Page 34 of Legacy of Thorns
But she refused to give in to sleep until she’d had time to think. There was too much to process from her conversation with Finley.
She had guessed that tragedy lurked in the brothers’ past, but even so, Finley’s story plucked at her heart. When Finley had concluded by asking for her help, she had responded instinctively. Her subsequent excuse about her own self-interest had been a justification after the fact, although it was true enough that she had no desire to spend years looking over her shoulder. She hadn’t been able to walk away from Archie’s predicament, and she couldn’t walk away from the four of them now.
She didn’t even want to walk away anymore. Daphne had come to Oakden to free herself from the Legacy—instead, it had immediately ensnared her even further. She felt instinctivelycertain that if she ever wanted to be free of its heavy weight, she had to untangle the complicated web binding the five companions.
With a sigh, she sank back onto her pillow, giving in to the relentless pull of sleep. A few moments of mental peace, free from her churning thoughts, would be welcome.
But when she woke minutes later, her thoughts took back up exactly where they had left off.
There was no denying the Legacy’s effect was stronger. She had hoped her symptoms would lessen with each day she remained in Oakden, but instead the opposite was happening. Daphne carefully traced back over her days in Oakden thus far, concluding that something had changed after she woke Archer.
Instead of slipping gradually from the Legacy’s notice, Daphne had attracted its power further, and it had responded with enthusiasm—latching onto her more strongly than ever. Her ability to part thorns might have faded, but in exchange, the Legacy had strengthened her sleepiness.
But to what end? What did Daphne have to do to finally be free of it?
Getting entangled with a sleeping enchantment was the opposite of what she should have done, and yet… If she could go back—knowing everything she knew now—would she act differently? Could she walk away and leave Archer there, knowing he might be condemned to years of sleep while his brother and friends grew older without him?
She sighed and slid to the edge of the bed. They had all made the best decisions they could in the moment, so there was no point bemoaning the past.
Which is exactly what she had been trying to tell Finley. She remained sitting, staring out the small window in front of her. Finley hated his father—there was no other word for it. Thememory of his voice and words as he spoke of the man made Daphne shiver. How could he speak of his own father that way?
And how dare he criticize Daphne’s mother and father—people he didn’t even know! A surge of protective love for her parents washed through Daphne, but as it faded, it left her stomach churning harder than ever. If Finley’s judgment of her parents—and of her own attitude toward them—had been entirely wrong, why was it so hard to shrug off his words? Why did she feel so sick?
Voices reached her through the thin wooden walls of the cabin. Nisha, Morrow, and Archer had returned, bringing a wave of conversation with them.
Daphne forced herself to stand. She needed to be focusing on the future, not the past. The current situation was difficult enough without borrowing past troubles as well.
Slipping back inside her usual composure, she stepped out into the main room.
They debated for two days on the best way forward. Nisha wanted to try tracking their enemies, but Finley insisted the trail would already be cold.
“Tracking them will be an impossible job. We’ve never managed it before. But there’s one place where both sides know the other has been recently…right here. If we wait, eventually, when they can’t find any trace of us elsewhere, they’ll circle back.”
When it came to a vote, Daphne voted with Finley. She much preferred their comfy cabin to traipsing all over the kingdom.
“If we’re going to stay here and wait for them,” Nisha said, bowing to the inevitable, “then we can’t let them catch us bysurprise. We can’t become complacent. We need to be on the watch and ready for them.”
“You make us a watch roster,” Finley said, “and we’ll all follow it.”
“Make sure you include me.” Daphne grinned. “Just not for any night shifts.”
“I don’t think we need to cover nights,” Nisha said seriously. “They know we were in this region, but not where we are exactly. My hope is that we’ll know they’re back before they can pinpoint our location, and we can take extra precautions then.” She eyed Daphne speculatively. “We’ll patrol in pairs for safety, but I’m not so sure about including you. There’s no advantage to having a patrol partner if they can’t hold their own in a fight. That makes them a liability rather than an assistance.”
“But she saved us all last time,” Archer protested.
Nisha was unmoved. “That was thanks to the lingering power of the Legacy. We can’t rely on that again.”
“Daphne is helpful even without the Legacy.” Archer sent a reproachful look toward Nisha. “She can peel potatoes twice as fast as the rest of us.”
“Thank you, Archer,” Daphne said wryly. “You’re a salve to my self-esteem. But don’t worry, Nisha. I can fight.”
She glanced at Finley. Would he back her up? He had appeared at her side in the forest every morning so far, silently joining her training dance. But he said nothing, observing the conversation without comment.
“I see.” Nisha sounded polite but unconvinced.
“I could show you, if you like,” Daphne offered.
“I’ll help with a demonstration,” Archer said eagerly, but one look at his face reminded Daphne of the puppy kicking analogy.
