Chapter Six
Rion moved on, never sleeping in the same place twice, but keeping close to the river.
Three days passed in a blur as he tried and failed to come up with a plan.
Rion had just pulled the bandage away from his shoulder when a branch cracked nearby.
He whirled, nostrils flaring and magic answering his call. He’d been careful to ensure he covered his tracks, but the familiar sight of blonde hair had his shoulders and magic relaxing.
“I’ve been looking for you for days.” Saoirse’s breath was ragged and when her gaze dropped to his shoulder, she grimaced.
Rion bent and filled a small pot with water before returning to his pitiful fire. “It’s not as bad as it looks.” Lie and truth. The skin around the wound was swollen and tender and moving hurt like hell, but it wouldn’t do any permanent damage. Maybe a scar at most.
Saoirse gestured for him to sit and opened her bag, rummaging through the contents for what Rion presumed was her medical kit.
“Here.” She tossed him an apple and Rion caught it with his good hand. He eyed the tender flesh of the fruit before sinking his teeth into it.
She settled on the ground at his side and folded her legs to examine his shoulder. His sister cleaned it with a delicate hand, then opened a tin and spread a greenish salve over the cut before binding it with a clean bandage.
“Alec sent out multiple teams to hunt you down,” she said. “I couldn’t stop him.”
“I never expected you to.”
Silence.
“What happened?”
Rion loosed a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Honestly? I don’t know.” Images came flashing back, but he still couldn’t make sense of them.
“Try,” she urged. Her tone wasn’t accusatory. She was probably the only person on the continent willing to let him explain himself.
“Caol told me not to go.”
“Naturally.” She sat back. “So why did you?”
“Because I’m tired of being locked up in that damn cabin,” he bit out.
“So you went to the festival?”
Rion nodded. “I took my cloak and stayed hidden. I was leaving when I saw a group of Fae playing in the field.” Rion looked down at his hands and the bruises across knuckles. “Liam was there.”
Saoirse’s body stiffened. She rolled the dirty bandages up and placed them in her bag. “What did he say?”
Rion shook his head, his heart aching all over again. “Nothing worth repeating. I was about to leave when three warriors showed up. I thought they were part of the city guard. That maybe they’d spotted me in the city. I knew I needed to get out of there, but—” He paused and clenched his jaw.
“But what?”
“They killed them. Just like that.” He looked at her. “They killed them, Saoirse, no warning. Why would they do that?”
Her eyes searched his. “I don’t know.” She fiddled with the strap of her bag. “We couldn’t identify the bodies. They weren’t from Nàdair.”
Rion sat straighter. “Where are they from then?
Saoirse shrugged. “Could be any one of the major cities.”
“But why attack them ? What was the point?”
“I wish I knew.”
More silence. Rion relished the warmth from the fire after days without one. “Did . . . did the other male make it?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. If he hadn’t . . .
“He was still in critical care when I left. The healers are doing everything they can.” She’d probably left two days ago. Rion looked at his hands. He didn’t want to imagine Liam pacing outside the healing quarters. Liam’s mother was probably with him, trying to comfort her son after the ordeal.
Rion dropped his head into his hands, rubbing his eyes. “It was stupid to go.” He could feel Saoirse’s gaze on him. “I just thought I could, I don’t know, talk to him. I thought maybe he of all people would hear me out but—” Emotion swelled in Rion’s throat, cutting him off.
Saoirse stared at the river. “He won’t talk about it. He’s been questioned by multiple officials and refuses to say a word.” Rion didn’t respond. “The others claim you were with the three males. They said you were about to strike out with your magic.”
“And I’m sure everyone believes them.”
“The whole lot of them are traumatized. We’re not even sure they know what happened.”
“Yet Alec still has teams hunting me.”
“To bring you in, not kill you. I wouldn’t have stood for that.”
“And I suppose he’ll just let me return to my old room and live a nice cozy life in the palace.”
“If that were the case, I’d escort you back myself.” She kicked a rock near her shoe. “He’s consulting the council, but I think he plans to lock you up until they decide what should be done.”
“I’m assuming you had an opinion on the matter.”
She shrugged. “I told him if that was the case, then no one would find you. He took it for the threat it was.” Saoirse met his gaze. “You should know by now that I wouldn’t turn you in.”
“I know. I just . . . don’t risk yourself for me. We’ve kept things a secret this long for a reason.”
“I never planned to keep you in hiding forever, you know that.”
“Do you have a plan for when Caol finally kicks me out?”
Her heart jolted. “Did he mention something?”
“No, but given the circumstances—”
Her shoulders relaxed. “I won’t lie, he’s furious and you’ll probably be cleaning every square inch of the cabin with the smallest brush imaginable when you get back, but he’s not going to kick you out.” Rion wasn’t so sure.
“He’s thankful you didn’t come back right away. Alec’s patrols searched there first, thanks in part to how often I visit.” Rion’s eyes widened. If they found his scent . . . “Don’t worry, as soon as word reached Caol, he raced back and erased any evidence of you. His reputation with our father helped, too. Most still admire him from his service in the previous war.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t go back at all.”
Saoirse didn’t reply at first. “Where would you go?”
Rion shrugged. “It’s kind of nice out here.”
“You won’t think that when winter hits and your toes freeze off.”
He laughed, the sound bitter. “You mentioned the northern continent once.”
Silence. “I’d never see you again.” Rion didn’t reply. She wouldn’t, not for a long while, at least. The trip itself would take him weeks and he’d be forced to live in secrecy all over again.
“Let’s go to the lake house for a while, at least until things blow over.”
“Won’t Alec look for us there?”
Saoirse went quiet. “No. I’ve been given a leave.”
Rion studied the way her shoulders slumped and the way she gripped her bag a little tighter. “What happened?”
“I had a mission that didn’t go well.”
“You found a lead.” Their mother.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have gone with you.”
“Because it was sensitive and I couldn’t risk—” Couldn’t risk anyone recognizing him or seeing his magic. Saoirse had taken him on a high-risk mission once before and it had almost gotten him killed. “It doesn’t matter,” she repeated. “It was just another dead end.”
She’d never stopped looking. Not once. Rion looked back at the river and watched a stick float down, carried by the rapid current. It spun in circles, reaching for a bank it would never find.
“Okay,” Saoirse glanced up. “Let’s visit the lake house and go from there.”