To afraid of the truth.
But Signa knew. “I . . .” She sighed. “I wish I knew where the belief came from, Runa. I wish I had an answer for you and Milo but . . .”
It was as I had feared. “You can’t guarantee that one of us isn’t bound to Hel.”
“I cannot,” she affirmed. “But I can tell you, through all myyears of research before”—she motioned to her clouded eyes—“I never came across anything specifying that a bind to Hel was something to be feared.”
My eyebrows shot to my hairline, my gaze connecting with Friar’s.
“In fact . . .” She paused, a slight smile forming on her lips. “I think it might be something to be revered.”
CHAPTER 34
Friar and I were solemn as we left Signa’s home. Though she had agreed to help with the war, she had mentioned the fact that our numbers were lower than ever because of the Purge. So many members had lost their only parent, or both, and had thus ended up without magic and a limited ability to read. Regardless, she planned to put out a call to have them all bring their books and to ask if they would join our cause. If there were no readers among them, she would send word for Friar or I to read to them, which had caused something else to niggle in the back of my mind.
“Friar?” I asked as we increased the distance between ourselves and Signa’s home.
“Hm?”
“Can you read?” It felt awkward to state it like that, but I was unsure if there was another way to ask for the knowledge I was digging for.
The confirmation of the validity of the information Otho gave me.
“A little, but I didn’t finish my lessons.” She sighed. “My brothers were also against magic. They still are.”
I swallowed. They weren’t the only ones with that sentiment.
We walked in silence the rest of the way, careful to take a roundabout way back to the keep where Friar was a secret from any prying eyes at Adis’s estate. I had forgotten to ask how she had gotten away in the first place.
We stopped just outside of the exterior wall, Friar pulling me into a brief hug. Which, though unexpected, was comforting. “I’ll send word if Signa does.”
“All right,” I agreed, returning her hug, though it felt a bit awkward.
We broke apart, and she headed toward the palace as I made my way to where I had left my horse, swiftly untying it and urging it in a gallop toward the camp.
Coming into town earlier that day had been my first time horseback riding alone. While I had ridden a horse a few times as a child, my parents hadn’t owned one themselves, so the only experience I’d had prior to being taken by Otho was via school or friends, and those opportunities had been few and far between. Earlier that morning, when Otho had offered me the horse, though I had never ridden alone, I didn’t want to tell him that, and I had jumped on its back without a word. Luckily for me, things had gone well, and the horse seemed easy to please, especially now as I nudged it into a gallop, allowing the wind to flow through my hair as we moved swiftly over the hard-packed ground.
I didn’t want to be close to Adis for any longer than I had to. I don’t know why, but I still feared he would see me and force me back under his servitude. Though I had betrayed him, I knew one reader was likely not enough for his master plan, especially not now that I was becoming more aware of it.
Light slid from the sky, darkness moving in by the time I finally reached the outcropping of tents that had quickly become my home the last few days. There were a few soldiers still moving about, but no one gave me a second glance as I entered the circle of larger tents where Otho’s tent resided before sliding off the horse’s back to lead it to the post where I had gotten onit this morning. My thighs cramped as soon as my feet touched the ground, still not used to the amount of horseback riding I had been doing. Noticing that the wooden bucket there was empty, I took the time to fill it from the creek nearby before giving the horse a final pat and heading toward Otho’s tent, rehearsing what I would say to him when I got there.
I was so busy with my mental conversation, it wasn’t until my hand rested on the tent flap that I realized there were two distinct voices coming from Otho’s tent. One I knew all too well.
Syrus.
“Adis wants your help finding out where the Reader disappeared to,” he grumbled. “Now that the cousin has been taken by Malheim, he’s realized the punishment he issued was too harsh.”
“You mean he’s desperate for magic, so he will take anyone who can read.” Otho’s voice was low, a lace of absolute malice threaded through it.
“It doesn’t matter. Just tell me where you last saw Milo.”
“I told you, he wandered off weeks ago with nothing but the clothes on his back. Not even a pack. He’s dead.” The lie sounded natural as it came from Otho’s lips.
Realizing I was standing in the tent doorway and could be discovered at any time, I swiftly stepped to the side, crouching down, around the corner, and slightly out of sight. It wasn’t the best hiding spot, but my stomach was in knots as I pieced together what happened. My cousin Collum had been taken from Adis . . . by Hansen. While I still didn’t feel we left things on the best terms, I knew for a fact I still cared for her and didn’t want her taken anywhere against her will.
She was still my only family, other than Milo.
“Take me there,” Syrus demanded.
