Page 69 of Storms of Allegiance

If it was true that Grey wanted me among his followers, he must have realized in retrospect that stabbing me hadn’t been a good opening move.

“We’ll soon be sitting down for our evening meal,” Grey said. “Why don’t you join us? That way we can talk comfortably, and any further travel can happen in the daylight tomorrow.”

I glanced at Miranda, but she seemed perfectly content with this plan. She even volunteered to show me around the camp, chattering most of the way about the daily business of life in the desert.

I had imagined it as a harsh, sweltering place, full of dirt and heat. But the hidden crevasse teemed with life, an oasis in the desolate land around it. There were even a few proper wooden buildings, although most of the houses were made of heavy canvas hung over wooden frames.

Down here among the greenery, the heat of the day had already faded, the temperature pleasant and cool. A long wooden table sat in the open space between the two rows of dwellings, people already starting to lay out plates and trays of food.

It was simple fare, but plentiful, and I wondered how much they provided for themselves and how much they traded for. While I doubted Grey would have a moral issue with stealing, he knew better than to draw attention to himself with that sort of behavior.

“As you can see, we’re an amicable community,” Grey said, taking a seat at the head of the long table and gesturing for Miranda and me to sit beside him at the long bench that ran down the right side.

Miranda seemed pleased at the placement. She appeared to harbor no resentment toward Grey for his lies, seeming almost normal as long as the topic of her father didn’t come up. When it did, confusion took prominence, and I noticed Grey steered the conversation away from any such discussion.

“So what do you want in exchange for supplies?” I asked as soon as my plate was full.

“Straight to business, then?” Grey gave me an amused smile and a tilt of his eyebrow.

I held my ground, silently waiting for an answer.

He chuckled. “Very well. In all honesty, I was rather hoping I might convince you to stay.”

Miranda frowned. “If Father is waiting for me, I can’t stay here. He must be terribly worried after all this time.”

“Naturally, you need to go. I can see that,” Grey said smoothly, his words oozing truth. He understood what I was demanding from this bargain. “But perhaps your friend might like to stay.”

Miranda turned wide eyes on me. “But your parents must be worried about you too! I saw you in Caltor, which means you’ve been gone nearly as long as I have!”

I looked away from her, real pain pinching my chest. “I have no interest in returning to my farm.”

“What?” Miranda grabbed my arm, twisting me back around toward her. “What do you mean? Surely you didn’t fight with your parents? You always seemed so devoted to them.”

“I was.” I looked down at my plate. “And then I left Tarin and found out exactly what my father had been keeping from me. I’ve seen a bigger world than one farm now, and I have no interest in that life anymore.”

Despite my continued anger at my father, it hurt to reveal so much painful truth in front of Grey. But that truth was also the best tool I had against him.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see the sharp interest in his eyes, and the small upward curve of his lips. He was trying to look detached and disinterested, but he was delighted to read this particular truth on me.

“I’ve left everyone behind,” I continued, “and I walked across the desert because I heard you might be out here. Unlike my own father, yours always fought for me, Miranda. I promised him, and I couldn’t let him down.”

“Oh, Delphine.” Miranda took my hand, tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry. You’ll always have a place with my father and me. You know that, right?”

I forced a smile, nodding my thanks. “And I appreciate it more than I can say. But I’m not ready to go back to Tarin yet.” I tore a piece off the chunk of bread on my plate. “But the same doesn’t apply to you. You need to get back to your father.”

“How could I go without you, though?” she asked.

“It’s easy. All you have to do is follow the coast south until you reach Eldrida. From there, you can buy a place with merchants heading west.” I glanced at Grey, and he chimed in as I had hoped he might.

“Naturally, I will provide provisions and gold for the journey, since I was the one to drag you all the way out here.”

Miranda laughed, as if she hadn’t been carted away as a hostage. “I don’t know if I should accept, but I will. I can’t leave my father waiting.”

“I just hope there are no more big storms while you’re traveling,” I said, watching Grey closely out of the corner of my eye.

“I hope not!” Miranda’s eyes widened. “We were lucky to be so sheltered down here, but even so we sustained some damage.”

Grey’s eyes also darkened at my words, but not with the emotions I’d expected. Instead he seemed genuinely angry, as if the storm had been an attack on him as much as us.

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