The question makes my heart skip, then plummet just as quickly. I toss back a joke to evade the painful truth. “Maybe the next time you try to fight a Moragorion.”
Finn suddenly reaches out and tugs me against his chest. Cradling my head with one hand, he breathes heavily into my hair.“Thank you for saving me.”
My stomach tugs, like free fall in a dream. I haven’t been hugged since I was a child. I don’t want to let go. Not now, not ever. How can I explain how much he means to me?
I’ve spent years bracing myself for the possibility that when I finally met someone my own age, the experience wouldn’t live up to my expectations. How could I explain that he is even more wondrous than my dreams? I want more time with Finn. I want to go on adventures together. I want to confide in him about what I’m really scared of….
I never get the chance, because that’s the moment we get interrupted.
It’s voices. Outside.
Horror lances my veins, freezing me in place. “Someone’s here,” I hiss, and we hurry to the window.
Through the mottled glass, we see three armed men approaching. Two are massive, with dark hair and beards, and the other is shorter and round, built like a boulder.
“Mercenaries,”Finn murmurs. “See the patches on their vests?”
I scrutinize the men more closely. Indeed, they each have a triangle sewn onto the left breast of their uniform, but I can’t make out the detail from this distance.
“Those are Sulish raiders,” Finn continues, in a low voice. “Sellswords. They’re officially employed by the Verdish Empire, but most of them operate more like pirates.”
If they catch you, they will kill you.
I feel like throwing up.
Finn emits a noise like a growl. “You should hide.”
“What?”
“Hide. Before they make an example out of you.” Our eyes meet, and Finn’s hold a dark glint of desperation. “If they know you’re out here alone—”
“I know,” I say, cutting him off.
I’m well informed of the dangers of being found. I’m a lone female in the Ironwoods, defiantly living outside the Crown’s protection even as tension rumbles through Verdinae. To the wrong pair of eyes, I look like someone with something to hide…someone without proper papers. The empire has agents trained to hunt down Elves with Talents, like me. One brush with one of them, and I’d end up in a prison cell, begging for my life to be ended quickly. Imperial mercenaries would be less formal. They’d treat me as spoils of war. A prize to be shared.
Mother has good reasons for training me to stay within the wardlines.
I feel sick with shame. When I ran to rescue Finn, I broke the only rule that mattered in her absence. And here are the consequences, arriving to damn me. Stepping outside the wardlines shattered every protective spell concealing our cottage. We’re sitting ducks.
Terror clamps down on my throat, and my skin flames.
“I’ll deal with them,” Finn says firmly, grabbing my shoulders to force me to meet his gaze. When I don’t move, he adds, “Now, Lyria. I have this under control.”
I pause. My Talent churns underneath my skin, already swelling in anticipation of release. But I can’t use it in front of Finn without revealing what I am.
Seeing no other choice, I obey him, scrambling into the closet. I try to steady my breathing as I watch Finn through a tiny crack in the wood. He swipes a blade from the kitchen before hurrying to the door.
My Elven ears home in on the mercenaries outside.
“There’s smoke in the chimney,” one of them says. “Someone’s in there.”
“What d’ya think?” another replies.
“I think I’m hungry.”
I hear the door swing open, then measured footsteps. It’s Finn. “Gentlemen,” he drawls, sounding remarkably casual. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“Nice place you’ve got,” the first voice answers. “Not a lot of folks out here these days.”
