Page 20 of A Grave Not Made For Mourning
“What happened?” I ask.
Lucian’s guilt floods back to the surface, a wind that cannot be tamed, despite me doing my best to repress it.
“It’s not safe to talk here.” He looks away. As if he knows that eye contact will heighten my power, and he doesn’t want me to find the truth.
Raising an eyebrow—that no one will notice—I ask, “Then where?”
“Past the barrier. By the coast.”
Past the barrier. He says it cooly, as if the barrier is there for no reason.
But we’re within that barrier for areason. It’s our safety net. It’s what keeps the bad things out.
I glance at Azaire. Maybe the bad things have already gotten in.
“You’re growing perceptive, Little Thorn,”the boy says mockingly.
I shake him away.
“Fine,” I mutter as I walk to the door.
Lucian remains behind me, hesitant to leave Azaire. He’s filled with a mix of guilt and a protective urge, and it gives me pause.
I catch Lucian’s gaze and try to free myself from his emotion: “He’ll be safe here.”
Lucian nods subtly, understanding. When I open the door, he follows.
We walk to the shore, the turquoise tide calm as it rushes past my feet. But when I face Lucian, his hesitancy hits me. Whatever he has to share, he isn’t sure how to tell me.
No, he’s not sure hewantsto tell me, yet he knows he has to.
I open my mouth as if I have something of my own to proclaim. But at my sides, my fingers twist and curl, weaving through the air, pulling the truth from him—unraveling a seam,each thread loosening and slipping free, until the shirt is nothing but bare strands.
“They’re back,” Lucian says with a sigh. The intensity behind his words knocks into me. My fingers still. “The monsters are attacking again, and it coincides with recent revelations of the Arcanes.”
I step back instinctively, my gaze darting to the woods just beyond the rocky coast. The barrier—it’s right there. I could flee to safety in a heartbeat, disappearing into the protective shield before anything could catch me.
But I know there’s more he has to say.
“The monsters are attacking, and you’re taking me beyond the barrier?” I ask, incredulous.
“There’s none in Visnatus.” He wants me to calm down.
“That could change at any minute!”
“I can take care of it if anything happens,” Lucian tries to assure me. But he doesn’t believe it himself. The guilt clings to his skin like sticky sap in tangled hair.
“Why are you involving me in this?” I ask. I don’t want to think about monsters anymore. But I fear this is as important as Lucian believes. Monster attacksareimportant.
The boy hums to life in my mind, always watching.“Or, might I add, important toyou.”
“Someone was taken by the Arcanes,” Lucian answers. “I tracked down the one person who might be aware of a detail I’m missing.” He pauses, again, weighing his options.
I feel like a hangnail, dangling on a thread of skin, waiting for whatever information he may or may not reveal to me. Will it tear me off or stitch me up?
“Your mother was involved,” he finishes.
I freeze. My blood thickens to sludge, heavy and slow. My legs turn to dust, barely holding me upright. It’s a struggle just tostay standing. All I can do is cling to whatever remains of myself, trying to keep it all together.
