest. “I’m so sorry.”
She pulled her hand from my hold.
“I don’t know what came over me,” I continued. “Something happened to me when I was in the dungeons with Andras.” I swallowed, then whispered, “Anger or hate is just festering inside of me, and I don’t know how to stop it.”
Kalliah murmured something to Corbin, and he took off inside the inn without sparing me another glance.
“I know you’ve been hurt. Tortured. Nothing will make that okay,” she said. “I’m here, Ian. If and when you’re ready to talk, I am always here. But don’t forget, I want my best friend back too. I want to storm Ellevail and ensure Leif is alive and breathing.” Her voice trembled as she wrapped her arms around herself. “If you ever speak to me that way again—” She choked on her words.
She didn’t need to say anything else. We had been friends long enough for the rest of that sentence to linger unspoken between us with complete understanding.
We wouldn’t survive this if I let myself act this way, if I hurt those around me because I was hurting.
At least I hoped that was all this was.
I reached out my hand. An offering.
Hesitantly, she intertwined her fingers with mine and squeezed. “We can’t turn on each other.”
I kissed her head. “Never again.”
Together we walked in silence into the inn.
An hour later, I held two trays of food in my hands, climbing the stairs to Vivienne’s room. She had disappeared soon after the earthquake, only to return with a woman wearing the same wild look in her eyes. Ever since, the two had been locked away together, refusing to leave Vivienne’s quarters. Fates only knew what was going on there.
There were endless questions we wanted to ask, but had not yet been afforded an opportunity to speak with them. Kalliah attempted to eavesdrop on their conversation last night, but the doorway had been magicked to block the sound from within.
I had questions of my own that went unanswered. Like where had Vivienne gone? Who was the stranger now holing up with us? Did the woman know Lana?
The only way we knew the two were even remotely okay was because their food trays returned empty after each meal. Lana already felt so much guilt for how she’d treated Vivienne throughout the years, she would want us to give her the space to be at peace.
So none of us pushed, allowing them the time they apparently needed.
Gently knocking on their door, I murmured, “Lunch is here.” I waited only a moment before bending over to leave the trays of cheese, bread, and jam on the floor like we had each been doing the past few mealtimes.
Just as I regained my full height, Vivienne’s door flung open, and she grabbed my arm. “Ian.”
