“There is no need—” Ian said, reaching out his hands.
“Which option?” Robin cut him off.
Chapter 8
“Please do not disappear again.” Ian’s voice was so quiet he was not sure it could be heard above the sound of the rain. His hands were icy cold, and his tired mind was instantly transported back to that misty dawn when he had watched her ride out of his life.
In that moment, he had wanted nothing more than to chase after her, to shout and beg for her to stay, to at least lift his arm in farewell.
But he had felt completely helpless to do so.
His father had made it clear that this was the best course of action for Robin, and for Ian, and for Iseldis.“She is a wonderful young woman, but her actions concern me greatly.”His father’s words had repeated over and over in Ian’s head for seasons. At first, those words had helped him to rationalize away his broken heart. But they had remained long after he had given up on that endeavor, bouncing around in his mind unbidden and unwelcome. Until finally, time and avoidance had erased them. Now, in this moment, as he thought of her leaving again, his father’s words crashed back into his mind.
He would give anything to inhabit that fifteen-year-old body again and take any action other than standing there in miserablestillness as she walked away. He had known then how much pain her absence would cause, and he had chosen to abide by his father’s wishes. He would never make that mistake again.
“I am coming with you,” Ian said. “You can blindfold me.”
Robin flipped her hood back over her head and stepped out into the rain.
Ian followed.
She stepped past the inn and onto the road, moving toward the short cliffs above the shoreline.
“Do we not need to pay for Rowena’s care?” Ian asked. “Or at least warn the innkeeper that she is there?”
Robin shook her head, stepping onto a stone stairway carved into the rock. “The innkeeper knows me well. He will ask no questions.”
Ian carefully followed her down the wet, slippery stones. The innkeeper was likely a part of the River’s Talon network, especially if the location Robin was leading him to had anything to do with their work of saving the Majis. He knew very little about the secret organization, but he was beginning to guess that it was much larger than he had previously assumed.
Down on the sandy shore, Robin led them further and further from the city. They trudged along in the wet sand until they had passed even the final remote cottages outside of the city itself. There was nothing else in sight except for the lapping waves on the left and the crumbling cliffs on the right.
While it was still dark, the open ocean reflected the diffuse moonlight that shone through the clouds above, making the sand easier to navigate than the forested road.
When they came to a small stream that flowed across the sand into the ocean, Robin turned to the right and followed the stream up into the valley it had carved into the sandstone cliffs.
Following her around a stone outcropping, Ian saw a small rowboat that had been pushed up out of the water.
Robin went up to the back of it and then pushed it back toward the stream.
Ian lent her his weight, and they guided the boat back down the stream toward the open ocean.
Robin jumped into the small boat and settled herself on the back bench.
When Ian jumped in after her, she held out a folded piece of fabric. “It should be clean,” she said. “Mostly.”
Ian unfolded the handkerchief, shaking it out in the rain. “Do you need me to help row?” he asked.
“No,” Robin replied. “I can get us there easily.”
Sitting in the rocky boat, Ian folded the square cloth and wrapped it over his eyes, then tied it behind his head. Because the night was already so dark, the blindfold made very little actual difference in his vision. But as Robin rowed them out into the gentle waves of the bay, his stomach turned uncomfortably.
Eventually, the low hum of the constant ocean waves receded, replaced with the echoes of the creaking oars and water lapping against the boat.
“Are we inside a cave?” Ian asked. His whispered voice sounded oddly hollow in the new space.
“Yes,” Robin replied. “We are nearly there.”
Moments later, Ian rocked forward as the boat ran up against a hard surface, coming to a stop.
