Page 94 of Unraveled (Crewel World 3)

“Where are we going?” Amie asks, trying to change the subject.

Alix stops in front of a large canopy made of a variety of canvases patched together. She gestures for us to enter. Inside lie rows of makeshift cots full of the wounded and the recovering, and Alix marches down one. A few volunteers stop her to ask questions. Obviously Alix has stepped up to a leadership position in this camp.

“You were Agenda the whole time,” I say finally.

“No, I was turned,” she says.

“By whom?” I ask.

“I think you know the answer to that.”

I want her to say it. Was it Erik who convinced her to betray Cormac? How had he convinced her? What promises passed between them? There were more layers to discover about him. Now I can only uncover those secrets through her.

“Adelice.” Alix turns and stares at me. “I understand you have questions, but there’s only one thing you need to know. Erik loved you.”

“I know that.” It’s the only thing that feels real.

“Nothing else matters, then.”

In the void left by his death this seems impossible to comprehend. Of course other things mattered. Because without answers there was only the aching absence of him. If answers could fill the void, I would keep searching for them.

But even as I thought it, I knew that they never would.

“Nothing I can say will bring him back to you, and there are other things to consider.”

“Like what?” I bark. Alix has had weeks to deal with this loss. But it’s a naked wound for me and I don’t need her to lecture me on how to handle it. Maybe she can forget, but I can’t. I’ve been asked to forget too many people already.

“Like him.” Alix points to the cot she’s stopped beside. I turn angrily to the bed and the sight sucks the breath from me.

He’s badly injured, a thick wind of gauze around his head, dried blood coating the outside. I drop to Jost’s side and push the hair from his face, revealing the telltale marks of battle already scarring along his jaw. He’s healing quickly, but the damage is extensive.

“Jost?” My voice is barely a whisper over the pounding of my heart.

“You didn’t lose everyone,” Alix reminds me.

I am not alone to tell the story. This thought crowds into the empty space inside me, threatening to spill over into joy.

“Will he live?” I ask Alix, and as if to answer my question, Jost’s hand jerks forward and grabs mine.

“Jost?” This time I’m calling to him, asking him to hear me.

There’s a flutter of lashes and he opens his mouth, but no words come out, only a groan.

“He’s in bad shape,” Alix says, “but he’s a fighter and he has a good reason to live.”

“Sebrina,” I guess.

“She’s here. You missed her by about five minutes.”

“She’s staying with you?”

“I’m looking after her,” she says, “until Jost gets better.”

“I promised to take care of her. We’ve been looking for her for weeks. You disappeared before you told me where she was,” I say.

“She’s safe here,” Alix says, but I shake my head.

Even if Jost recovers, this is my promise to him.

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