Page 83 of A Rose Among Snakes

“Alright,friend,” Enverro sneered. “A letter is sent telling me to bring the prisoner back to the castle. After that, I have no idea.”

“Where is my sister, then?”

With his lip curled, Enverro opened his mouth, but I cut him off, not liking the direction of the conversation.

“Please stop being so obstinate,” I cut in. “His sister is Kezara.”

His shoulders sagged as he lifted his face toward the cloudy sky.

“The king took her back to the castle.”

“What for?” Velian growled, his jaw clenched.

“I’m not sure. He said he hadn’t decided whether to kill her or marry her.”

“Marry her?” I wrinkled my nose in disgust and Enverro nodded.

Velian wiped a hand down his face. “This is all my fault.”

“Yes, it certainly is,” Enverro spat. The venom in his voice made us all raise our brows. A dullcracksounded as Velian’s fist collided with Enverro’s mouth.Enverro’s head snapped back before he dropped to his knees, groaning in pain. His head came to hang between his raised arms still attached to the hitching post. Velian shook out his hand, baring his teeth. I rolled my lips together but allowed myself no further reaction.

The atmosphere was tense as we all stared between Velian and Enverro. I broke the silence by asking, “When did he take her back to the castle?"

Enverro spit out blood. “Yesterday afternoon.”

“We are headed back to the castle, then,” Velian said.

Corman clicked his tongue. “How are we going to get in?”

Enverro muttered something and groaned.

“What was that?” Velian asked.

“I can help. I’ve done it before,” he said, louder. Velian shook his head, but Enverro continued, “Please, Leoro released me from my duties, I have no allegiance to him. I want to help Kezara. She didn’t deserve any of this.”

Velian stared at him, his jaw working.

I approached Velian and placed a hand on his arm. “He might be our only option. There’s no way the king will welcome us back in. He’s onto us.”

Velian continued staring then said, “Fine.” He went to untie Zavi and everyone followed, except Paolef, who untied Enverro first.

Enverro wiped at his mouth with a tattered sleeve and said, “I don’t have a horse anymore. I gambled it away last night.”

Velian scoffed and Denzen, perhaps too quickly, said, “He could take Mihrra’s and she could ride with me.”

Narrowing his eyes at Denzen, Velian said, “Mihrra will ride with me.” My heart skipped a beat, but my mind protested at not having any say in the matter. Regardless, I walked over to where Velian was seated on Zavi, and he reached down to hoist me up behind him. Enverro climbed onto Eamis and signaled he was ready. Heart thudding, I wrapped my arms around his torso, careful to mind his injury. As Zavi built up speed, I breathed in Velian’s scent and took a moment to ground myself, swearing his pulse beneath my hand was racing as fast as my own.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Mihrra

It was late afternoon when we left Aeysvarth and made our way back to Hawling. Preoccupied by my thoughts, I barely registered our surroundings. I was proud of myself for finding Enverro, especially since he was not what I’d expected. I had pictured a grimy old man as the king’s hired hand, not a handsome young one who lit up when he heard my name as if it meant something to him. I wasn’t able to place my finger on it, but my intuition told me there was more to Enverro Machendren than met the eye.

Contrary to my own thoughts, Velian’s tension radiated throughout his entire body. The muscles of his back were rigid, and when I braved a glance at his face, the set of his jaw told me everything about his inner turmoil. A bruise was forming on his knuckles, red and blue beneath white peaks, evidence of his tight grip on the reins.

I loosened my hold on the front of his shirt and leaned back, trying to give him some space. I held the back of the saddle, only for Velian to reach around and replace my hand on his chest. He left his hand resting over mine, guiding Zavi with the other. My stomach flipped, and I was grateful he couldn’t see the way my face heated.

We arrived in Hawling as the sun set, making camp in the same place we had the night before. Velian had wanted to ride through the night but he knew the horses needed rest and we still had to form a plan. He dismounted and reached back up, grabbing me by the waist and setting me on my feet. With one finger, he tilted my chin up and gave me a strained smile before turning to tie up Zavi. My insides melted at the gentle gesture, but I composed myself as the rest of the men brought their horses to a stop beside us.

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