“Good. Let’s go.” He leans over Auri. “Let’s go, Sis. I’ll carry you.” The fact that she doesn’t argue shows me how she’s doing with all this tonight. My heart goes out to her; I’m barely able to process all that’s happened tonight. “We’re going out the back,” Rauk says over his shoulder to Elowen and I. “Shane, Thorne, and Reneta, you’re with me.” I only have a moment to take in the three warriors accompanying us. Thorne, I know. And I’mguessing Shane is the other guy that’s been with us tonight. That leaves Reneta, the woman. I can’t make out much in the dark, but she looks fierce. Rauk waits at the door with Auri in his right arm and his halberd in his left. Thorne opens the door and goes out first.
“It’s clear.”
We follow him out into the night. As quiet as I try to be, I feel like my feet make so much noise in the crunchy snow. I expect Thorne to lead us around to the front of the building, but he takes us towards the trees. We walk for a little while in the dark, and I trip over everything on the way. It’s nearly impossible to see. I keep wanting to ask where we’re going, but I manage to keep my mouth shut. Thorne stops and bends down. I can only see his shadow. But when he disappears into the ground, I nearly swallow my tongue. I wait until it’s my turn to step forward. I look down and see the steps leading downward that are visible from the lit torch on the dirt wall. I follow Elowen silently and count the steps as we descend. We hit the ground on thirteen. I look around the lit space, thanks to the torches and the light from the roaring fire. I’m shocked to see that it’s a living area. There are cots, shelves with food, water, blankets and pillows, and weapons. Rauk places Auri carefully on the cot. I drop my bag on one of the cots and release a breath, thankful for the relative safety.
Chapter 27
I turn around and take in the woman, now that I can see her clearly. The sides of her head are shaved, and dark hair hangs nearly in her eye from the dark swatch of hair on top of her head. She has several piercings both in her ears and on her nose. She looks fierce. I cross my arms over my chest and watch as she talks to Rauk, along with Shane and Thorne. When they make no move to include me in their conversation, I stride over to them and force myself into the opening in between Rauk and Reneta. Rauk takes a small step to the side, accommodating me. “What did I miss?” I ask in a calm voice.
Reneta turns to me, and her nearly purple eyes catch my attention. “Nothing,” she says with an air of superiority.
I don’t skip a beat. “Well, obviously you weren’t paying attention if you missed everything that was said.” I turn to Rauk. “What did I miss?”
“We’re going to stay here tonight. We just need to wait until it’s light; then we’ll take stock of how bad things are and then gofrom there,” Rauk says without any emotion. “Thorne, keep the regular patrol on the walls. I don’t think we’ll see anything more from them tonight. Shane and Reneta, you’re both in the trees on patrol. We will meet at first light tomorrow and reassess.”
Reneta and Shane leave without a word, but Thorne stays behind a moment. “Try to get some sleep,” he says, putting a hand on Rauk. Rauk starts to argue, but Thorne beats him to it. “You need to be sharp for tomorrow. We will need to plan battle strategy.” Rauk neither agrees nor disagrees, and Thorne heads up the stairs. Rauk follows him, and I can hear the sounds of locks engaging.
I turn around and make my way over to Auri. “Hey, Kiddo, how are you doing?” I sit on the ground next to her cot. Elowen is sitting on the cot next to her.
“Okay,” she says in a strong voice with her head lifted, but I know she’s anything but okay. I look over at Elowen.
“And you?”
“I’m okay, Dear.”
“You didn’t get hurt when you tried to attack that Northerner without a weapon?” I ask. “I don’t know what you were thinking.”
“Same as you, Dear One. Survival.”
“Still, you shouldn't have fought them,” I push, trying to get my point across.
“Neither of you will have to do that again,” Rauk says as he rejoins us.
His words rub me the wrong way. I stand to my feet and walk over to where he stands. “I’m a trained fighter, Rauk.”
I start to turn away, but he stops me by putting his hand on my elbow. “I know. You proved that tonight when you took on two Northerners to protect my sister and Elowen. I will never forget that, Harper.” I finally look up at him. He’s staring at me with that intensity that is so him. I pull my elbow from his grasp, and he lets go. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”
“You mean Auri,” I say quickly.
He stares down at me. “Allof you. Thank you, Harper.” He glances over at his sister, and I watch as he swallows hard. I can see his adam’s apple bob. “She’s everything to me,” he says in a quiet voice. I’m sort of shocked he’s saying this because she can hear everything we’re saying. I thought he’d be too proud to admit those kind of feelings. He fists his hand and puts it over his heart and nods to me. “And Elowen’s like a mother to me.”
“Oh, Honey,” Elowen says in a voice full of emotion.
I suddenly don’t want to be a part of any of this; it’s too emotional for me. I take a step backwards. “Well, I’m just glad we didn’t die.” I turn away and curse myself for my stupid words, but there’s no taking them back now. I pick up my bag and walk over to the cot furthest away from everybody. “We’d better get sleep if we’re meeting at first light,” I throw out over my shoulder. I open the blanket on the cot and shake it out. It smells and looks clean thankfully. I give myself a moment to make sure I’m composed before I head back over to Auri. Elowen’s already helped her lay down. I squeeze her shoulder. “Get some sleep, Kiddo.”
She looks up at me. “Thank you for protecting me, Harper. I was so scared.” Her voice cracks a moment, and I think my heartdoes as well. I nod and start to move, but she tugs on my hand. “Harper.”
I really don’t want to deal with any more emotion tonight, but I look down at her. “Yeah, Kiddo?”
“I thought,” her voice cracks again, and I swallow hard. I really don’t want to be over here anymore. “I thought you were going to die tonight, and I would never,” she sucks in a breath that ends in a half sob. “And I thought I’d never get to,” she chokes again. I crack my neck, wanting desperately to pull away. I don’t do emotion. “To tell you,” she continues in almost a whisper now. “That...” she sniffs, and I don’t dare look down at her. “I love you.”
I swallow and keep all emotion from my voice. “I love you too, Kiddo.” I squeeze her hand and then I pull my hand from hers. I don’t look at Elowen as I make my way to my cot. I can feel Rauk’s eyes on me, but I keep my back to him. I slip off my boots, but I keep my clothes on and slip under the blanket on my cot. I roll towards the wall and squeeze my eyes shut. My heart hurts, and my chest aches. I think it aches more than the physical pains I have from tonight. I squeeze my eyes shut tight and do my best to think about anything other than Auri’s words. I refuse to get emotional. I haven’t cried since I was a little girl, and I have no plans to start now. My mind plays the events of tonight over and over again, and I know I will get no sleep tonight.
“Harper.” There’s a heavy hand on my shoulder, and I stiffen but don’t roll over.
“What?”
“Did you get hit in the ribs?” Rauk’s voice is low and quiet. “Your breathing is labored.”
