Page 56 of Between Wrath and Mercy

“Why is that?”

“Well, I left her two dead bodies and only a note to explain it.” I laughed. “She didn’t know why I was in hiding, so I’m going to have to tell her the whole story.” I dreaded it.

“You never told your only friend?” I was more stunned he remembered she was my only friend than I was annoyed at his judgmental tone.

“Well, I—no. No, I did not.” When I thought about it now, I felt guilty, but I had never considered risking our safety by telling anyone. I thought maybe Rainier was judging me for my choice, but what he said next surprised me.

“That must have been lonely.” He sounded sad. I didn’t want him to feel sorry for me; everything I had done, I had done by choice. I could have tried to confide in a friend. I could have—and probably should have—told Elora she was the Beloved. There were many decisions I’d made over the years which, in the end, were lonely ones, but they were all mine. I chose not to say anything and instead laced my fingers through the hand he held on my hip, feeling the slightest squeeze in response.

When we finally reached the clearing in front of my house, the soldiers had already turned south to make camp in the field, leaving Dewalt, Lavenia, Rainier, and I alone in the clearing.

“Well, at least one of the bodies is gone.” I gave a nervous laugh as Rainier steered us to the stables.

“Is there room for these two in here?” Dewalt hopped down from the horse he and Lavenia were on, leading it to the stable when he saw me nod.

A wave of emotions came crashing down on me, and I felt overwhelmed. My daughter wouldn’t be there when I walked in the house; her musical laughter and voice wouldn’t welcome me home. It would be silent and dark—a physical reminder of her absence. Another part of me was unsettled by having my three childhood friends here, something my mind was struggling to comprehend. Watching Lavenia dismount and lean against the pell in the yard while Dewalt walked the horse into the stable—mystable—created some cognitive dissonance within me. I knew it was happening, but it was so outside the realm of possibility even two weeks ago that I was struggling to keep up. Because of all these conflicting emotions, I felt a pulse of laughter rising in me, and I did my best to stifle it. Rainier jumped down from Clyde and helped me before he followed Dewalt into the stable.

I looked over at my porch, noticing my blood-stained shirt I’d left on the railing was gone. Someone had taken it in, or it had blown away. I walked down toward the path to the stream and confirmed the other body was also gone. I wondered how Theo handled it. I had started for the porch when I heard a yell coming from the stable. Lavenia and I exchanged a glance as we both jogged over.

Rainier came walking out, laughing so hard I saw a tear glimmering on his lashes. Though the sun was low and almost setting, the way it hit him sent a flood of warmth through me. Gods, he was handsome. Dewalt followed behind him, cradling his hand, and I saw a gleam of red.

“She bit me!” Dewalt moaned, and it took all I had to keep myself from joining in with Rainier’s laughter. Bree had every right to be grumpy; I’d abandoned her for almost a week, and then two strange men came into her space. But . . . that wasn’t right?

“Wait, how is Bree here? I thought she was at Ravemont.” No sooner had the words crossed my lips, I heard my front door open, and I spun around. Rainier’s hand was on his sword, the other two taking a fighting stance before we realized who it was, and my jaw fell open.

“Nana?” I called, not believing my eyes. Why was she here?

LaveniaandRainierwerebusy starting a fire while I was inside with Dewalt and Nana. We all desperately wanted and needed a hot bath, so Rainier volunteered to use his abilities to make it easier on everyone. I had checked on Bree before I made my way inside with my injured friend, and he was all the more grumpy because of it, claiming I liked the horse better than him. I wasn’t sure if he was wrong, though.

“You’re lucky Bree didn’t take your finger off.” He had made the mistake of approaching her without me, but I hadn’t exactly warned him. I hadn’t even expected her to be here. Nana was busy behind me at the hearth, readying dinner for the five of us while I disinfected Dewalt’s hand, already swollen and red.

“I should have expected a creature of yours to bite first and ask questions later.” He was scowling until Nana snorted from behind me, causing a tentative grin to break out across his face. I glowered at her but was glad she made him smile. The old woman looked as if she could be his grandmother. They both had red undertones beneath their brown skin, similar eye shape, and high cheekbones. But where Dewalt was tall and dignified with a strong, straight nose, she was squat with a round, tomato nose. Her hair might have been black like his at some point, but it had only ever been dark grey as long as I had known her.

Once satisfied with the disinfection, I placed my hand on his. I decided to risk healing him fully, hoping we would be relatively safe for the next day, and my divinity would continue to recover. When I finished, he rubbed his hand and complained of the itch.

“Better an itch than losing your hand,” I retorted. I waited for Nana to scold me for my rudeness, but when I turned to rid myself of the bloodied cloth I’d been using, I realized she’d slipped out, quiet as a mouse. Rainier walked in then with a hand up and his finger hitched, like he was dragging something behind him. I tilted my head in confusion.

“Where’s the tub?” Realization dawned on me as I saw what lingered behind him in the air. A long, thick stream of water leading back to the pot above the fire followed him. I scrambled away from the table, pulling Dewalt with me into the study. In the back of the room, next to Faxon’s desk, there was a storage closet which housed the enormous copper tub we used to bathe. It was something I bought for myself one year after squirreling away excess funds from my father. I needed help pulling it out, and Dewalt gladly reached in to help me, setting it upright in the middle of the floor. The moment we placed it down, Rainier came into the room, and with a flick of his wrist, the undulating mass of water slowly poured into the tub, filling it. I was distinctly jealous. I never filled the pot at the fire more than a third because I couldn’t carry it in to dump into the tub. It usually took me a few trips, depending on how much I spilled, the work required for a bath generally necessitating one. Rainier walked back out to the porch, and I watched as water flew out of the well and replenished the pot over the fire, the motion the water made reminding me of a snake.

“Dewalt, you first.” The man in question nodded and jogged outside to grab his pack before he went back into the study, closing the double doors behind him. Nana was waiting in the kitchen, a large basket under her arm.

“Don’t you think he’ll want this?” I saw she carried an assortment of different soaps—bars and liquid—and fluffy towels. I nearly groaned in anticipation as I spotted the lilac soap I’d always used, eager for my turn in the bath. Every once in a while, Nana would send us her homemade soaps, but I’d run out a long time ago. Rainier took the basket from her with a smile and carried it into the study.

“One of these arrived at Ravemont, and one was waiting when I got here.” Nana pulled two envelopes out from under her arm, passing them over to me. My breath caught as I recognized Faxon’s handwriting on the front of them, both addressed to me. Rainier returned from the study, and I felt him tense beside me as he saw Faxon’s crest on the wax seal as I flipped over one of the letters. Not in the habit of receiving letters from Faxon, seeing the imprint of his crest in the wax made me nauseous, and the bottoms of my feet gave a phantom pang. Not bothering with a knife, I ripped the seal and pulled the letter out.

The prince swore a verit oath. She will not be harmed while under his protection. Do not follow.

I shoved the letter into Rainier’s chest as I grabbed the other envelope. The same message appeared, also in Faxon’s hand. I threw the second copy on the table and spun around, hand to my head. This letter served as confirmation that Faxon had done exactly what Lavenia claimed. I hadn’t doubted her, but some small part of me had a glimmer of hope it was all a ruse. Not only did he sell her to Folterra, but he sold her to one of the Folterran princes.

“Cyran. The younger prince.” Rainier’s voice was steady. “This isgood, Emmeline.”

“How?” I whirled as I shouted at him. “How is it good?” Even though a verit oath was binding by death, it wouldn’t stop another Folterran from harming her eventually. I vaguely noticed Nana leaving the room, slipping around the corner to the stairwell.

“Cyran is the lesser of two evils, by far.” His facial expression was grim, but his tone was somehow hopeful—as if he truly believed we were better off with this turn of events.

“And how do you know which prince has her?” The letter had not been specific.

“The verit oath. Declan would never swear one. If Cyran has her, she might not even be in Darkhold.”

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