CHAPTER EIGHTEEN #3
I shook my head, unable to speak. What a fool I was to think I could conceal my identity when I knew nothing beyond the walls of my kingdom.
“You’re Lunamorian,” Catrin repeated, clearly still working through the conundrum. “And if you’re Lunamorian, that must mean…”
There was no denying it now, and so I held her gaze to witness her understanding.
I recognized it immediately. The slight widening of her eyes, the strong inhale that might have been a gasp were she less composed.
Her grip on me tightening, the weight of the truth settling over us.
I could feel the pooling of tears that I had little interest in entertaining, so I blinked against them and pressed my lips together.
She knew. And soon, so too would everyone else.
What on Morwyn was I going to do?
“Don’t cry,” Catrin said, her brows pulling together. “I can remedy this.”
I could barely speak around the lump in my throat.
“But how?”
“No one outside of the three Treaty Kingdoms knows of the Treaty, which means they don’t know of you.
And, from this moment forth, you’re not you, anyway.
You’re…” Catrin dropped my hand and stood in one swift motion.
She paced briefly before rounding on me, determination lifting her chin. “You are my niece.”
Confusion repelled my distress in the face of her sincerity. “No, I’m not.”
“Of course you’re not,” she said, exasperated. “But that’s what you’ll tell anyone who asks. My sister lives with her husbands near Lake Alacine. It’s common enough knowledge that I doubt anyone would hesitate to believe it.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, pressing my palm to my heart.
“Her first husband is Soran, so—”
“Not that. What I can’t grasp is why you would help me. If ever my father or the Hollows found me here… you would be risking more than you know.”
“You traveled on foot, didn’t you?” Catrin asked.
“I did.”
Catrin stepped to the hearth to stir the bubbling stew. “And yet you evade them. My knowledge of your siloed kingdom is limited, but I’m of the impression that they breed horses same as the rest.”
“Of course—”
“And Milo made quite the ruckus upon your arrival. If they were already here, I imagine you would be on your way back to Lunamor as we speak.”
I shook my head, my heart refusing to accept the kindness she was offering me. “My people are terrified of the Threshold, and rightfully so. But Lunamor isn’t the only kingdom looking for me.”
Catrin fished in her stew with a large wooden spoon before withdrawing a bundle of herbs. She placed the steaming pile on the countertop, turning to study me.
“Hollowmire knows more about the Threshold than Lunamor, but I’ve never heard of a Hollow surviving the cross. Even if they did, they couldn’t step foot in Grenythwood.”
Her surety fissured the panic weaving through me.
“The barrier you spoke of,” I said, fixed on the unsuspecting poppy brooch. “Its purpose is to protect you from Hollows?”
“It serves several purposes, none of which concern you at this time. But I hope you can take comfort in my assurance. In light of your circumstance, Grenythwood is the safest place for you to be.” Catrin turned to assess me, her strawberry-blonde curls bouncing with the movement.
“And even if it weren’t, I would still do everything in my power to assist you. ”
“But why?”
“Because you’re just a woman, Lyssa. Regardless of your station, you deserve safety same as the rest of us, and if I have the ability to provide you with even the smallest bit of that safety, it is my sworn duty as a healer to do so.”
I doubted that I had felt true safety before, and the idea that I might find that in Grenythwood, beyond the Threshold, was somehow nauseating.
It was too contradictory to everything I had ever learned, and everything I had ever been told.
It was… inconceivable. None of this should have happened.
And what if it hadn’t? What if the head wound I’d sustained was much worse than I thought, and all of this was nothing more than my mind trying to make sense of the senseless?
Suddenly, the dark hut was too cramped, the scent of stew too thick, and the reminder that I had no idea of what lay beyond this herbalist’s shop too frightening.
Panic jolted my legs and I stood quickly in response, snatching my cloak back up before heading for the door.
“I cannot thank you enough, but I best be on my—”
The door I headed for opened so abruptly, I nearly ran into it.
A bear of a man rushed inside, hurriedly sealing the exit behind him before rounding on Catrin.
His lips parted with a sharp inhale, as if he were about to say something urgent, when his attention snapped to me.
A passive expression, perhaps, but the way he stared, as though he disbelieved his own sight, was unsettling.
I took an instinctive step back. He was exceedingly large for a man, and his countenance appeared less than jovial.
His beige skin blended into a shag of blonde hair and a short, bushy blonde beard, with golden eyes that failed to contrast his features.
If it weren’t for his dark brown shirt and pants—both of which could have used a wash and some stitch work—he might have been one color entirely.
He pinned me with his gaze, and I imagined I looked quite stupid staring at him with wide eyes, but I couldn’t summon the courage to move.
“She’s awake,” he said slowly.
“Berig,” Catrin’s voice was small yet audible. She drew his eyes immediately, and for a moment, his rough features softened. “You’re back.” She spoke with palpable relief, those two words light and full of warmth.
His long strides ate up the distance between the two of them before he pulled her into his arms, whispering something and planting a kiss on her neck. Depths, the height of him—he nearly swallowed her whole.
The smile that transformed her face seemed uncontrollable. She nuzzled against him, her own lips fluttering against his ear in earnest.
Embarrassment prickled my cheeks and I averted my eyes.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen such a public display of affection between two people.
It felt… intimate, and private. It also eased my fear where he was concerned; Catrin was all warmth and kindness, and I couldn’t imagine her heart belonged to a beast, even if he was the size of one.
“Got us another stray?” Berig said with a barely-there smirk.
“It wasn’t me!” Catrin smoothed out the creases on the front of his shirt. “Milo found himself a crosser.”
His attention flitted my way for the briefest moment, and I could have sworn something more lay beneath his gaze, but it disappeared when he looked back to Catrin.
“Must be proud of ‘imself, that one,” Berig mumbled disapprovingly.
“Oh, he is,” I interjected when my voice returned to me. “I was practically moments from death and his biggest concern was whether anyone would believe him if I didn’t make it.”
Catrin shook her head, cheeks indenting with a smile all the same. “That boy. I’ve told him time and time again to avoid the Threshold, but does he listen?”
Berig cleared his throat. “Out back with the hollow henbane now, I’m guessin’?”
Catrin’s smile was mischievous as she detangled from his embrace. “I was in the middle of preparing your welcome home stew when Vayen brought her in. Unveiling went about as well as crossing, the way Milo tells it.” Her dark eyes crinkled at the edges sympathetically.
Berig turned his attention my way once again, but never quite met my gaze. “Not surprised,” he said as he took in my choice of attire. “Lucky to be alive at all, wearin’ that.”
I looked between Catrin and Berig, fingernails biting tiny half-moons into my palms as I tensed.
Since the Threshold, a poignant, souring feeling had taken root: it seemed, as the situation evolved, that I really hadn’t thought this through.
I was so intent on escaping Rowland’s hand that I never stopped to consider what kind of life I was hoping to find in Grenythwood, if there was a life to build here at all.
The thought of Rowland pooled acrid saliva in my mouth, and it was all I could do to steady myself against the terror cradling his memory.
I inwardly threatened my eyes as moisture gathered there, a precursor to the boulder lodged in my throat.
I barely managed a whisper. “Forgive me if I’m hesitant to call myself fortunate at this moment in time. ”
Before I could protest, I found myself in Catrin’s embrace.
Her strong arms enveloped me, perfuming my nostrils with lavender and moss.
It was strange and I stiffened without meaning to.
Only last night, Anise had pulled me into her arms in much the same manner.
Such contact was not permitted with a Treaty Princess.
Another oddity to familiarize myself with, it would seem.
Catrin’s scent was more relaxing than her touch, but the gentle thrum of her heart and persistent breath skirting my neck reminded me a bit of Miss Mystis’ soothing purr.
“Regardless of luck or fortune, I’m glad you found your way here,” Catrin said.
Eventually, I eased into the hug, drawing an arm hesitantly around her middle.
I sensed the smile that peeled her lips apart as she stepped back, clasping both my shoulders with enthusiasm. “Are you hungry? And before you answer, I won’t accept any response other than yes.”