Page 92 of The Enemy's Daughter

31

The clans are spaced apart in a zigzag formation, with Hanook on one end and Cohdor bringing up the rear. It’s about a twenty-minute ride, but as the forest grows thicker, signaling we’re close, it feels like it’s only taken half that time.

Cohdor is a clan known for their work with wood, and it’s easy to see why with all the trees they had to clear. Their homes aren’t merely logs piled on top of each other to form four walls. They’re multi-floor works of art. The large yards remind me of Kingsland, and even the trails that lead from one house to the next are wide and flat enough to pull a motor vehicle.

We pass a log home where the roof is a mountain range of tall peaks; the apex that’s front and center is almost double the size of the rest. It’s far from my first time being here, but knowing Liam built some of these homes makes me look at it in a different light. “This is really beautiful. I can see why the Maska would think twice about leaving the clans. It’d be a great loss to lose access to your builders.”

Liam juts his chin out, proudly. “We do good work, and theyknow it. Perhaps later I can show you the house I’m working on. If you like it, I was... thinking it could be our home.”

I nearly choke.

Our home.We arrive at a simple wooden cabin that seems out of place. It’s merely a box with a couple of shuttered windows, something that was probably built when tools and supplies were scarce. It’s a perfect prison. A man with a sword on his lap sits outside the door on a rusty chair.

My heart leaps as I step down off my horse. The connection warms in my gut like it’s awakening from a deep sleep. I sense it ballooning, swelling like a returning tide, waiting for me to dive in. Only a few more steps.

Liam greets the guard in the chair with a grunt, then knocks on the yellowed wood door. There’s a bang, then the sound of something heavy scraping across the floor. The door opens, revealing a man with a knife, drawn and ready.

“We need to speak to them. Alone,” Liam says.

We? I grab Liam’s arm. “You don’t have to come in.” The armed guard eyes me carefully on his way out.

“I’m not leaving you alone,” Liam says. “He could hurt you. Who knows what he’d do now that he’s a caged animal.”

“Tristan saved my life,” I say. “If he wanted me dead, he’s had his chance.”He’smy husband!

“We’ll do it together. It’ll be okay.” He then makes it the very opposite of okay by pulling my hand from his bicep and entwining our fingers. Striding ahead, he pulls me farther into the one-room shack.

Tristan is sitting in the far-left corner. The second our eyes meet, the connection slides into place with the sensation of the floorgiving out. My knees dip, and Liam lets go of my hand to grab my elbow.

“Whoa! Are you okay?” he asks.

“Yes,” I whisper, extricating myself from him and placing a couple feet between us for good measure. It’s not enough. The pleasure that comes from syncing with my other half is drowned out by the confusion and hurt emanating from Tristan.

He definitely saw Liam holding my hand.

It’s not what it looks like, I send to Tristan.

He sits up straighter, unable to rise to his feet because of the ropes binding his ankles and wrists. He’s still dressed in the bloodied clothes from yesterday. His neck is bandaged, and fresh scruff covers his jaw. Dark circles have returned under his eyes. I glance at Henshaw. Although he appears to be doing better, with no visible injuries, his hair is a mess and he looks like he hasn’t slept.

My tongue darts out to wet my suddenly bone-dry lips. “Is... everyone okay?”

“Define okay,” Henshaw says. “We’re not dead, if that’s what you mean.”

My gaze jerks to the bandage around Tristan’s neck. It’s dirty, which means his laceration could get infected. My eyes close as I use the connection to assess what’s underneath. He has pain, but it’s not as strong as mine. Relief and frustration war inside me.

You shouldn’t have taken any of the neck wound back, I tell him.There’s no way to keep it clean here.

I shouldn’t have taken itback?His anger slams through me like a flash flood.

My foot falls back a step.

So only you get to take on the injuries. Do you know what it’s like towatch someone you love teeter on the edge of death? To have the power to help them, but they hold youback?His fury leaks into my veins, searing me from the inside out.

It infects me.Actually, Ido. As I recall, you were the one bleeding first, and you begged me to let you die.

Tristan grinds his teeth as he locks me in a bitter stare.I didn’t block you.

And if I hadn’t blocked you, we both would be dead right now.

---