Page 105 of Between Wrath and Mercy

“I know, Mama. Was Papa—Did Faxon say anything about me?” I felt bad that she was struggling with calling him something else as if she felt she had to. Though, it had only been yesterday when Faxon said all those horrifying things. How was that only a day ago? I couldn’t share what he had said, regardless of my newfound insistence on honesty.

“Oh honey, you can still call him Papa. You don’t have to—”

“No, no, I cannot. He doesn’t deserve it. What did he say about me?” She snapped, and I recognized the rage in her eyes, the promise of violence. Hanwen would be proud.

“He wasn’t . . . right. I tried to heal him because I wanted to find out more about where you were, but he never told us anything useful. When I realized his mind was gone and he couldn’t help me, I killed him. But you should know I would have killed him either way for what he did.”

She looked down at her feet, not as upset by the statement as I thought she’d be.

“He slapped me. That’s how it happened. Cy already hated him, but when he saw the marks on my face, he just snapped. My guard told me he beat him and sent him to the mindbreaker.”

I nodded slowly, watching her, tracing her cheek for any signs of injury before finding none. “I don’t blame him, honey. I’d have done worse. Do you like the prince?” Her eyes grew wide, and her cheeks flushed.

“Cy? He—He’s not that bad. Everyone has been kind to me.”

“I heard you bit someone’s ear off.” She grinned at me before she pushed the smile back down.

“They attacked me in the woods; I don’t know what they expected. Cy was less than thrilled about it.” Her eyes widened in panic for a moment before she blurted out her next words. “Is Theo alright?”

“Yes, he’s alright. I found him and healed him. He’s worried about you, of course.”

“It was so scary, Mama. Until we got to Cyran, the soldiers weren’t nice to me. And Papa, well, he told me everything would be alright, but he wouldn’t look at me if he could help it.”

“They didn’t hurt you, did they?” She shook her head, and I sighed in relief. After my interaction with the mercenaries, I was so frightened they might have hurt her like that. After what Faxon did, I wouldn’t have trusted him to stop them. “Do you think we should trust Cyran? Rain seems to think we should.”

Elora nodded slowly. “I think so. I’m still mad at you, but this is awful. Cyran isscared, Mama. I don’t want his brother to get to me. I’ve heard stories . . . ”

“He won’t." My voice portrayed a confidence that wasn't altogether real. "Rain and I are going to be at the Cascade. We’ll get you back, I promise.”

“And then what? Where do we go? Everyone will know I’m the Beloved.” I could hear the panic rising in her voice. I shushed her, pulling her tighter against me.

“Don’t worry about that yet. Prince Rainier has offered us his protection. We can go wherever you want to go.”

“What about Cyran?”

“Well, he’ll probably stay in Astana until everything is over with Declan.”

“Do you want to stay in Astana?”

“I want to stay wherever you want to stay, Elora. Rainier has offered multiple options to us, and we can always go back to Ravemont if that’s what you’d want.”

She made a face about Ravemont, surprising me. I always thought she was curious about her ancestral home, but her expression told me otherwise.

“Are you going to marry him?”

I gaped at her. Not only was I surprised by her question, but I also hadn’t meant to make it seem as if that were a possibility. Not only that, but just a few moments ago, she’d been staring at me like the soldier who called me a whore. I paused for a moment, stumbling over my own thoughts on the situation.

“He’s a conduit, Elora. I don’t think either of us has thought about that at all.” So much for honesty. I’d thought about it. I’d thought about every aspect of it. Would he even want that? Was it even possible? I had agonized over the idea of the ritual, and I thought about the responsibility. It was too much, so I tried to push it all away every time it entered my mind.

“Why does it matter that he’s a conduit?”

“Because I am not a strong one like you, so I have little to offer him. I don’t know if it would even be allowed, and I don’t know if he would even want that with me, baby. We’re talking centuries here, Elora. Centuries of being stuck with me, and you know firsthand how bad that could be.”

“Mama.” She smiled at me, a knowing look on her face that surpassed her years. “Do you still love him?” I only hesitated for a moment, wondering what to tell her.

“I might.” She tilted her head in consideration as Cyran rounded the corner.

“Have you ladies made up yet?” Based on the laughter that spilled from his mouth and the joy lighting his face, the glare Elora shot him was meant to kill. The way his expression lit up at the sight of her made him appear rather handsome, and I understood why Elora blushed when I asked about him. His build was narrow but strong, and he had kind eyes, full of laughter and misbehavior. “I can’t hold the illusion much longer, so you’ll have to bear with me.”

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