The strength of her pull off the ground made Aydra’s breath catch. Aydra suddenly found herself within a few inches of the woman’s body, and the woman smirked at her.
“Balandria,” she said.
Aydra swallowed hard and gripped to the crutch beneath her arm. The name was familiar. She felt her eyes squinting at her as Balandria’s dark gaze twinkled at her.
“You’re the Venari King’s Second, aren’t you?” Aydra asked.
“I am,” Balandria answered. “He asked that I bring you something to eat. If you’ll excuse me Spybreaker, my king needs me.”
Balandria turned and made her way down the steps without another word. Aydra stared after her figure, confused as to what had just happened.
You’re staring, the raven said.
Aydra pulled her cloak around her and stared down at the field of Venari men and women.I need to leave. Soon, she told it.
You are not healed.
If I stay here much longer, I’ll be seduced by all of them.
The squawk of her raven echoed in her ears. She glared at its cackle and made herself go inside to where Balandria had left her food.
The fill of her belly brought energy to her core. There was a rope out in front of the balcony that Draven had used the morning before to let himself down. It was more useful than her trying to get down the stairs without completely making a fool of herself, so she reached out for it and gripped it in her hands.
Her crutches landed in the grass, causing a few of the men to stop and frown up at her as she descended herself down the rope. She thought she was doing well, until she got to the ground and realized she’d no way to stand on her own with her crutches lying on the floor.
And she refused to ask for help.
So she used her foot to pick up the handle of one and brought it carefully to her hand. She was pretty sure she flashed a few of the men, but it was better than her admitting defeat.
“I see you made it out of the tree,” came Draven’s voice behind her.
She poised herself on the crutches and blew her frustrated hair out of her face. “I did,” she managed upon meeting his gaze.
He didn’t speak any further as he took a large bag of some sort from one of his men, and then he passed it to Balandria beside him. This continued for a few minutes, until the point that Aydra huffed impatiently.
“Where are my things? My crown? Bow? Sword?” Aydra asked, leaning on the crutches.
“Do not fret,” Draven said with an annoyed sigh. “They are safe.”
“I need them. I must take my leave.”
Draven straightened up and dusted his hands off. He gave her a deliberate once over then, and said, “All right. Walk to me,” using his hands to gesture her coming towards him.
Her brow raised. “Excuse me?”
“You say you’re well enough to leave. Walk to me. Without the crutch.”
Aydra’s teeth set. She hated the smug look on his face, the air of arrogance in his eyes. Not only that, but the snickering of the other Hunters around the clearing made her blood boil.
She clutched the crutches in her fists and glared at Draven. She knew she couldn’t. And she didn’t need more mocking from the entire of the Venari race when she would inevitably fall.
A slow twist rose on Draven’s lips. He crossed his arms over his chest, hair falling out of its ponytail and over his eyes. “You’ll leave when we say you can leave,” he told her.
“This is kidnapping,” she hissed.
“No,” he snapped, crossing the space between them. “This is saving my ass and yours. If you were to go back right now, your brother would send an army of Belwarks into my home, attack all the Noctuans, and he would do it without bothering to hear your or my side of what really happened. He would think I hurt you, and he and your little minis would start a war we do not need.” He paused to tower over her, and she could hear her pulse beating in her ears.
“Do not think for a moment that I want you here any more than you want to be here,” he hissed. “Do you think I relish argument at every waking moment? Hearing your voice doubting and making me question everything I do? We were building at peace before you got here. And now—” His hands made like they would grasp the sides of her head, and he instead gripped the roots of his hair. “The faster you heal and get out of here, the better.”
