Page 77 of Storms of Allegiance

He froze for a moment and then his arms came up cautiously around me, gently rubbing my back.

“He didn’t touch you?” His voice was low and gravelly in my ear.

“Everyone has been extremely nice, actually.” I managed to pry myself away from him, wishing I could hold on forever but already embarrassed at my display.

“Nice?”

I nodded. “It’s not at all like we were thinking. Grey isn’t like we were thinking. I guess you won’t have talked to Miranda yet, but hopefully she’s met up with Amara by now, so the rest of them will know—”

“Grey isn’t like we were thinking.” The repeated words sounded different in Nik’s hard voice, like an accusation instead of a reassurance.

He grabbed my arms again, his eyes running over my face, as if searching for answers there. I tried not to think about how I probably looked, managing a weak chuckle.

“You’re not going to find any hidden bruises, Nik. No one has offered me a harsh word, let alone a raised hand.”

The thought of Grey berating the youth ran uncomfortably through my mind, but I pushed it aside. It was true no one had treated me that way.

But my words did nothing to soften Nik’s expression. I frowned, doubt creeping in.

“You did hear everything, didn’t you? You know why I have to help Grey.”

“Help him? Is that what you were talking about when you said you were going somewhere?” His grip tightened, his eyes narrowing. “What hold does Grey have over you, Delphine? Have you found out what’s causing the blight? If you’re not a prisoner, why didn’t you come back to me?”

His words still sounded harsh, angry, but I caught a trace of vulnerability behind the last question.

My heart softened as I realized he hadn’t heard the whole story. He had been waiting all this time, confused and worried.

I smiled up at him. “Thank you for coming. I’m so happy to have a chance to see you again. And now you can take the full story back to the others.”

“Delphine.” There was a warning note in his voice. “Why do you keep talking about leaving?”

I grimaced. “We were wrong about Grey. I’m not saying he’s a wonderful person, but he’s not the cause of Tartora’s problems. He’s trying to fix them.” I quickly explained how the islanders were behind both the blight and the storm and about Grey’s plans to stop the war before it could launch.

Nik looked sufficiently concerned, but his face lacked the shock I expected. Instead his frown grew deeper and deeper.

“Grey told you this spiel, and so you decided you would leave us all without a word, get on his boat, and just sail away!” His voice rose slightly with each word, until the volume made me flinch.

I glanced over my shoulder, frowning into the lightening sky.

“Hush, not so loud. Of course I wasn’t doing it without a word.” I looked significantly at the tree beside us. “I thought you could hear everything.”

Nik groaned. “Delphine! My ability has limits. And it certainly can’t hear anything happening inside a closed house. I’m using root systems, remember?”

I winced. I had wondered about that, but then I’d forgotten again, caught up in the urgency of Grey’s news.

“At least I came out here and sent you a message.” I pointed at a nearby bush.

Nik laughed, looking as if the sound was reluctantly pulled out of him. “Is that why that was so loud and clear?”

I flushed. “I wanted to make sure you heard.”

“Well you did a good job of tipping my worry into panic. I was already preparing to come when Phoenix showed up.”

“Phoenix?” I peered into the surrounding trees, nearly bursting into tears when I saw the falcon perched on a nearby branch. “I thought he’d abandoned me!”

“I thought all kinds of terrible things when he showed up,” Nik said grimly. “You have no idea how hard it was to wait until dark to start moving, or to wait for you to emerge once I arrived. I was about ready to start tearing apart tents looking for you.”

Affection welled up inside me, and I put a hand on his cheek. He sucked in a breath in response to the touch, and I let my hand rest there for a second before dropping back to my side.

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