Page 14 of Echoes of the Raven
The softest whisper of fabric travels over my skin. The scent of lavender tickles my nose. There is aclick, clicksound to my right, and I open myeyes to find Cuervo standing on my night table, shifting from talon to talon, his sharp claws tapping against the wood.
When our gazes meet, he bobs his head up and down excitedly.
“Safe, safe, safe,” he croaks, his body wiggling from side to side while his head keeps bobbing. I’ve never seen him this happy before.
“Hey,” I reach out a hand and gently pet the side of his neck. “I missed you too, friend.”
That’s when the realization hits me, I’m in my bedchamber. In Nido. I sit up with a jolt. Jago is slumped in an armchair, snoring lightly, one arm hanging over the side.
Someone walks out of my bath chamber, startling me. The urge to run assaults me, but when I realize I’m naked, I hug the sheets tightly to my body.
“Val!” my sister cries out, runs to me, and wraps me in her arms. “Oh, my sweet sister.” She rocks gently, her cheek pressed to mine.
We cry and hold each other without words, and only then I’m convinced that I’m out of the veilfallen’s control and out of Calierin’s reach.
“As heartwarming as this is,” Jago says, “Side boob, Val.”
He turns away. I pull apart from Amira and gather up the sheet to my chest. I had let it drop, giving Jago a healthy lateral view of my torso. Good thing the rest of me was squeezed tightly against my sister.
Amira holds my face in her hands and looks deep into my eyes. “I was so afraid I would never see you again.”
“I was afraid too, since Fa…” I can’t finish, can’t mention Father for fear I will fall apart. I haven’t allowed myself to truly mourn him. My desire to avenge his death and my determination to free Amira propelled me forward, and then… then came more pain and betrayal.
Tenderly, Amira caresses my cheek. “I know. Jago told me everything you went through while that sorcerer was in charge. I’msorry. I’m so sorry.”
I shake my head. “No. I’m not the only one who has been through a lot. You… Orys… what he did to you.”
She hangs her head, hiding her gaze from me.
“You know what, Cuervo?” Jago says. “We need to let these ladies talk. C’mon.” He gestures toward the open balcony.
Cuervo, normally at odds with my cousin, offers no opposition and flies out of the room, barely making a sound.
“I’ll see you in the morning, Val.” Jago inclines his head. “I’m absolutely knackered. I haven’t slept in days. I’ll send in a maid with some tea and food.” He exits the bedchamber as silently as Cuervo, leaving me alone with my sister.
“Hold on a second.” Amira leaves my side and returns with an oversized tunic, the one I often wear when lounging with a good book. She hands it over. “You were filthy. I had to cut you out of your dress and clean you as best as I could. I don’t know what the Romani girl gave you, but you were out cold and didn’t seem to feel a thing. You still need a good bath, though.”
“You know Esmeralda?”
She nods. “And I’m forever indebted to her.”
I slip the tunic over my head, glad to finally wear something comfortable, familiar, and clean.
“What happened?” I ask, fully aware that we are both avoiding talking about Father.
Amira climbs on the bed, gets under the covers, and sits next to me—the way she used to do when we were little.
“After they took you,” she explains, “I mobilized the guards and offered a reward for any information that would lead to you and the capture of the veilfallen leader.”
“Oh,” I say, finally understanding Esmeralda’s involvement. “It seems she will do anything for gold.”
Amira frowns and shakes her head. “No, she didn’t want the reward. Neither did her companion. In fact, she gave me back the coin Guardia Bastien Mora gave her after the Romani helped you escape Alsur.”
Esmeralda told me as much the day Jago found her and put her in a dungeon cell at my request, but I didn’t believe her.
Amira goes on. “When Esmeralda heard you’d been taken by the veilfallen, she began inquiring amongst her people. Some of them had an inkling of where the veilfallen might be hiding, so she went searching. One of the places her kin suggested turned out to be the right one. She and Gaspar came to Jago earlier today, and they went out to get you. Jago didn’t even tell me what he was doing.” Amira sounds displeased about this. “But I suppose it was for the better. Castella’s Guardia will take care of them. They have their orders.”
Her words send my heart hammering. Apprehension takes hold of me, and I can’t understand why. I shouldn’t care. It’s the least they deserve for what they did to me, for invading my home and nearly killing my sister, for all the unrest they have caused in Castella, and for… for…
