“Silverreign is six days away!” Robin replied. “We do not know when the ships will land, but I do not have two sevennights.” She threw out her hands as if to emphasize her point. But it only proved Lyra right, as Robin winced in pain from the movement.
Lyra said nothing, raising her eyebrow at Robin. Then, she turned back to the table, tucking the clay pot of poultice and spare bandages into the large pockets of her skirt. “I’ll return later this evening to reapply the treatment. Until then, you stay in this bed.” Then, to Ian: “Please make sure she does not do anything foolish.”
Ian bowed his head in acknowledgment. “I will try.” The words came out more defeated than he had intended. He had doubts that he could prevent Robin from doing anything, even if he wanted to.
Chapter 38
Robin watched the door close behind the healer, then waited for several moments to ensure the woman was out of earshot before she shared her additional information with Ian.
“Robin...” Ian cut into her thoughts as he stepped forward, filling the space where Lyra had been. “There is something—”
“Wait,” Robin said, cutting him off. She needed to tell him what she and Aden had found before he worried over her injury again. “There is more. We found something else. Someone...something...in the monastery cellar.”
Ian sat down loosely on the wooden stool by the small table, as though his legs could no longer bear his weight. “There is more?” he asked, echoing her words.
Robin looked away from him, examining the waxed wooden texture of the log wall to her right. “I did not want to speak of it in front of Lyra just yet. It is...gruesome.”
Ian said nothing, giving her space to find the words, which she appreciated.
“Gareth has been using magic to experiment on humans.” She turned her head back to face Ian, needing the connection of his eyes to stabilize the churning horror that was rising upinside of her. She had not had time to truly think about what she had seen in the cellar, as everything had been chaos since then. She could only hope that the man had been a willing participant in Gareth’s horrific project. “We found a man who had been turned into a beast...like a bear and wolf that still had human features.”
“Like Aden.” Ian’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
“Yes.” Robin nodded. “Aden . . . was there.”
“Aden saw this . . . experiment?” Ian asked, his face pale.
“I am so sorry,” Robin replied—not that Ian needed her apology, but she wanted to communicate that she understood the horror and concern on his face. “He was in shock. But if he had not been there...The beast had the strength of several men.”
“You fought with it?” Ian said.
Robin nodded. “It was too far gone for human reasoning. Aden confirmed that. There was nothing we could do for it.”
“Did you . . . kill it?” Ian asked.
“No.” She shook her head. “We injured it, but then Gautho sent his soldiers after us, it attacked the soldiers, giving us a moment to get away.”
“For a future fight,” Ian said. He dropped his face into his hands. “And there was only the one?”
Robin nodded. “But there were several more empty cells in the undercroft.”
“He is building an army of them,” Ian said, speaking her fear out loud.
“To release upon the Iseldan army when the Majis ships finally arrive,” Robin said.
Ian looked back up at her. His seemed exhausted, as though he had aged several seasons in the few moments his face had been in his hands.
Robin wanted to reach out to comfort him. But he was sitting too far away for her injured arm to reach. “Tell me what you are thinking about?” she asked, reaching out with words instead of touch.
He shook his head, breaking eye contact with her as he looked down. “We cannot fight both an army of magic wielders and magical beasts.”
“If we learn more about them, we can,” Robin countered, hoping to ease some of the worry she saw in his face. “I know someone in the capital city who might be able to get us more information. We can travel there tomorrow—”
“No!” Ian said, cutting her off. He looked up quickly, his face angry. “You must rest.”
“I can ride a horse just fine,” Robin replied, confused at his sudden anger. “Lyra can put my arm in a sling to keep my shoulder from moving too much.”
“You are not going to the capital city tomorrow.” Ian stood up. He ran his hand through his hair and slid it all the way down his scalp until it rested at the back of his head, leaving his elbow sticking up into the air.
