Relief escaped my lips in a sigh, still unsure whether the Stone Witch was a true enemy or not, given the magic used to escape Kayj last year and whatever she did during the Battle of Odessa.
I shook my head, baffled as I digested what she’d said. Angels would have been the last name I’d have given the creatures bustling about the tunnels.
“Gork,” she mused, staring at the wall. “I’ve been calling him Stefan.”
“Stefan?”
She swallowed a large mouthful of meat before nodding. “Yeah. Like Stumpy Stephan fromFabia’s Fables. You know, the boy who lost his leg because he didn’t?—”
I snorted and held a hand up, nodding. “Yeah, my father used to read them to me as well.” My lips tugged up in a small smile as I shook my head.
“Anyways, I found them, or rather they found me after a few weeks of wandering. There are miles of tunnels and caves in the Lumerians. They were kind, so we decided to stick together. We made it to this pass about a month ago. A band of soldiers arrived… I thought they were Rising soldiers. And I went to ask about my dad and Ez… Ezrich was supposed to meet me in Mum’s cave, but the kingsguards came too soon. I have no idea where he is.”
I opened my mouth, but Evony grew quiet, setting her cup down, a shadow forming beneath her eyes. “I went down to meet the soldiers, to see if I could get a message out to either Dad or Ez, and…”
Her voice quivered, and she swallowed, her nails biting into the skin on her arms as she wrapped them around herself. Pools of liquid formed at the corners of her eyes.
“And what, Evony?” I asked, my tone quiet and soft, trying my best to keep the edge of fury from seeping into it.
She blinked, sending a small tear rolling down her cheeks. She rocked and shook her head. “Well, I don’t know if they were Rising soldiers or a group of bandits, but they took everything I had, and then they…”
Her voice broke, and she bent forward, as if coiling within herself. The blood in my veins stilled as my powers rumbled. They surged forward, ready to rage against my palms, but I reined them in with quiet wrath.
Evony wiped her face and took a shuddering breath.
“Nothing happened,” she said at last. “Stefan—Gork, I mean—and the rest took care of them before they could get what they wanted. Another group of them came through a few weeks later, and the Ganels killed them all. I didn’t even know they’d shownup until I found them all slaughtered. I burned their bodies.” She finally looked up and pinched her brows, tilting her head at me.
I swallowed a dry lump.
“Your eyes…” she whispered, glancing between them.
“I have a lot to share, too,” I murmured, looking away. “But before I do,” I said, taking her hands in mine, “Nothing that has happened has been your fault. None of it. You are strong. You are brave. You are smart. You are safe now.I will keep you safe.”
My heart squeezed for her. Morwyn’s scream often pierced my dreams, accompanied by the look on Evony’s face as her mother was cut down before her eyes. “Evony, you’ve endured more than any fifteen-year-old girl should ever have to.”
A small smile formed on Evony’s lips as she squeezed my hand back. “Sixteen now,” she corrected.
I did my best to return her smile. “Well then,” I said, “I suppose I have a belated name day surprise for you then.”
