Feathers still ruffled that he’d been snuck up on, Rodric smiled at the warrior and called out to the searcher, “Celina’s mare, Dahlia, is in the third stall, right next to my chestnut mare. Be careful; she bites.”
Zero reaction from his new warrior friend. Not that Rodric would have reacted any differently to a viable threat to the people he was protecting. It was really obnoxious to respect the man intent on causing you bodily harm if you blinked wrong.
Aninstantofjoyat seeing Rodric leaning against the orphanage wall was chased by a wave of apprehension as Celina took in the furious energy radiating from Morgan, standing guard a few feet away. Her mind ran through her options of how to handle the tense situation.
Her heart, however, was still dancing, and the core of her magic brightened in response to her emotions. Unmistakable forest-green eyes that she’d thought about more than once since last night met hers as she approached. She forced down the instinctive desire to send out a strand of magic to connect with him.Not the time or place.
Rodric’s face was carefully blank in a practiced, nonthreatening manner, but his eyes were intensely directed at her, conveying sincerity. There was a hint of a plea in them. His life, at least in the short term, was in her hands, and he knew it.
Maybe she didn’t have the instincts of a hunter or a warrior, but she did have those of a healer, and she had sensed his pain and his sincerity when he talked about his soul-daughter. They could make an excellent team, assuming she could get him out of here unscathed and then convince Morgan to hear them out.
She inclined her head just barely in a private greeting to Rodric as she drew near and was rewarded by a flare of heat and triumph in his eyes.Ancestors, guide me.
“Morgan, I see you’ve met Rodric.”
“Care to explain what he’s doing in my compound?” Morgan fired the demand at her, a hard glint in his eyes.
Celina frowned at his overreactive response. “We came to meet with you about an urgent matter.”
“Really.” Disbelief colored his tone.
“Yes.” Without moving her head, she flicked her eyes to the warrior who had escorted her over and raised her brow.
Morgan dismissed the guard with an unusually sharp jerk of his head, waiting until he was out of earshot to grill her further. “So, you’re vouching for his presence, claiming he’s here with you?”
“Heishere with me.” She corralled her energy and projected it into calm confidence as Morgan assessed them.
“Damn it, Celina. It would be simpler if hewasn’twith you. Then I could just get rid of him. What were you thinking, allowing him here?”
Healers and warriors were inextricably linked, two halves of a whole, yet always slightly at odds. Thankfully, she and Morgan had been working together in dicey situations for years, so she was able to read him well.
“I’m trying to save lives.” She laced her quiet tone with ferocity. “Your riled up behavior means you’re doing the same, so let’s call it even. I still need your help, and so does Rodric.”
A quick glance showed Rodric’s face was masked with polite respect. He met her gaze intently with a touch of admiration and shared a smile with her.
“A favor for an Eldrin?” Morgan asked incredulously. “Today?”
She could practically hear his thoughts rolling in disbelief—how could she be asking such a thing after the news that Connor had been killed in Eldridge?
“Tell me you completely, whole-heartedly believeeverydetail of what they said about Connor’s mission.” She searched his eyes. “Convince me of that right now, and I’ll walk away.”
A moment of heavy silence permeated the air before he dropped his defensive stance in resignation. A spark of victory lit in Celina’s heart.
“I swear, some days, I think you and Cass are trying to kill me.” Morgan gave her a pained look and jerked his head in the hunter’s direction. “What’s his role in all this?”
“He’s going to—”
“Nooo!”an angry scream came from inside, cutting off Celina’s words.
Snapping into healer mode, she immediately checked her reserve of magic as they ran for the orphanage. Morgan moved like lightning, racing ahead of them inside.
A teenage girl stood in the common room, shouting at the headmistress. Tears streaked from bloodshot eyes, her hair a wild brown tangle around her face and shoulders.
“You don’t understand. He protected me and now he’sdying! Why won’t you believe me?” The girl growled at the headmistress before looking frantically around the room. Desperate hope flared in her eyes when she found Morgan, and she stepped toward him, lip trembling. “Morgan! Tell them, make them believe me. You have todosomething!”
“What’s going on? Who’s dying?” Celina asked.
“Aiden! Aiden is sick.” The girl’s eyes flicked to Celina’s before resettling on the huge warrior. “Morgan, please.”
