He cleared his throat, uncomfortable. Wanting to fix things between them, but not knowing how.
Nim’s smile widened, and he took a few steps closer, keeping her between him and Alanna, until he was close enough that his sister could reach out her hand and take hold of his. Just that small touch meant so much to him. Nim had forgiven him for the stupid, cruel things he’d said. Thank the gods.
He knew he didn’t deserve it, but he would take it. “Hey, Nimmy.” His voice was rougher than he would have liked.
She squeezed his fingers. “Hey, big brother. I’ve missed you.”
He cleared his throat again. Gods. “I missed you too.”
And he was going to miss her so much more when he left. But he didn’t want to think about that. He wanted to take this one chance to spend some time with his sister.
“Can I help you with anything?” he asked.
She watched him quietly, considering, and then lifted her eyebrows in challenge. “Think you can manage to peel some potatoes?”
He chuckled. It had been a never-ending argument as children. He had thought he was too big, too important, and definitely too manly for such chores. And she, of course, had disagreed.
Well, he could do it now. He had a much clearer and better understanding of how important he was. He wasn’t important at all.
He sat down beside his sister and pulled out one of the knives that Tor had given him and started peeling, keeping his eyes down and trying not to notice just how close Alanna was as she sat back on her heels on the other side of Nim.
“Tristan says we should reach the temples tomorrow,” Nim said as she worked.
“Yeah.” They were getting close. Soon the squad would be safe, and he would be gone. “I saw the complex from the air earlier.”
“Is it glorious?” Alanna asked. “I heard that the courtyard walls are covered in carvings and inscriptions, and the whole complex is filled with the sound of flowing water from all the fountains. And the hot springs—Bard, people travel all the way from Verturia to visit them.”
The delighted anticipation in her softly accented voice drew him to lift his eyes and look at her properly for the first time in days, and he almost slipped and cut himself in shock.
Her eyes were clear and bright, her shoulders square, the swelling was down on her face and her lip was healed. But she had dark purple rings under her eyes, worse than he had ever seen. Tiny lines had appeared at the corners of her eyes and furrows between her brows that, in all she’d suffered, she had never had before.
She looked as if she hadn’t slept in days.
Before he could stop himself, he dropped the knife and stood, stepping over Nim so that he could reach out his hand to cup Alanna’s jaw and lift her chin, letting his thumb trail lightly over her cheek, below the dark ring beneath her eye—the evidence of her exhaustion.
“What happened?” he asked as gently as he could, wanting to kick himself for leaving her alone for so long when something was so obviously wrong.
He should have paid better attention. Should have stayed closer instead of hiding away, day after day. But now he knew, and whatever it was that was hurting her, he would fix it.
Alanna glanced past him to Nim, and he would swear she gave a tiny shake of her head.
He looked between them, confused, at Nim’s narrowed eyes and Alanna’s look of distress, and was that… guilt?
A horrific thought occurred to him, and he let his hand drop. Could someone be keeping her awake at night? Rafe, maybe?
Gods. Fuck. It was too much. He was going to kill somebody if he didn’t get away from them all.
He stepped away, the potatoes forgotten at his feet, ready to throw himself back into the air and fly far away.
But Alanna leaped to her feet in front of him, her eyes wide and anxious as she took hold of his arms, gripping him with both her hands. Holding him still, keeping him there with her.
She opened her mouth, but said nothing as the silence pressed heavily around them. What more could she possibly want from him? He had nothing left to give. And there was no way he was hanging around to watch Alanna build a life with someone else.
He was about to throw her off and walk away when a mocking snort made him turn.
Fucking Reece, already halfway drunk. Where the man was even managing to get hold of the quantity of alcohol he was drowning himself in was a mystery.
Val was already almost apoplectic with the acidic, burning jealousy splintering through his veins as he imagined Alanna in someone else’s arms, combining with all the tension and stress that had been bubbling inside him for days. And now Reece wanted to put himself in front of all of that. Well, he was welcome.
