Sunshine I didn’t deserve to have on my face.
“You could have done something. You’re right.”
I looked at Lierick sharply. But he wasn’t done.
“You could have done something,” he repeated slowly. “And you would have failed. Any action you could have taken before now would’ve been a temporary solution. You would have saved one person, maybe two. But now, you have the ability to save thousands. The whole of Ebrus. Trust in the Goddess’s plan, Vox Vylan.”
The Goddess had never done much for me in the first two decades of my life. So while Lierick could have his faith, and the Goddess could play with us like pawns, I would trust in myself.
The climb took most of the day. We were all tired by the time we reached the summit, and barely made camp before we all fell into an exhausted sleep. The following morning, we headed out toward Rewill, but our group was moving much slower.
I couldn’t believe Avalon had walked from Rewill to Boellium at the beginning of the year, with nothing but the clothes on her back and a pack of food.
She hobbled beside me now, and I wrapped her hand in mine. “I love you, Avalon Halhed.”
Her brows raised, but she smiled at me so sweetly that I couldn’t help but lean forward and kiss her. “I love you too, Vox. So much.”
The road toward Rewill was heavily treed on both sides, the perfect place for an ambush. My father would know about Yaron by now, and I was on edge. Hayle must have agreed, because he’d sent both hounds out to scout ahead.
He fell back to where we were walking, leaning over to kiss Avalon too. “How’re your thighs?” he crooned, and she groaned.
“On fire.”
He smirked. “I’ll wrap them around my ears later and make you feel all better.”
Her cheeks pink, she chuckled softly. “I’ll hold you to that.”
Hayle’s feet suddenly stopped, and he tilted his head. Then he looked over at Avalon. “Well, we might have to rain check that, because your brother is coming. Braxus says he’s less than five minutes out.”
Avalon’s face lit up. She loved her brothers—that much had been obvious at the tournament. And they adored her in return. However, they’d stood by and let her be kicked around like a dog for most of her life, so I was reserving judgment.
Iker put down the girl, and we rested as we waited for Avalon’s brother. Soon enough, Kian Halhed appeared on theback of a large bay stallion. He had two horses behind him, and I heard Avalon’s sigh of relief.
The Heir to the Ninth Line’s eyes ran over our ragtag group, snagging on the bedraggled-looking Powell and Celis. Then he found Avalon, and his whole face softened. He climbed off his horse, dropping its reins, and came over to grab his sister up in his arms. “I’ve been worried about you.”
She hugged her brother back. “I’m fine, Ki,” she murmured, and he looked over the top of her head straight at me. He obviously didn’t trust me still—not that I could blame him. In a way, he was right. I was a danger to her, to them all, with my father’s assassins on our trail at all times.
I had just enough of the Vylan selfishness to not give them up, though.
Avalon stepped away from her brother. “Thank you for coming.”
Kian shrugged. “When a raven turns up, eats half your steak, and gives you a vague note, what else is there to do?”
She peered behind him. “Where’s Bach?”
“Still at the manor. Father is out west hunting, so he had to sit with the property manager this morning to go over the books.” They both chuckled, an inside joke born of love and familiarity bouncing between them.
“I bet he loved being left behind,” she said softly.
“It’s good for him.” Kian looked at the two unknown faces in our group. “Though I was a little surprised when your missive turned up?”
The joy slowly leeched from Avalon’s face. “I need a favor.”
She explained about Powell, giving a brief explanation of his rescue. I watched Kian Halhed’s jaw tense at the mention of Yaron’s Solstice Party. It really was an atrocity that had gone unchecked by all of Ebrus. Everyone had known and done nothing, until now.
She sucked in a deep breath. “We need to stash them somewhere until they’re forgotten. It shouldn’t be too long. Somewhere comfortable. They’ll need to see a healer too. I’ve done what I can, but I don’t have all the right medicines to stave off infection.”
Kian’s face was soft as he looked at the younger pair. “I know a place. It isn’t fancy, but it’s so forgotten, I doubt Father would even know it’s there.”
