Raising her hands to stop his words, Avalon shook her head. “Don’t tell me. Don’t tell us. The less we know about their location, the better.” Thejust in casehung in the air.
Kian Halhed’s face turned to stone at her words, because we all knew what she meant. Just in case we were captured. Tortured. He sucked in a harsh breath. “Okay.” He kissed the top of Avalon’s head, then clucked his tongue, his stallion immediately shuffling forward. “It’s a day’s ride from here. I’ll make sure they’re okay and head back to Rewill. I shouldn’t be more than a day or two behind your group.” He looked over at Powell. “Do you ride?”
Powell hesitated. “Not well.”
Kian gave him a soft smile. “That’s okay. Glory’s a sweet girl. She’ll do all the work.” Hayle helped boost a tired and emaciated Powell onto a little gray mare. Kian then turned to Celis. “If it is okay with you, you can ride with me.” We all watched her stiffen, and Kian’s expression darkened. He knew without asking what she’d been through. “I promise you—you’re safe with me. Both of you.”
The girl was so fragile, and yet still strong. Like glass that had been tempered until it was bulletproof. She climbed up into the saddle, and I realized she was no stranger to horses. I wouldn’t have thought she’d have the strength to handle Kian’s big stallion, but she was obviously comfortable with it.
Kian mounted up behind her, his arms careful not to touch her more than necessary. “Head to Rewill. Father is away, so you can stay in your childhood bedroom. Bach will be happy to see you.” Avalon nodded with a smile, and we watched them go. We’d fulfilled our promise to Moran Ingmire; we were finally getting somewhere.
We looked at the horse left behind. She was another old gray, and Avalon eyed her with something between longing and trepidation.
Hayle laughed, picking her up and sliding her onto the horse’s back. “Your brother is a good horseman. When you said that you didn’t ride, I thought that perhaps horses weren’t popular up here in the north.”
Shrugging, Avalon patted the horse’s neck. “No, horses are an invaluable resource around here. I was just never allowed to learn to ride. My father didn’t believe vermin should be allowed to ride such valuable assets.” She smiled softly. “The stablehands let me groom them sometimes, though.”
I was suddenly very sad that Roman Halhed was away from home. He was due his reckoning.
We remained alert as we walked the well-worn path back to Rewill. In all that time, we didn’t see a single other soul, but the cold wind wrapped around us like a frozen kiss. Avalon shivered, and I climbed on the back of the horse behind her, heating my body as I wrapped it around her. She nearly purred with happiness, leaning back into me. As I kissed her throat, she sighed softly.
Without Powell and Celis, Hayle ran with the hounds, and I used my magic to aid Lierick and Iker until we were all moving at a fast enough pace that we halved the time it should’ve taken to get to Rewill.
As the town walls came into view, shadowed by the sun kissing the horizon, I could feel the tension in Avalon increase,like she was building her own walls to protect her from the memories within. By the time we made it to the gates, she had almost entirely shut down her emotions. She slid from the horse, though she kept her chin high. She looked fierce in the torchlight, but I knew her well enough now to see the trepidation in the way she chewed the inside of her cheek.
Lierick moved closer. “Okay?”
She shook her head. “Just conflicted. This place is my home, and something in me feels settled to be back in the shadow of the mountains. But these people, my own people, turned a blind eye to what my father did for years. They always looked at me with suspicion, like they believed I was capable of the things my father said, despite the fact that I was just a baby.” She shook her head. “I guess I realized that I have a birthplace, but I don’t really have a home.” She huffed. “As I said, just conflicted.”
If anyone understood that feeling, it was me. “You have a home. It’s here, with us. We are yours, and you’re ours.” She looked over at me, her eyes soft.
I slid from the horse and stood beside its shoulder, its reins loosely in my hand, blocking me from sight as the gates opened. Suddenly, I saw Lierick’s expression freeze.Go,he mouthed as the gates opened to reveal a large contingent of soldiers.
I hesitated until Alucius nipped my fingers, dragging me off to the side to hide behind the gate in the shadows.
A boy, who couldn’t be much older than Avalon, was mouthing something at her, and I saw her shoulders stiffen.
“Avalon Halhed, your father wishes to see you,” an older soldier with a pointed gray beard announced.
She crossed her arms across her chest. “Well, I don’t wish to see him, Edgar.”
The man’s face twisted cruelly. “I don’t believe the choice is yours, Rat.”
Hayle growled low. “Speak to her like that once more, and I’ll remove your poisoned tongue from behind those blackened teeth.”
The guard bowed. “Of course. The Heir to the Third Line is welcomed with honor in Rewill, as is your retinue. We have world-class kennels to store your… pets.” He looked past Hayle at Lierick and Iker, and Braxus raised his lip to snarl at the guard.
Avalon rolled her eyes, her hand a steadying presence on Hayle’s forearm. “Fine, Edgar. Let’s get this shit done. I’m tired.”
She purposefully didn’t look back at me, and Alucius rumbled her discontent. I was in agreement with the hound. This was bad.
Very bad.
Seventeen
Avalon
Iavoided the gaze of the citizens of Rewill as we followed along behind Edgar. He was Father’s Captain of the Guard—as cruel as my father and twice as cunning. He tended to use his position to kick around others weaker than him, and had earned his position not by strength or skill, but by good old-fashioned favoritism. It meant that none of the other soldiers had a particular love for him, especially the younger generation, who were far more loyal to my brothers than to my father.
