He releases me, taking a step back. “I’m leaving tonight. I have something I need to do.” His expression is neutral once more. “Don’t run blindly into the arena again while I’m gone.”
I curl my lip at him, and something that might be amusement flickers through his eyes. He steps into the shadows and disappears. I don’t know if it’s one of his powers, or if he did one of his too-fast-to-see movements, but it makes my muscles tense.
I close my eyes—planning to rest for a few minutes before I drag myself to bed. But when I next open them, the clock on the wall tells me I’ve been asleep for hours, and my body is stiff and sore from my awkward position in the chair. Rubbing at my eyes, I check in on Leon, and then corner Axia, asking for a detailed prognosis for both him and Maeva.
Maeva should wake soon.
Leon will defy expectations if he wakes at all. The damage was unfathomable.
When I ask Axia if Maeva’s father has arranged to visit, the sorrow in Axia’s eyes makes me want to put my fist through a wall.
“Arvelle,” a low voice murmurs, and I turn quickly. Tiernon puts his hand in mine. I can’t place the look on his face, but there’s something about it that makes my heart stutter.
“There’s something you need to see.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“What is it?” I ask Tiernon as he leads me back to the imperius’s quarters.
It’s the third time I’ve asked, and he sends me an amused look.
I roll some of the tension from my shoulders. He’s calm. Relaxed. I can attempt to be relaxed too.
“I forgot how bad you were with surprises,” he says. And for once, the memories don’t hurt. I grin at him, and he leads me through the common room.
Neris is sitting on one of the sofas talking quietly to Dolen. They nod at us. Tiernon nods back but keeps moving.
When he opens the door to his quarters, I burst into tears.
“Velle!” Ev shoots a horrified look at Tiernon, who shrugs at him. I can count on one hand the number of times my brothers have seen me cry. Even when Bran first showed up, I didn’t fall apart.
Gerith shoves his brother aside and wraps his arms around me. “We missed you too.”
My hands are shaking as I push his hair away from his head, taking in his sigil. He gives me a proud smile.
Reaching out my other arm for Evren, I drag him close. “You’ve grown.” I sniffle. “Both of you are taller.”
Tiernon’s watching us fondly, a hint of a smile on his lips.
“How?” I ask him.
“Elva was distracted. I got lucky.”
I turn my attention back to my brothers. “Do you want to talk about it?”
They shake their heads, but there’s something in their eyes. This experience has changed them. Hardened them.
“We have to be careful,” Tiernon says. “No one can know they’re here.”
“How did you get them here without anyone seeing?” I ask.
Tiernon winks. “I have my ways.”
I study his face. He’s almost unrecognizable from the stern, rude Primus I met when I first arrived. Now he’s more like the old Tiernon.The one who learned how to laugh and play in the Thorn. The one who was my friend before he was ever my lover.
We talk for hours. Gerith shows me how he can use the wind, his sigil flaring gold, while Evren lectures us about all the things he learned while he was gone. Apparently, Elva shoved books in his hands to keep him occupied while she was teaching Gerith.
“I’ll teach you everything I know just as soon as you wake, Ev,” Gerith says.
