“Calm down, lover-boy.” Noelle rolled her eyes.
“Excuse me?” Cullen balked.
“Please, spare me your mock surprise, or offense, or whatever that was supposed to be.” Noelle shifted back in her seat.
“We were all so scared. I’m so glad you’re okay.” Alyss hooked her elbow with Eira’s, guiding her back toward the sofa. Eira was sure her friend could see how unsteady she still was on her feet.
“Who’s going to get Levit and the knights?” Noelle asked as Eira and Alyss sat. Cullen had moved onto the same sofa as Noelle to give them room. “They want to question you.”
Alyss turned into a mother hen. “She just woke up, give her a moment.”
“I’ll talk with them soon… But I would like a moment with the three of you alone.” Eira laced her fingers with Alyss’s, looking at how the firelight played on her friend’s cheek. She tucked her head in the crook of Alyss’s neck and shoulder, breathing a sigh of relief. They were all right. The Pillars hadn’t done anything to harm them…yet.
But the Champion’s words thrummed in her, his threat turning her throat to ash and her stomach to bile.
“What in the Mother’s name happened to you?” Noelle leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.
“She’s going to have to tell Levit and the knights; don’t make her do it twice,” Cullen said.
“Levit and the guards might not give us all the details.” Noelle shot him a look and then turned back to Eira, eyes on fire. “With how much you worried us, you owe us all an explanation.”
Eira laughed softly, uneasily.
“You don’t have to say anything, if you’re not ready.” Alyss rubbed her shoulder.
“Thank you, but Noelle is right. I owe you all a lot of things…” Eira looked between her fellow competitors. “Like an apology for starters.”
“For worrying the pants off us? Apology accepted,” Noelle said.
“Is that why you’re wearing a skirt for once?” Eira couldn’t stop herself from quipping.
“Oh,har har, if you’re well enough for jokes, you’re well enough to spillallthe details.” Noelle smirked.
Eira straightened off Alyss’s shoulder. She stared at her hands, thinking of her time with the Pillars, of their threat. Eira drew a deep breath, tried to find the right words, failed, and then exhaled with a long sigh.
The Pillars had made it clear that if she told anyoneanythingabout her time with them, her friends would also suffer the consequences. But because her friends would suffer the consequences, didn’t she owe them the truth of what happened?
“Well?” Noelle pressed.
Cullen elbowed her in the side. “Give Eira a minute. She’s clearly been through a lot.”
“Okay, I’ll spare your lady.” Noelle rolled her eyes.
“She’s not ‘my lady,’” Cullen mumbled. His eyes flicked to Eira then quickly away. The hesitance, uncertainty, and trace of longing Eira saw filled her with a strange hope and excitement.
Alyss held her tighter. “You really don’t have to…”
“No, I do.” Eira gripped her knees and took a steadying breath. “First, are the other competitors all right?” She couldn’t ask for Ducot by name. “Is anyone else missing?”
“No, just you,” Alyss said and Eira breathed a monumental sigh of relief.
Ducot had escaped. Whomever the Pillars had in that cell wasn’t him—if they’d had anyone at all. She’d been in a broken-down state at that point and Eira wouldn’t be shocked if she’d imagined the sounds entirely. Relieved that Ducot was safe, she leaned forward, keeping her voice as low as possible. The three had to lean in as well to hear her.
“I’m going to give you all the choice…you are in grave danger, and the more you know, the more danger you’re in. But, because you’re in danger, I feel you have a right to the truth.”
“I’m not afraid,” Noelle readily proclaimed.
“I’d like to know,” Alyss said.
