“I have an arena-ful of glamours, brother, if you care to experience them. No one has to get hurt. Let us go peacefully. Lethergo.”
Stellon stared icy daggers at him. “This isn’t over.”
“It is, brother.” Pharis said. “It really is. Let Raewyn go. Honor her wishes, as I intend to do. Stay away from her and let her live her life in peace.”
All Stellon said in answer was, “I know where you live, you know.”
“And I know where you live,” Pharis warned in return. “Stay out of my life, and I’ll stay out of yours.”
Then the two of us walked out of the ballroom and straight to the front doors of the palace, leaving without interference.
We retrieved Cimmerian from the stables where Pharis compelled a stablehand about his size to surrender his clothing.
He winced as he pulled the rough material over his battered body.
“Are you going to be all right?” I asked, wishing I had healing glamour instead of fear-detection.
Just a glance of the whip had left my hand and chest burning, even now. I couldn’t imagine the agony Pharis was experiencing.
“I will be eventually,” he said. “When I get back to Stormcrest, Elanor can heal me. But if you don’t mind, I’ll ask you to ride in front of me instead of behind me.”
“Of course,” I agreed.
Unlike the first time we rode away from Castle Seaspire together, I did not look back.
Traveling under the cover of Pharis’ shadows, we reached the crossroads known as The Wheel, and the horse stopped, awaiting guidance on which way to turn.
“Did you mean what you said?” I asked. “Are you really taking me to my family in Havendor?”
“Yes. You’ll be with them this very night.”
“The ride to Havendor took us several weeks last time,” I reminded him.
“We’re not going to ride there. There’s a powerful Evanescer I know of in Ferndell. I’ll glean his glamour and take you to Havendor that way. After that whipping, I’m not sure how long I can last on a horse. Besides, evanescing will be much faster than going on horseback—and we can’t be followed that way.”
“You think Stellon will pursue us?” I asked with no small amount of alarm.
“It’s very likely. I used my Compelling glamour when I told him to let you go and to stay away from you, but his fixation on you is powerful. And as we saw in your case, the compulsioncanbe overcome when the feelings are strong enough.”
One thing I didn’t want to talk about right now wasfeelings, particularly the ones I’d felt strongly enough to break Pharis’ compulsion to believe I loved Stellon.
“Why did you do that to me?” I asked. “Why did you compel me to leave you?”
Pharis’ grip on the reins tightened. “I thought I was doing the right thing… the best thing for you.”
“Butwhywould that be the best thing?”
He didn’t answer me.
“And is that what you believe you’re doing now?” I asked. “The right thing?”
“What I’m doing now is letting you make your own choices. It doesn’t matter what I think or want.”
Another vague answer. I was so tired of them. Especially when so many questions remained.
Why had he let himself be captured and tortured? Had he felt deserving of it somehow?
“Why did you not help yourself back there?” I asked. “Why did you not stop the flogger with your paralytic glamour—or prevent the public flogging in the first place?”
