He’s here. I shouldn’t feel relief—I don’twantto feel relief. But I feel a tightening in my chest and pain in my throat.
Osheen’s body relaxes, but Chiyo says, “Don’t let him out of your sight.”
Sloan nods and sheathes their sword as they grab Osheen’s arm and tug him away.
A warm presence blankets my mind before a familiar voice infiltrates. “Almost there, beautiful. Thank the gods for your loud mind. Are you alright?”
“Just shaken up.”
Chiyo and Sloan draw their weapons again.
“Wait!” I exclaim, frantically waving my arms. Ava’s brown stallion rides into the clearing first, followed by an ivory horse with Tiernan and Isobel atop. Isobel’s red hair sways as she peeks around him, the grin on her face radiant in the lantern she carries.
I’m running before I even realize it. Tiernan’s feet barely touch the ground before I have him in a crushing embrace. Myheart wants to leap for joy, but it’s tacked down again, squeezing almost painfully as the full extent of everything that’s happened hits me. Tears well in my eyes as I glance around, taking silent inventory of everyone.
Tiernan holds me at arm’s length, giving me a once-over. “What in hells happened?” he asks. There’s a small cut on his cheek, but aside from looking exhausted, he seems uninjured.
Chiyo rushes to Ava, tugging her aside to catch her up, I suppose. Tiernan’s gaze has gone cold, fixed somewhere past me.
Osheen.
“Tiernan,” I start to say, but his steps are quick and sharp as he storms across the clearing.
Sloan barely gets out of the way before Tiernan’s fist meets Osheen’s face. The second strike sends Osheen sprawling on the ground. Part of me feels satisfyingly avenged while the other part feels guilty. Ishouldn’tfeel guilty, yet I do.
Hands over his cheeks and nose, Osheen stares up at Tiernan. His fists are still clenched as Tiernan says something to Sloan, who nods and drags Osheen to his feet again.
More dizziness rushes in, but there’s nothing for me to steady myself on, so I sink down to the ground on my hands and knees. I squeeze my eyes shut until someone’s hand brushes over my back. Their hand slides up over my neck, then lightly over the back of my head.
I’d recognize Tiernan’s touch anywhere.
The dizziness subsides enough for the ground to stop shifting. I open my eyes and sit back on my ankles, meeting Tiernan’s concerned gaze.
Looking past him, I notice that Osheen now sits near a tree, his wrists bound with rope while Ava crouches in front of him with a lantern.
Chiyo and Isobel are nowhere in sight, and panic returns swiftly as I glance around.
“They went off to find the horses,” Tiernan signs.
I have so many questions. So, so many questions. I close my eyes and massage my temples for a while before looking at Tiernan again. “Who were those people?” I ask.
“Back there—” he points to where we’d ridden from, “Either bounty hunters or Forayers. There were Purists in the area too, as you can see. A lot of them took each other out, which made things easier for us. What in hells happened here? Where did that son of a bitch come from?” He jerks his head toward Osheen.
“These attackers were dressed in white. Purists, I’m guessing? The man who attacked me had …” I look around again, but the white orb is gone. “Something like a ball of magelight. He was about to kill me but Osheen …” My throat tightens. I let my eyes wander to him and say aloud, “Osheen saved me.”
Something sharpens in Tiernan’s eyes. He clenches his jaw and heaves a sigh. “Saved you?” he motions.
“He shot that arrow.” I nod my head toward the dead Purist several paces away, who Sloan is currently inspecting. Sloan lifts the Purist’s hand and slides the large black stone off it. My stomach churns, forcing me to look away from the dead body.
“We should get going again,” Tiernan says as Sloan moves on to investigate another white-garbed body. “To put as much distance between ourselves and all of this while we still have the cover of night. Then we debrief and rest in the morning.”
I nod numbly as Isobel and Chiyo return with the other horses. We’re at least all accounted for now. Thank the gods.
The first light of dawn begins the next time we stop and dismount our horses. Ava drags Osheen to the trunk of a fallen tree and shoves him onto it. As we gather around, Osheen’s eyes focus on me and no one else, even as Ava hovers over him menacingly. “I’m sorry,” he signs awkwardly with his wrists bound.
Ava squints at him, her focus shifting to me and back to Osheen. “I don’t care about whatever history is here, but if there’s something I need to know?—”
“He betrayed me. He betrayed all of us,” I respond.
