Page 36 of Legacy of Thorns
Finley, apparently recovered from both windings, laughed. “Do you have to ask? Knife training sounds far too fatiguing for Daphne.”
“Precisely,” Daphne said. “I’m quite sure that any sort of training with Nisha would be exhausting.”
Finley laughed again. “You seem to have worked us all out.”
“And we’ve worked her out,” Archer declared. “She’s perfect!”
Daphne groaned. If one of the Legacy’s effects was going to linger, why couldn’t it have been her ability to manipulate thorns and not Archer’s puppy love? If it kept going much longer, she might have to kick him next after all.
Chapter 12
Finley
Finley checked Nisha’s schedule the minute she finished it, trying not to look too eager. Apparently she wanted to punish him even more than Daphne had already done in her demonstration because he wasn’t paired with Daphne for a single patrol until the fourth day of the repeating schedule.
At least he could join her each morning for her training dance.
But when he slipped away from the cabin the following morning, he was spotted by the one other person in the cabin with an intense interest in Daphne’s whereabouts. Finley had only just settled into his pose when Archie popped out of the trees, his eyes widening with joy when he saw Daphne.
“So this is where you both are!” He gave Finley a wounded look.
Finley almost growled at him to go away, but a glance at Daphne shut his mouth. He was no more an invited guest than Archie was, and his brother wasn’t going to leave willingly. Daphne valued the moments of peace to start her morning, so Finley wasn’t going to be the one to start a disturbance with Archie.
His brother dropped into a vague approximation of their training pose, positioning himself on Daphne’s other side. But unlike Fin, he kept up a steady stream of chatter as he did his best to mirror Daphne’s movements. Finley ground his teeth together. Didn’t the boy ever run out of breath?
After several minutes of nonstop chatter, Daphne started squeezing her eyes shut more than usual and drawing unusually long breaths. Fin snapped.
“If you’re going to be here, Archer, you have to keep your mouth shut!” He glared at his brother across Daphne.
Archie looked back at him with wide eyes, but at least he stopped talking. And Daphne’s expression of gratitude made any irritation of Archie’s more than worth it. Maybe he’d even get sick of the silence and leave.
Despite Fin’s hopes, his brother remained, however. He even made it through the session without a single word more, although it looked like a strain. Perhaps it had been enough of a strain to keep him away on future mornings, though.
But Finley had reckoned without the strength of Archie’s Legacy-fueled infatuation. Archie wasn’t going to give up an opportunity to spend time with Daphne, even if he had to be unnaturally silent while he did it. And by the fourth morning, he seemed to have largely adapted, looking less stressed and more peaceful by the end of the training session. Perhaps he was learning to appreciate the peace that came from the moments of quiet among the trees.
In the meantime, Finley sought other opportunities to spend time with Daphne. The first to present itself was meal preparation the following day, and when he collected the bucket of vegetables for the day’s meals, he suggested they take them to the porch as they had done previously.
Daphne agreed readily, and an instant sense of closeness and camaraderie enveloped them as they took the two porchseats, a lingering effect of the conversation they had shared there previously. Finley threw Daphne a glance as he scooped the seeds out of a small pumpkin. If he stayed quiet, would she volunteer any information about herself? He still itched to know what she had meant about coming to Oakden to find out who she was. He’d rarely met anyone as self-assured and confident in themselves as Daphne.
Daphne didn’t appear to notice his gaze, her own attention fixed on the nearest tree trunks. She laughed softly to herself. “In all the years I spent planning my return to Oakden, I never pictured myself in a situation like this. I’m going to have to significantly censor my letters to Rosalie and Olivia.” She chuckled, her mood light despite her words.
Finley pressed his lips together, giving her another sidelong glance. Did she miss her friend and cousin intensely? Was she finding it lonely being surrounded by virtual strangers and with no other girls her own age?
“What are they like?” He picked up a second pumpkin. “Are they similar?”
“Rosalie and Olivia?” Daphne sounded surprised. “I’ve never really thought about it. Hmmmm…” She looked down at the carrot she was peeling. “In some ways they are, and in some ways they’re quite different.” She laughed softly. “Rosalie is?—”
“I love pumpkin!” Archie’s head appeared between them. “Will Morrow be making pumpkin pie?” He looked at Daphne. “You’ll love Morrow’s pumpkin pie! It’s my favorite.”
The rest of Archie appeared as he forced himself between them despite the small table that already stood there. Without hesitating, he removed the bucket of unprepared vegetables from the table and took its place, perching there as if the table was a stool. Holding up a knife, he grinned from Daphne to Fin.
“I found another knife, so I thought I’d help!” He took one half of the pumpkin his brother had hollowed out and began peeling it.
“We’ll be finished in no time with three of us,” Daphne said lightly, abandoning her earlier conversation.
Finley clenched his teeth, holding in the words he wanted to say to his brother. But more disappointing than the interruption itself was the lack of even a flicker of disappointment in Daphne. She seemed genuinely indifferent about Archie inserting himself between them.
At least the next afternoon Archie was absent completely since he was out patrolling with Nisha. But in the small cabin with Morrow, there was still no opportunity for private conversation. So when Morrow noticed they were low on kindling and suggested the three of them gather some, Finley jumped at the idea. The three of them spread out beneath the trees, but Finley kept track of Daphne as she combed the forest, hovering in her vicinity without actually approaching her.
