Page 16 of Bound Paths
Carter and Rose exchanged a glance and then nodded.
“Then I won’t stop you. It makes no difference to me if we try now or in a few hours.” Juliette stood, and before ushering them out of the room, she pulled a custom belt from her desk. With nosmall amount of pride, Rose realized it was made to holster the twin daggers she had made for Juliette.
“Don’t overthink it,” Juliette said again, catching her eye.
A smile crossed Rose’s face as they ventured deeper into Osten house.
CHAPTER SIX
550 YEARS AGO
“At least, this time, he accepted my plan…no matter how reluctantly,” Cee said as they walked down Marcil’s main street.
It had been days since they’d replanted the field, but Cee’s resentment about their father’s decision hadn’t abated. Usually, it was short-lived, but this felt different.
Thankfully, their father had caved to one of Cee’s plans. She wanted their family to take responsibility for the villagers by caring for the ill. If their people were suffering, Cee wanted their family to experience it with them. Their father hadn’t deemed it something he could contribute to personally—he didn’t have any basic healing skills—however, he supported the sisters in doing so, especially now that the crops were on their way to regrowing.
Andie grunted in solidarity with Cee. Her arm still throbbed from the blood given for the field. Even a few days later, it was still tender—that’s how deep she’d gone for the offering. It was more than she’d suspected. Whatever was happening, the continent was getting desperate.
“Where are we headed first?”
Cee looked down at the list in her hand. The piece of paper was tucked into the pages of their shared journal. Her face sombered. “Nona—” She cleared her throat of emotion. “Nona is first on the list.”
Andie let her head fall. First on the list meant she was closest to death. Nona had helped raise them. She had looked after them as children.
Even with her head hung, Andie could feel the eyes of the villagers on her as they walked. After their father’s announcement and seeing the results of her work, the villagers seemed suspicious of her. Blood magic might be what was saving them, but few were happy about it. Even Garth didn’t approach as they passed on the street today. He waved at Cee while keeping his distance from Andie and the power she displayed to replant the field.
Cee tucked the journal into her jacket pocket, and the twins entered Nona’s home with a soft knock. Ilena, the village healer, was already there. She shook her head solemnly. “All we can do is make her comfortable. It would help me if you could sit with her…I have other patients I could do more for.”
Cee took the lead. “Of course we will.”
Andie hadn’t spent much time considering the afterlife. But with someone so close to death before her, it could no longer be avoided.
“Don’t look away. She helped raise us,” Cee chided, taking Nona’s hand. “The least we can do is let her know someone is with her as she passes.”
Andie nodded, immediately feeling better when a cat jumped into her lap. Nona had always kept them as pets. She scratched the cat’s head, and it purred as she looked toward Nona. Andie cheated a little. Unable to look at Nona directly, she aimed her gaze just past Nona’s bed. If Cee glanced at her again, she’dappear to be following directions. Andie wasn’t trying to be difficult, she just didn’t know how to deal with death.
Her gaze fixed on the wall, Andie heard Cee rustling with something under her skirt. Part of her wondered if this was a test, so Andie did as she’d been asked and kept staring ahead. At the moment Nona breathed her last, magic flooded the room.
Andie jostled unexpectedly at the sensation. The cat on her lap jumped off as the scent of copper prickled her nose. Blood. “What are you doing?” she hissed at her sister.
Cee didn’t respond, her head swiveling, following something Andie couldn’t see above the body.
“Cee…”
She didn’t acknowledge Andie’s plea. Cee stood and, before Andie could stop her, was rushing from the house into the street.
“What are you doing?” Andie hissed again, following.
Cee’s neck tilted back, still looking at something hovering just above their regular line of vision. Blood magic didn’t usually work for Cee, but Andie couldn’t deny she was using it now. Realizing she wouldn’t respond, Andie cleared a path as Cee followed whatever she saw.
The sun was setting, but they still had time before the light was gone. Cee led them out of the village and into the surrounding forest. They both knew better than to be in the woods after dark. Cee’s speed increased like she, too, knew they only had so much time for whatever this was.
Andie chased Cee until the river was in sight. The Othlow River had a powerful current that was too dangerous for swimming. Andie came to a halt behind her sister. Though Cee still didn’t speak to her, Andie no longer cared. Her gaze was fixed on an animal prowling the riverbank.
It was huge, easily chest height. The feline’s fur was reddish-brown, and though it didn’t bare its teeth, it had the easy confidence of a predator. Andie wasn’t afraid of it, though shewas sure she should be. Her draw to the animal was undeniable—a mystery she needed to unravel. Before she acted on it, Andie needed to remove her sister from danger. She tugged Cee behind a tree.
“Stop it, Andie!” Cee whisper-hissed.
