Page 92 of A Wayward Movement

“I’ve never been as brave as you thought I should be,” she said. “There’s no point pretending that’s changed.”

“I’ve already apologized for what I said to you all those years ago,” Xavier said, frustration below the measured words. “Why won’t you trust that I mean it? Alina, I can’t believe how brave you’ve been in all you’ve gone through.”

Alina shook her head. “It’s not bravery,” she said, a weak smile pulling at her lips. “It’s just carrying on. If I was brave, I would have pushed for more answers about my father’s business and all my family’s misfortunes. But I can’t afford to pay the price of my peace, because it’s all I have left, and I’ve had to fight so hard to maintain it.”

Xavier was silent. Peeking up at him, Alina realized that his eyes weren’t on her. They were resting on Captain Mitchell, their expression thoughtful. She looked between the two men, questions on her lips.

But Xavier didn’t give her a chance to ask them. He sent her a strained smile.

“I’m sorry for my part in disturbing your peace.”

Urging his horse forward, he pulled away from her, moving further up the group, and leaving her unsure of what she was feeling.

They arrived in Alina’s town late in the afternoon of their third day of travel. It felt strange to be back. The place no longer felt like home, and the realization made Alina uncomfortable. It was the only home she had, so she’d best make the most of it.

The thought reminded her of her family, and how she’d promised to let her aunt know when she arrived safely back from the capital. Xavier had carried her from her aunt’s house so abruptly, she hadn’t even said goodbye to them. When they’d stopped to collect Lilah and Benji, she’d sent a hasty note. Her aunt had replied via letter to the capital, assuring her they weren’t offended, and asking her to keep her informed as to her safety on the road. Now that she was home in one piece, Alina dutifully wrote out a letter to travel with a supply cart to the forest city.

There was really no more justification for her to have an official role with the investigation, and this time, Xavier hadn’t fought it when she withdrew. For the next couple of days, she gave most of her focus to Benji and Lilah. Settling back into normal life was hard for them both, not only in light of the excitement of a trip to the capital, but the loss of the life that had come just within their reach. Alina didn’t tell Benji that Xavier had offered to intervene. She didn’t want to get his hopes up if nothing came of it.

“I’m fine, Lilah,” Benji told his sister in a resigned voice, on their second day back. “You can stop fussing around me. Obviously it’s disappointing, but we can’t lose something we never had.” He glanced at Alina, hitching a smile onto his face. “We may not be guild-trained, but we still have our magic, right? I’ve been thinking of a way to use Dust from the sheep’s movement to speed up the shearing process out on the farm. I’m going to try it tomorrow.”

“Just remember that we still need to be careful using our magic, Benji,” Alina said. “We’re not in the capital anymore, and they still haven’t caught whoever’s doing this.”

“But they will,” Benji said dismissively. “Don’t they have some new, grand plan? And in the meantime, the prince and his team are here. I doubt there’s much danger.”

Alina didn’t share his confidence. She didn’t know all the details of the new plan for the investigation, but she knew that it involved someone trying to get taken on purpose. It sounded risky to her. Whoever that person was, he naturally hadn’t traveled with the group. As she understood it, he was going to the forest city, not to her town. That was the site of the last two attempts, after all.

Another day passed before she crossed paths with the investigation team. She’d returned to the tavern, trying to tell herself there was no loss of dignity in asking for her old job back. The money she’d received from the investigation was considerable, but she didn’t intend to live on it. Then it would just disappear. She hoped to buy a modest home she and the twins could live in, and in the meantime, she still needed to work.

She didn’t get as far as speaking to the owner, however. It was the middle of the day, and she’d expected the place to be empty, but the prince was sitting in the alcove seats he and his party had first occupied, several others from the team beside him.

“Alina!” He hailed her at once, his face lighting up.

Alina waved in greeting, telling her fluttering heart not to be absurd. She kept walking, and seeing that she didn’t mean to stop, Xavier struggled out of the booth.

“Are you looking for us?” He came to a stop in front of her, just by an empty table. Zuzu hopped from one table to the next, rubbing her head across Alina’s arm and purring.

Alina scratched the creature’s ears absently as she shook her head. “I’m here to speak with the owner. I don’t know if he has need of more help, but—”

“You’re not going back to working in the tavern.” Xavier seemed to realize a beat too late that he’d said it as a command rather than a question. “Surely?” he added.

Alina shrugged. “It was good, steady work.”

He searched her eyes, troubled but silent.

“How’s the investigation going?” she asked.

He sighed. “Not very well,” he admitted. “The guard is doing everything he shouldn’t do if he wanted to be safe, but so far, there’s no sign of him being targeted.”

“That’s disappointing,” Alina said. “But maybe it will still happen.”

Xavier nodded. “Some of us are leaving this afternoon to travel to the forest city. We won’t risk meeting with him directly. He’s actually coming back here to speak with the captain. But I want to receive an in-person report from the man we left there when we returned to the capital.”

“So you’re in the group going?” Alina asked.

He nodded.

“Well…” She shuffled her feet a little. “Be safe.”