Page 16 of Her Cruel Redemption

‘What?’ Gwin asked.

‘You saidmy throne,’ Rhiandra replied. ‘Perhaps we will make a queen of you yet.’

Gwin bit her lip, as though she was biting back her own smile, and I felt a flicker of foreboding. Even if I’d appreciated what Rhiandra had said in the Song circle, I still didn’t trust her, and as much as I could see that she would be valuable in the journey to come, I wasn’t sure what her stake in it all was or what she’d want in return for her help. I’d have to be on my guard, and doubly so to make up for the fact that Gwin wouldn’t be, not with her.

I took her hand. ‘You were incredible out there.’

‘Even with how it ended?’ she asked, a wisp of uncertainty shadowing her expression.

‘It didn’t detract from your message or your courage. If anything, it only showed how strong you are because you kept going even when you knew what was about to happen.’

She nodded, taking a deep breath and blowing it out noisily. Then she looked at the group around her. ‘You’re all with me?’ she asked hesitantly. Goras and Mae both nodded, Daethie smiled broadly, Tanathil laughed and said, ‘Of course, dewdrop.’ Then she turned her gaze to me.

‘I’d follow you anywhere,’ I said.

‘It’ll be dangerous. Brimordia and Oceatold are at war. There’s been civil infighting in some regions too, so I’m not even sure where the conflict will be and if we can avoid it. And even if we do manage to avoid the worst of the fighting, it’s still dangerous for all of you.’

I gave her hand a squeeze. ‘We know the risks and we choose this path, just as you do.’

She scanned our faces, taking in each nod, each steadying look. For a moment, her expression softened, the weight of her resolve mixed with something close to gratitude.

‘Then we’ll make it count,’ she murmured, her voice low but fierce.

She rose to her feet, and together, we followed her out from under the shelter of the mulberry tree. Uncertain as the path ahead was, none of us hesitated. We’d chosen this, and that was enough.

Chapter Eight

Standing at the gaping mouth of the caverns with my pack on my back, I was struck with a swooping sense of vertigo. There were entrances to the cave system spotted throughout the Living Valley, but this was the one I’d stumbled out of months ago, when I’d come looking for Gwinellyn with an apple that would lock her in an enchanted sleep. Now here I was again, on another mission of desperation, once again balancing on the precipice of a confrontation with Draven’s anger. What if he was already waiting for me on the other side?

I surveyed my travelling companions, wondering whether they’d be a help or a hindrance in that situation. Goras would be helpful, with his huge, muscled frame, all covered in those whirling tattoos. But the rest of them? There was altogether too much laughter and light-hearted chitchat as they checked over their bags and prepared to cross a war zone. It was obvious none of them understood what they were getting themselves into by volunteering to come with us.

ToOceatold. Madeia help us.

Goras straightened from where he’d been checking over his pack, smiling broadly at a man and a woman approaching us, both covered in blue tattoos similar to his, though they weren’t scribbled all over their heads like his were. Goras greeted them, and it quickly became clear to me that at least one of them was coming with us. The man walked around speaking quietly to each member of the group, grinning and clapping shoulders, while the woman hung back, her mouth pinched in a tight frown. His easy manner stiffened a little when he reached me, but he did offer a smile.

‘I’m Kelvhan,’ he said, by way of introduction. ‘You can call me Kel.’ He was well-muscled, though a good head shorter than Goras, with sandy-coloured hair pulled back in a low ponytail. Once he’d finished greeting everyone, he returned to the woman and gently took the bag she’d been holding. Her chin trembled as they pressed their foreheads together and he spoke to her in a low murmur. Perhaps he was the only one joining us, then.

‘I’ll take the lead,’ Goras said as he stood with folded arms, waiting as bags were strapped across shoulders and the chitchat petered out. He skewered me with a glare. ‘You, behind me.’

I narrowed my eyes. ‘I’ll walk where I want to walk.’

‘No. You walk where I can keep an eye on you.’

‘That’s not necessary, Goras,’ Mae said, adjusting the scarf she’d wrapped around her hair. ‘She’s coming along of her own free will just like the rest of us.’

‘I don’t trust her,’ he replied, the words as blunt as bricks.

I offered him a pointed smile. ‘Then I hope I can live up to your expectations.’

‘Don’t tease him, Rhi,’ Mae warned, shaking her head. ‘We’ve got a long journey ahead of us. We’re going to have to work together.’

‘Then let’s stop talking about it and start,’ I said, flicking my hands and pacing into the dark of the cave, followed by the flickering light of a wishlight that had been hovering above my head. I earned myself a glower from the rider, but I ignored him, and he quickly marched after me, his long stride easily outpacing me within a few moments. He grunted as he strode by, but I just rolled my eyes. It wasn’t like I hadn’t encountered a fragile male ego before.

The tunnel quickly narrowed down to the slender entrance I remembered pushing through on my first journey here, when I’d chased through to the light on the other side after a long time spent in the dark with nothing but the gifts Baba Yaga had given me to guide my way. There was some struggle for Goras to squeeze through, and a great deal of teasing from Tanathil when the rider found himself wedged in tight for a few moments, but eventually we were all trekking into that dark labyrinth that protected the Living Valley, with caverns branching off in every direction, doubling back on themselves and winding ever deeper into the earth if you took a wrong turn. This time, I had no enchanted stone warning me if I was going the wrong way. I just had to hope my companions knew where they were going.

I didn’t join in with their talk. If I was being honest, I wasn’t surehowto join in. Much like the rest of my time spent in the Living Valley, I felt like an interloper, intruding on their friendship, their easy conversation and way of being around each other as people who had known each other for a long time. Mae did try to draw me out a few times, but my thoughts kept spinning into predicting what we would face on the road ahead instead of engaging with the conversation. Eventually, she gave up and left me to my thoughts.

The wishlights following along behind us kept the mood buoyant for a while, but they eventually abandoned us one by one, taking their eerie violet light with them and leaving us in darkness except for the flame of the torch Elias was carrying. All that lively chatter seemed to fall away once the last wishlight was gone, and I wondered if it had finally struck them that they were leaving their home behind to venture into a world they’d spent their whole lives hiding from.

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