“And my eyeballs are bleeding from staring at these words.”
“For such a tough warrior, you’re very dramatic.”
He frowned. “I’m not dramatic.Youare.”
“Excuse me?”
“Look. I get it. I’m a quiet, loyal soldier. Your business is your own. But you and you-know-who would give any bystander whiplash.”
I blinked, because did he really just say that? Granted, it was warranted.
He confirmed he hadn’t lost his mind when he sheepishly added, “Don’t tell him I said that.”
“You know, maybe weshouldtrain, just so I can hit you.”
Not that I was particularly craving violence. I was obnoxiously content from last night.
“Your eyes just got this dreamy look to them—”
I glared daggers at him as the doors burst open. Aric filled the doorway, his expression unreadable. “Your man has returned,” he announced.
The books were immediately forgotten as we jumped to our feet. “Did you tell Harthon?” I asked.
“Of course,” he said, leading us through the hallway. “I told him I’d let you know.”
Hopefully Jac brought good news. As in, there were no Horrads to be found and the mountains were little more than grassy hills.
And squirrels can fly.
“Harthon would have come here to tell you himself, but he would have had to backtrack through the Citadel,” Aric added, completely unprompted.
“Makes sense,” I murmured. Why was he going out of his way to paint Harthon in a favorable light?
Aric answered the unspoken question a moment later. “I like you two together. You may make him less of an ass.”
Apparently everyone wanted to share their thoughts on our relationship. I didn’t respond, not wanting to encourage Aric to voice more of his opinions—or give him any ideas of how to use me against Harthon. It was bad enough he’d witnessed this entire mess.
We exited through the stables to a small swarm of commotion. Harthon watched, his broad back to us, as a flurryof stable hands congregated around something in the yard. I spotted Joris, a horse’s brown head visible above him.
Harthon turned as we approached. “Etarla.”
With that one word, I knew this wasn’t good news. Whatever Jac had found was going to ruin our day, and likely our journey into the Domus.
Harthon seemed to hesitate before settling on, “This isn’t the sight you’re expecting.”
“That’s cryptic.”
“I do not want to tell you what you can and cannot handle, but you should go back inside.”
How bad could it be? And more importantly, where was Jac?
I ignored Harthon’s warning, stepping up beside him instead. He didn’t push me on it, something I appreciated.
Until the stable hands parted and I saw exactly why he suggested I go.
Jac was there.
But he was…not complete.
