Page 19 of Thorns & Fire
‘We’re just going to let them trail us?’she murmured to Thea.
Thea scoffed.‘I was waiting until we were far enough away from the city in case it turned ugly.Wait here.’
Wren laughed darkly.‘No.’
Her sister considered her, matching celadon eyes pausing at thebelt of potions around Wren’s waist.‘Fair enough,’ Thea said with a shrug, turning her stallion and urging it into a canter to confront their follower.
‘Wait here,’ Wren told the others, and went after her.
When she reached her sister, Thea had already leapt from her saddle and dragged the man from his horse.She had him pinned to the ground, a sword on either side of his neck, a black bruise already blooming around his left eye.
‘Who are you?’the Warsword demanded.
‘No one,’ the man spluttered.‘Just a commoner from Harenth.’
‘Then why are you following us?’Wren asked over Thea’s shoulder.
‘They offered to pay—’
‘Who?’Thea spat, pressing the blades harder against his throat.A fine stream of blood trickled down from where one sword had nicked his skin.‘Who offered to pay?’Thea repeated, her voice deadly calm.
Wren recognized herself in her sister then.The cold, unflinching tone that suggested there would be pain, that silence was not an option.
Thea cast her swords aside and grabbed a fistful of his shirt instead – a shirt that was in tatters.Wren heard it rip beyond repair as Thea hauled him to his feet, her face contorted in a snarl.
‘I won’t ask you again,’ said the Shadow of Death.
Wren recognized the wide-eyed fear on the man’s face; she had seen it many times before.But his was not the look of an evil man, for she had seen plenty of those as well.Dirt lined his hands and face, and he was barefoot.His cheeks were hollow, his eyes sunken.She glanced back to his horse to find that it wore no saddle, only a bridle.
‘Thea,’ she called gently.
‘If you didn’t want to see it, you shouldn’t have come with me,’ Thea snapped.
‘I can stomach as much violence as you, sister, but it’s not neededhere,’ Wren told her.She motioned to the man’s appearance.‘He’s not a traitor.He’s desperate.’
Thea let go instantly, and the man staggered back, panting.
Wren reached for her coin purse.‘You were paid to follow us.How about you tell us why, and we pay you instead?’
The man stared at both sisters for a moment, catching his breath, glancing between them and his horse.But when Wren held out the coin, he took it.
‘The People’s Vanguard are offering rewards for information,’ he told them, voice trembling.‘If new folk arrive in town, if neighbours start acting different...They’re giving out gold and silver for almost anything.’
‘And you intended to collect at our expense?’Thea said, raising a brow that promised more brute force.
‘I wasn’t going to hurt you.J-just see where you were going,’ he stammered.‘I just wanted to help my family.My daughter is sick, you see...’He passed a hand across his weary face.‘I need to get her to a healer.I need—’
‘What ails her?’Wren asked, unable to help herself.
The man’s brow furrowed in confusion.‘She...she hasn’t stopped coughing.Not for weeks.’
‘Is there blood when she coughs?’
The man shook his head.‘But she is skin and bones and pale as the moon.She cries all night from the aches and pain, and we’ve got nothing to give her.’
‘Buy a pot of honey with that coin.It will soothe the irritation in her throat.’Ignoring Thea’s stare, Wren reached for her belt and rummaged through its pouches until she found what she was looking for.One by one, she placed the supplies in the man’s outstretched hand.‘Ginger and feverfew,’ she explained.‘Make a tea with these extracts to give her some relief.And this?’She produced a vial.‘The oil from a string bark tree.Put five drops in boiling water and have your daughter inhale the steam.It should ease the symptoms so she can rest and recover.’
The man blinked at her, cupping the supplies in his hands.‘You’re a healer?’
