“She should have chosen us,” Riona whispered, her voice shaking. “She should have chosen Emry.”
She hated how much she missed him. She hated the hollow ache in her chest. She hated that Sorcha was still here, still breathing, still with Kyron at her side.
Kyron.
His name was bitter in her mouth as she bit the inside of her cheek. It flooded with the taste of metal as her fingernails bit deeper into her skin, drawing a steady flow of blood that she didn’t seem to notice. She had seen the way he looked at Sorcha, the way he stayed close to her. He was too much like Emry and too much like what they had, of what she’d lost. And now Kyron was part oftheircircle, standing where Emry should have been.
They did not even ask me, she thought.Maybe it was my fault for keeping my distance, but how could they?
The anger and grief becoming an entangled mess of threads that seemed impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. The ache in her chest burning so deeply she thought she might stop breathing as the thoughts crashed into her.
She gets to be the hero. She gets to save Lumora.
And I’m the one left behind. The one they stare at and whisper about, the one they walk on glass around. Poor Riona, she couldn’t save him.
Their pity was like reopening a wound and she couldn’t heal when being struck in the same place time and again. Her vision blurred as the tear fell, dropping her head to her knees, she rocked. Letting herself weep for all her that she lost, all the parts of her that left with him. She didn’t know how to let go of this anger, this hatred that burned inside her like a poison.
But then a thought came:Maybe I don’t have to let it go. Maybe I just need somewhere familiar yet new; to the mountains I’ll go, home.
Riona had made up her mind in that moment. She would leave in silence and even though the thought stung, it was easier than explaining, and the goodbye would hurt far less.
She inhaled deeply, the scent of late blossoms and pine trees itching at her nose as her eyes fell heavy on Lumora. The place she called home.
Her gaze swept over the golden spires jutting out toward the clouds. She listened to the sounds of laughter and the roar of the falls echoing off the hills, and then her eyes landed on the oak tree overlooking Emry’s grave. A pang of regret and sadness clawed its way back into her chest.
It was time to leave this all behind and take the parts of Emry she held dearly with her to someplace new. Somewhere she could start again. Her legs felt weak and her knees made a popping sound as she stood, wiping her mossy hands on her pants as she straightened. The wind whipped at her face, her hair a rope in the wind as she leapt from the boulder onto the ground below and began her trek toward town.
Commander Nethran met her near the barracks, his brows drawn tight as he listened. The sap lamps swayed overhead, casting soft, golden light across her face.
“I’m heading home to Cailleach’s Keep,” she had told him. “I need time and if the circle there will have me, I’ll jointhem.”
Nethran studied her, searching for even a flicker of emotion. She gave him none and finally after a long moment, he nodded, his expression shadowed with understanding and sorrow.
“The Keep’s circle will be lucky to have you,” he said finally. “Take care, Riona.”
As she walked away from their conversation, home became a clear vision in her mind. The towering, snowcapped mountains of Cailleach’s Keep, harsh andunyielding, but they were home. The chill of the air, the frostbitten trees, and the gleaming peaks had always been home.
If anything could make me strong again, it’s those mountains, she thought. She longed for familiar faces, yet craved distance from everything that reminded her of Emry. The streets of Lumora. The other members of the circle. The forest paths they once walked together. Everything here was haunted by his memory, by the life they would never have.
It was the cruelest punishment she had ever known. To love, and then be left to live with the ghost of what could have been.
Riona adjusted the pack on her shoulder as she approached the northern gate. With one last look at the fading lights of Lumora, she mounted her horse. Tears streaked her cheeks as she turned toward the path leading north, her heart heavy but certain.
Chapter 38
A Desperate Plan
Kyron sat alongside Sorcha with Cat, as they ate their breakfast in the quiet morning hours. Sorcha’s heart thundered in her chest. She wanted to scream, to throw things, to shatter the world, crush the floors beneath her feet just so the silence would give way because in that silence were her thoughts and in those thoughts a crushing ache.
Her breaths became shallow as her gaze fixed on her breakfast, the edges of her vision blurring slightly as her heart continued its rapid pace. The fork in her hand shook slightly as she pushed her food around her plate when a warm hand pressed on her shoulder. Kyron was staring at her with concern pressed against his lips.
Finally, Sorcha broke the stillness, grounding herself with his touch. “So there are more people out therelike me? People with abilities? People who were left behind?”
Kyron nodded slowly as he finished chewing on a piece of fruit before answering. “There are. The Tuatha assigned each of us a person or a region to look after, but they never told us how many there were, nor did they give us all the information. I think they did that to protect them so that if we were ever interrogated, we wouldn’t know all the locations. The only ones who know everything are the Tuatha.” Kyron shifted in his seat, his expression tense.
“The Tuatha never abandoned mortals completely,” he continued. “They just couldn’t take responsibility for all of humanity. It was too much to bear. That’s why the Circles were created, why Druids have the magic and power they do. It’s why, when you enter the Circle, you’re given rune-etched weapons and why runes are tattooed or etched into your skin to help you combat whatever you might face.”
Sorcha took a long moment to think, her eyes settling on Cat as he lapped at some milk. The felineglanced back at her, almost as if he agreed with her unspoken thoughts. Finally, she said, “So, we go to the Tuatha.”
