Nothing would stop this now, and maybe nothing ever could have. Since that first horrific night when he had stood outside their door, this confrontation had been inevitable.
Alanna gave his hand a small squeeze, and he looked down at her and smiled. It was inevitable. It always had been, and in a way he was glad. He needed to do this.
Then Tristan stepped up beside him. “And I will be your second.”
Chapter Seventeen
Alanna walkedinto the bedroom they’d allocated to her and Nim, and gently closed the door.
Everything was soft and peaceful. The room was dominated by two comfortable-looking beds covered in subtle shades of cream and green, separated by a polished oak dressing table. Pale curtains blew in the gentle afternoon breeze let in by the open window, bringing with it the crisp autumn air and the tinkling of fountains in the courtyard outside.
It felt like an oasis. Or maybe a mirage. Not quite real after everything that had happened that day.
She walked across the room to look outside at the lush courtyard garden with its vibrant mural-covered walls. Haniel had allocated the Hawks a corridor deep within the center of the temple complex—surrounded by healers and protected by the Clibanarii—while the king and his entourage were offered the best rooms in the hostel, the rooms reserved for visiting dignitaries, far away on the other side.
He had given her a friendly wink as he’d allocated the Hawks their rooms and pointed out the door to the bathing pools at the end of the corridor, and she knew he’d done it to keep them safe during the night.
But that wasn’t why she felt safe. Val would be next door, sharing with Tristan.Thatwas why she felt safe.
Everything had happened quickly after the challenge was agreed. They’d been brought back to the temple, shown their rooms—Mathos and Jos were across the hall, next to Rafe and Jeremiel—and then shown to the infirmary to see Reece.
Her heart had hurt seeing his battered face and splinted arm, the way he huddled over, whimpering in his sleep—she knew all too well what those dreams were like. Reece wasn’t her favorite member of the Hawks, but she would never wish Ballanor’s cruelty on anyone.
Val had taken one look at his friend and his face had closed into a dark scowl, his jaw jumping he held it so tightly clenched. She had longed to go to him, stroke those deep furrows off his forehead, and remind him that none of this was his fault. That he wasn’t alone. To help ease the terrible memories of his own treatment at Ballanor’s hands. But with Haniel and Ramiel both there, she didn’t dare.
Instead she’d crept out to find her bedroom, hoping to settle her fragmented nerves. But now that she was in it, she didn’t quite know what to do with herself. For a start, she was so filthy with sweat and mud that she didn’t dare touch anything.
She leaned against the wall and watched the fountain. It was beautifully formed from copper to look like leaves floating to the ground while water drops pattered and tinkled delicately over the shining surfaces like rain. In places, the water had turned the copper to swirling blues and greens and they seemed to shimmer, almost alive, in the weak sunshine.
Bard. They were alive. Somehow, by some miracle, they had survived Ballanor again. She rested her head back, weak with gratitude, relief and the exhaustion that came after hours of fear.
She wished she knew where Keely was—she, Tor, and Garet were still missing—but Alanna also knew that worrying wouldn’t help them. And she knew, without doubt, that Tor would do everything he could to keep Keely safe, even if he infuriated her while he did it. It might actually be a good thing for Keely to have to accept a bit of help. And to spend some time with the man she so clearly was coming to care for.
There was a soft tap at the door and she shivered, suddenly cold. She turned to face the door, wishing there was time to go back and lock it—she had spent so long without any control over the locks on her door that she hadn’t thought of it—and now anyone could let themselves in.
The door opened a crack, and Nim whispered, “Can I come in?”
Alanna snorted at her own skittishness, glad to have Nim with her.
Bard. It had been so close. So terribly close. She had nearly lost them all. These people that she was coming to see as her family.
If she’d been cleaner, she would have given in to the tremors fluttering through her muscles and sat down on the bed. Instead, she managed a weak smile. “You don’t need to knock. It’s your room too.”
Nim came in and closed the door behind her with an equally forced attempt at a smile. “Just checking that you’re decent.”
Alanna glanced down at her mud-soaked leathers and chuckled. Damn, she needed to get a lot cleaner to get anywhere near decent.
“At least you smell better than Val.” Nim laughed, but Alanna could see the troubled look in her eyes.
“He looked like he was sick,” Alanna agreed quietly as Nim joined her at the window. “What happened?”
Nim turned worried brown eyes toward her. “I don’t know. Dornar said something to him. It was too quiet for the rest of us to hear….”
“Dornar?” Alanna couldn’t bear to imagine what the new Lord High Chancellor could possibly have said that would make Val react so badly.
Dornar was clearly ruthless and determined. He’d been Grendel’s second, and then he’d used what he’d heard her say about the assizes when they were together in the cells to track them all down and capture them, elevating himself to an extraordinary position of power in the process. And what he’d ordered done to Reece was horrendous.
Nim rubbed her eyes tiredly. “We have to be careful of him. He’s more devious than Ballanor. Cruel without being so obvious about it.”
