Page 67 of Between Wrath and Mercy

“Then let me simplify it for you. I don’t want you, Rain!” I shouted at him, grateful no one would hear me over the storm. Grateful that if the angry, hot tears spilled from my eyes, they’d be lost in the rain on my face. He leaned closer and spoke quietly into my ear.

“Kingdoms and years and utter devastation.”

“What does that even mean?” I pushed him back to look at his face.

“It means I’ll wait.”

He pushed off the wall behind me and turned on a heel, heading to where Lavenia still stood next to Thyra. The two women looked at me with vastly different expressions, Lavenia wore a look of pity while the warrior next to her exuded what I could only describe as pride. Rainier paused for a moment and looked over his shoulder, a smirk on his face, before he called out to me.

“It’s going to be a fun two years, Emmeline.”

I let out a growl, and he chuckled before continuing on his path. I slid down the wall to sit on the ground before I put my hand up to my shoulder, letting my divinity heal the cut. When I finished, I rested my elbows on my knees and hung my head, letting the rain wash over me and eventually slow while I sat licking my wounds.

He was betrothed to a Nythyrian princess. When Lavenia said he planned to talk to Keeva, did that mean he was calling it off? He’d said it was an agreement for the kingdom, but he’d spoken so poorly of being used as a political pawn that there had to be more to their relationship. Didn't there?

It didn’t matter. I’d asked for a distraction, but this? This was too much. Maybe I didn’t have a right to be angry because I’d made my position on the subject clear, but if Dewalt was right, there was a potential for me to be in harm’s way. And whatever Rainier chose to say to Keeva could potentially upset an alliance while we were in the middle of trying to get Elora back.

No, I definitely had a right to be angry.

I looked up across the clearing to find him and have it out with him. It took me a moment because of just how many soldiers had gathered in the clearing, and I cringed, wondering how many people saw my defeat. When my eyes finally found him, I inhaled a breath as I saw the short woman with hair the color of a flame talking to him, no, yelling at him. The look on Thyra’s face as she regarded the woman, nearly half her height, made me jump up and run across the clearing before Mairin got herself into trouble.

Chapter 23

Iskiddedtoahalt in front of them, sliding through the mud, right as Mairin glared at me, eyes wild and furious.

“What in the Mother’s name is going on?” She yelled at me, and I felt vague surprise at her reference to the old goddess before I was overwhelmed by her anger. “You left me bodies to deal with! Bodies, Emma! And Theo’s face? Then I saw you yesterday with him!” She gestured wildly behind her to where Rainier stood, watching my fiery friend in wonder. “I tried to come last night, but of course, Old Man McLean decided to die, so I was busy. Then I finally get out here, and I see the Crown Prince of Vesta about to skewer you to the stable!” I registered Rainier’s open-mouthed smile as he glanced between the two of us. I’d have rolled my eyes if I wasn’t dealing with the spitfire standing in front of me. “What the hell, Emma!”

I took a deep breath, glad I’d redirected her rage to me. Grabbing her arm in mine, I walked toward the stream. I glanced over my shoulder, where Thyra and Lavenia still stood with Rainier, both women staring at Mairin with rather different facial expressions. Thyra seemed pissed, and Lavenia seemed in awe, a pretty standard split when it came to Mairin. Rainier started chuckling, and I heard him let out a low groan of pain. I let myself glance at him and saw the bloom of blood on his stomach, underneath where his hand rested. As much as I wanted to ignore him and walk away, I felt my divinity humming and knew I wouldn’t be able to focus until I fixed him. I swore under my breath and stopped.

“You better come, too.” I nodded pointedly at his stomach. Rainier clasped Lavenia by the shoulder and said something into her ear before he followed us.

“Do not think to finish the job, little viper,” Thyra called out to me, a smile on her lips. I rolled my eyes and turned around, continuing toward the stream. When we sat down on the bank, I reached in and cupped water in my hands, splashing it on my face. It was cold as ice, and it helped me focus.

“I guess I should start from the beginning.” I began telling the long and tangled story to Mairin—omitting any of the romantic entanglements which made it more complicated—while I healed Rainier. He laid down on the ground with his legs outstretched and crossed at the ankle, hands behind his head like a pillow. I healed his thighs first, taking only a few moments on each one because I’d barely managed more damage than a surface scratch. By the time I’d gotten to the part where Lucia had died, I thought he was asleep. Mairin had already known most of the story, like the rest of the kingdom, but didn’t know Lucia was my sister.

I tried to skim over the part where I’d married Faxon within a week of her death, but Rainier chose that moment to prove his consciousness.

“Then she made the terrible mistake of running away and marrying that halfwit.” I shot him a look and leaned over to untuck the bottom of his shirt, undoing the lowest buttons before I forcefully put my hand on his wound. I couldn’t help but feel some satisfaction when he hissed in pain.

“I did run away.Fromhim.”

The crease between Rainier’s eyebrows deepened as his eyes met mine, and his hand grabbed my wrist, demanding an explanation I didn’t plan on giving him. Not now, maybe not ever. Mairin just watched our interaction with raised brows, waiting for me to continue. I shrugged before removing Rainier’s hand from my wrist.

“Clearly, I was unsuccessful.”

I continued the story, finally stopping with our arrival in Brambleton and the note from Faxon. Rainier grabbed my wrist again as he sat up, pulling my hand away from his stomach. I wasn’t finished, so I stared at him in confusion. The wound had been deep, and there was still a decent slice on his abdomen—his well-defined and rock-hard abdomen. I had worked hard not to think about it while telling my story.

“Leave it.” I stared at him as he buttoned his shirt and stood. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, lips lightly brushing against me. “I like having your marks on me.” I pulled myself up straighter as he chuckled and sauntered away.

Mairin watched him as he walked and waited until he was well outside earshot before she spoke. “And how does that play into things?” I followed her eyes and saw Rainier talking to a few soldiers who had gathered in the clearing after a trip into town, unloading supplies from their horses.

“Well, he’s going to help me get her back.”

“Yes, you said that. What are you not saying, though?”

“It’s of no consequence.” I wasn’t lying. I’d get Elora back, and we’d go back to Ravemont, the deal I made be damned.

“Do you want to explain the duel I witnessed, then? I’ve never seen you use a sword, but I know you well enough to know you weren’t just sparring; you were trying to do damage.” I grinned up at her. I hadn’t made it known I could use a sword—and use it well. I’d only worked with Theo and the pell standing in my yard, so when would she have had a chance to see what I could do?

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