Page 28 of Arrows and Gems
He didn’t elaborate, nor did anyone else. Were they always this quiet? Or was it her presence that made them so?
The feeling of being alone in a crowd, of the people around her wishing she were far away, began to overtake her. They ate quietly, even energetic Tucker focusing on his bowl as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.
If they had been stuffy nobles, she wouldn’t have cared if her presence disturbed them. But these people felt different. It was in the way Adrien smiled at the girl who must be his daughter, the way Laurent’s eyes traced Rouge’s face when he wasn’t glaring at Helena. It was Rouge’s good-natured glare at her brother when he poked her in the side, Le Capuchon’s quiet acknowledgment of the boy whispering in his ear.
Her throat tightened. What would it be like to belong here? To be accepted by Le Capuchon’s ragtag band?
Deciding to momentarily forget the hole in her shoulder, Helena put on a teasing grin. “So when I first met you, I should have pretended to be a damsel in distress? Would you have let me join then?” A ripple of surprise passed through the circle.
“You couldn’t pull it off,” Le Capuchon said after a moment. A hint of irritation laced his voice. “And I don’t accept spies. You’re only here because you’re injured. As soon as you’re well, I’m sending you home.”
Unwanted. Abandoned. Alone.
Helena gritted her teeth against the mental refrain. “I’m not going home,” she ground out. “And you can’t make me.”
The opening of Le Capuchon’s hood jerked toward her. He studied her briefly. “Back to Marielle’s, then,” he amended. “But you won’t be staying here.”
Unwanted. Abandoned. Alone.
Helena’s defenses crashed back down. Ignoring the burn at the corners of her eyes, she called up the heat of her anger. She slammed her empty bowl on the log and shot to her feet. “Then I won’t burden you with my presence. Excuse me.”
Fisting her hands, she spun to the side…and crumpled into Adrien’s arms.
“Easy there,” he soothed as she gripped his cloak, gritting her teeth against the pain in her ankle. “You don’t want to make that worse.”
“Thank you,” she muttered. How humiliating. She couldn’t even leave the campfire on her own. Somehow, while trying to find her freedom, she had lost what little she’d had.
As Adrien wrapped a gentle arm under her shoulders, she twisted to look at Le Capuchon.Giving him her sweetest smile, she said, “Dummkopf. Die nächste Zeit, solltest du mich allein lassen.”Dummy. The next time, you should leave me alone.
Then she leaned against her kind support and tried to ignore the ache in her chest.
CHAPTER 12
Cap
Margit limped toward Rouge’s tent with Adrien. Pretending disinterest, Cap returned his attention to his breakfast. The sooner she was gone, the better.
Too bad his confounded compassion meant she would be here for weeks.
Some part of him whispered that she was pleasant to look at, but Cap shoved it aside. She was twenty-something and pouting like a child. Pretty wrappings couldn’t outweigh such an attitude.
“She’s as delightful as the first time, isn’t she?” Jean-haut said cheerfully, dropping into the spot next to Cap. “Really makes you glad that we ran into her, doesn’t she?”
Cap sighed and took another bite of bread, chewing slowly while he gazed after her. “How did Marielle come to be friends with someone like her?”
“Friends don’t have to be identical personalities.” Jean-haut shrugged before elbowing Cap lightly in the ribs. “Just look at us.”
“Yes, but we grew up together,” Cap pointed out. “You’ve had years to wear me down. But Marielle doesn’t spend much time in Ralnor; how did she befriend someone as cantankerous as Margit?”
“Friend of a friend?” Jean-haut suggested as Cap rose to return his bowl. “If someone else brought them together, thatcould explain it.”
Tapping a finger against the bowl in thought, Cap replied, “But I’ve never seen her before, and I don’t remember a Margit in the Ralnoran nobility.”
“Maybe Marielle lied,” Rouge interjected. When they both looked at her, she raised an eyebrow. “It wouldn’t be the first time someone caved under pressure. Didn’t you say her parents are in the capital? Maybe the General threatened them harm if Marielle didn’t support Margit’s ruse.”
“But why?” Jean-haut protested. “Who did he think Marielle was going to tell?”
An uneasy feeling settled in Cap’s stomach. “Me. If he’s figured out that Marielle is helping us, he could have sent Margit to keep an eye on her.” His eyes darted toward Jean-haut. “She might tell that lie to protect her parents.”
