Page 24 of The Crown of Moonlight
Bloody stupid Evers.
“Try not to look so pleased with yourself,” I say.“Keep the shawl low and your head bent so no one can see you clearly.With luck, the queen won’t send anyone here until you’ve gone.”
The remnants of his smile fade, and he shakes his head.“Don’t give in to wishful thinking.Vheara and her Butcher will send someone soon—soldiers, at least, and probably Greys.It really isn’t fair of me to put you or your family in danger.My friends and I hid in a cave not far from here.I can rest there for a day.With the poison gone, the magic from the Veilstones should let me heal well enough to leave by then.”
This is the part of the conversation I’d hoped to put off until he was stronger.But hiding the truth won’t make it easier for either of us.
“I wasn’t able to get all the celestial iron out,” I admit.“Some of it was sunk too deep.You asked for time, though, and you should have that—as long as you let me help you through the initial fever, shock, and blood loss.”
“How long?”he asks.
The question cuts through me, and I swallow hard.“I can’t be sure, Chyr.I’m sorry.”
A battle wages across his face.His jaw clenches and unclenches before he sinks onto the edge of the bed, finally acknowledging that he doesn’t have the strength to hold himself upright.
“I still think it’s too dangerous for you to have me at the keep.”
“Probably,” I nod.“But I can’t risk having you collapse where Vheara’s soldiers might find you.There aren’t many healers nearby who could stitch you like I have—you’d risk a hangman’s noose for me and everyone in my Clan.And in case that isn’t clear enough, let me make it clearer.You’re welcome to leave as soon as you’re able to dig up your sword, saddle your horse, mount without help, and ride away without falling off.Until then, you stay where I can watch you without shirking my other responsibilities.Now, stop wasting my time with arguments.”
Thankfully, he seems to accept that.
I’m tired to my bones and don’t have the strength to keep explaining.Too much is flying at me at once: the Ever and the queen and even bloody Dughall and the Council, all of them pulling me in directions beyond my control.
I cross to the fire and add more wood, then toss the remnants of the Ever’s boots into the flames to ensure they burn.Leaving the wrung-out cloths on the hearth to dry, I carry the last of the dirty water outside and dump it on the midden heap.
Rab doesn’t bother to get up.He gives me a resentful look, yawns, and lays his chin back on his paws, growling now and then at the shifting shadows.Having promised to wake Catriona so she can finish the cleaning, I leave the fire burning.
Getting Chyr onto the horse is almost too much for him.Bramble, the most sensible of our mares, stands patiently until I manage to get him into the saddle.He shivers, sagging heavily against me.By the time we’re halfway back to the keep, I’m supporting so much of his weight it’s a struggle to keep both of us upright.
The stars are fading as we approach the military road.I listen for voices or hooves other than our own, but there’s nothing—only our breathing and the soft creak of saddle leather.Clouds drift across the descending moon, swift and pale in the pre-dawn sky.
“Your mother will want a name to call me,” he says as we approach the keep.“What should I answer to?”
“How about Rowan?For luck and protection.We’ll say you’re our housekeeper’s niece.Her family is from the far north, which will explain your fair hair and some of your height.But you’ll give yourself away if you speak, so you’ll have to pretend you’re mute.My mother will be delighted to have the company regardless.”
The Ever’s breath fans across my scalp, warm against the cool night air and far too intimate.
“Anything else I should remember?”he asks.
I should try to explain my mother, but her condition is too tangled with blame and guilt.For all our sakes, the fact that the Ever will be too weak to move around for a while might be a blessing.On the other hand, having him bedridden could make him seem more suspicious if anyone comes to the keep searching for injured men.
“Just concentrate on healing,” I say.
He shivers against my back, and my heart twists at the thought of his death.Maybe it’s that image of a wounded animal being put down that Catriona planted in my head, but something about the Ever feels broken in the same way wild things do when you try to help them.
Chapter 12
Unequal Power
Flora
T
he sound of urgent footsteps drags me from a fitful sleep.My neck aches, and my head rests at an awkward angle against the back of the chair beside the bed in my brother’s room, where Chyr is sleeping.The Ever has kicked the covers off again, his legs tangled in the skirts we were too tired to wrestle off him when we arrived.
I can’t have slept for long.The sun slants low through the window, laying bars of light across the wooden floor.Rab lifts his head from his paws and yawns.
“Flora, wake up,” Catriona whispers.“Come here.”
