Page 101 of Thorns & Fire
With no thought for his own safety, Torj did the only thing that felt natural.He reached for her.
He felt no pain as his warm skin met hers, his arms wrapping around her and her magic.The storm continued to rage around them, but no lightning assaulted him, no force threatened to tear him away from her.
Torj had become what he was always meant to be: the shield between Wren and the world that had already taken too much.
CHAPTER 40
Wren
‘Alchemy is often considered a lonely discipline, but what many novices and adepts fail to realize is the necessity for community, for lasting connections within the craft.The mind is a blade, but many minds make an army’
– Alchemy Unbound
WREN BARELY REMEMBEREDhow it had happened.One minute she’d been writing a desperate plea to Thea, overcome with guilt, and the next she’d been in the eye of a violent storm, with Torj’s arms around her.He had held her so tightly, as though he could fight fate itself and anchor her to the world.
The Bear Slayer hadn’t flinched at her power this time.Instead, he had embraced it, embracedher, while the feel of him flooded her senses, washing away the chaos within.He hadn’t said a word; he had simply been there, pulling her back from the darkness.
Now, as he escorted her back to the main building, his cloak wrapped around her shoulders, Wren felt utterly raw and depleted...but an ember of something forgotten glowed in the otherwise hollow pit of her chest.
They didn’t speak until they reached the residence halls and Wren brought them to a stop.‘I have to see Dessa,’ she told the Warsword at her side.
‘Wren...’he protested gently.‘I think you need to rest.You can talk to her tomorrow.’
Wren had already raised her fist to knock.‘They hurt her.Because of me.I have to make sure she’s alright.I was distracted before – I didn’t check properly.Not like I should have.’
Torj didn’t protest again.She knew he understood.
With her heart in her throat, she pounded on the door.‘Dessa?Dessa, are you in there?’Panic gripped her in a way that usually had her hurtling back to the past, but she rooted herself in the present, in the rapping of her knuckles against the timber.‘Dessa!’she half-shouted.
Relief surged through her as the door opened a crack, a head of red hair peeking out.‘Wren?’The door widened, and Dessa stepped back, her face forlorn, her eyes red.The shallow cut at her throat from where the dagger had pressed was scabbed over, but the sight of it made Wren’s stomach lurch.
With a brief look, she told Torj to stay outside as she swept into Dessa’s room, the door clicking closed behind her.
‘Wren, I-I...’Dessa stammered.‘I’m—’
But Wren swept her friend up in her arms, hugging her tightly.‘I’m so sorry, Dessa—’
‘You’resorry?’Dessa choked into Wren’s neck.‘I’mthe one who betrayed you.I’m the one who let the secret out.’
Wren grabbed her by the shoulders and held her at arm’s length so she could double-check her for injuries.‘You didnosuch thing, you hear me?I put you in a terrible position,your life was at risk, and you still didn’t say a word.This is on me.And I’m so sorry for it.I’m sorry for not being a better friend.’
Tears streamed down Dessa’s cheeks and Wren wiped them away with her thumbs, cupping her face.
‘Please forgive me?’
Dessa shook her head.‘There’s nothing to forgive.I thought I let you down, that I ruined everything.’
‘You didn’t, on both counts,’ Wren assured her.‘It was me who let you down.’
‘No—’
‘Yes,’ Wren said firmly.‘And it won’t happen again.That’s not the kind of friend I want to be.’
‘You’re not.’Dessa smiled through her tears.‘I’m just sorry they found out.I know that’s not what you wanted.’
‘It wasn’t going to be a secret for ever, Dess.It’s too big.But what happened?’
Dessa sighed.‘I was in the conservatory working on my own opus, a few benches away from where you left your samples.Some of King Leiko’s advisers were taking a tour of the grounds with some novices, but one of them...I think one of them was an alchemist.He stopped when he saw the roses.He started touching them, plucking at petals and examining the leaves, saying that he’d never seen a rose so perfect.’
