Chapter Two #3
Zylah stood and helped Arianna rearrange her pillows so she could sit upright comfortably. “That’s a good question. First things first, you need to finish healing.”
“How long is that going to take?”
Zylah paused. “If it were up to me, you wouldn’t leave this bed for a week, but seeing as it’s you, I’ll relent and let you up in two more days. We need to get those headaches under control and rule out any further head trauma.”
“And then?” Arianna pushed.
“We’ve discussed waking your sister. Talon hopes she’ll be able to travel with us. Raevina is doubtful.”
“I’m not leaving her here.”
Zylah smiled down at her, almost as if Arianna were a child defying the inevitable. “That’s one of the things Talon wants to talk to you about. And before you bite his head off, he’s adamant about not leaving her behind either.”
“And you? What’s your stance?”
Zylah looked away, staring at the floor.
“Everything is dangerous for us now. Leaving her is dangerous. She could very well end up right back in Vairik’s hands and create even more of a problem in the long run.
” Zylah met her gaze again. “But we also can’t take her kicking and screaming across the continent.
We could keep her unconscious, but that carries its own problems, unless, of course you’d allow Rion to—”
“Stop saying his name!” Arianna hadn’t meant to yell. The voices downstairs that had developed into a whispered frenzy all fell silent. She waited, tense, wondering what she might hear next, but she was so tired of hearing that name.
It did something to her, pulled at a raw cord deep in her soul. It grated against her bones, her nerves, setting her teeth on edge. The pain was beyond measure.
The dull thrum returned to her temples, and she rubbed them, trying to keep her head from splitting all over again. She could feel Zylah’s piercing stare. The judgement.
Zylah’s voice was softer when she spoke again. “I have just as much reason to hate him as you. Him and Brónach’s entire people.”
Arianna clenched her teeth, trying to rein in her emotions. Anger quickly turned to despair. “So why don’t you?”
Zylah adjusted the spare blanket at the end of the bed, tugging at the corners. “Actions speak far louder than words,” she began. “And their actions have spoken volumes.”
“Their?”
Zylah shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. You can trust every single person down those stairs. I would probably start with your best friend.”
Arianna clenched her fists. “He protected him.”
“I would have done the same.”
Arianna’s head snapped up. “Why?”
“Because you would have wanted me to.”
Arianna’s mouth opened. Closed. “I don’t want him in here.”
“He knows.”
Arianna’s voice lowered, though she knew it would do no good in the small house. “I—how can he be my mate? After—after all he’s done?” How could she be tied to a creature like him when she was The Divine?
Raevina reappeared in the doorway, a steaming mug in one hand.
“You show me a warrior without blood on their hands and I’ll show you a liar.
” She strolled across the room and set the mug on the bedside table.
“A gift from Talon.” Arianna peered over to find creamy molten chocolate.
Her mouth watered. “He just wants to talk.”
Arianna clenched her jaw again, then finally relented. “Fine, send him in.” At least it was better than seeing the monster.
The females stood. Zylah adjusted her blanket again before following Raevina out.
Part of Arianna thrashed against the idea of trusting anyone.
But Zylah—she could trust Zylah. The half-breed had experienced far more tragedy.
If she could put her trust in these people, some who were once her enemies, then perhaps Arianna could do the same, at least for now.
Then again, maybe Pádraigín’s magic was at work on Zylah too, coaxing her to trust when it would be wiser not to.
Arianna looked down at her hands. She hadn’t realized she’d been clenching the sheet so hard her knuckles had turned white. Arianna released the soft fabric, letting blood flow back into her fingertips. Frost covered them, too.
Arianna let the ice come to life in her palm before melting it again. She still had her magic. That was something she could rely on, even if the rest of her world felt warped beyond reason.
A mate. Gods above, she had a mate. It was supposed to be a rare phenomenon, and somehow, conveniently, her mate was the most dangerous male to have ever walked the continent.
Arianna furrowed her brow. No, that wasn’t right. Mates weren’t rare at all. That had been one of the many lies fed to them by Vairik. Mates were common amongst those with differing magical abilities. It was a natural order meant to keep them together and thus stronger.
The ancient texts were wrong about so many things. About who her mate was supposed to be. About who The Demon was to their world. And to her.
But she’d already been told these things, even if she couldn’t quite grasp the memory of who had told her. That one, despite not being visible, wasn’t cold like the others. It was warm, inviting. She could almost melt the frost from the glass.
Connall.
The name swept through her.
Arianna recalled sitting near a cabin, talking with Sive as she and others had revealed truths that had turned their world upside down.
But there were holes in the memory, parts that were just …
gone. As if someone had burned a page right out of a book.
Arianna tugged at the empty spaces, but searing pain exploded behind her eyes.
The shadows swelled again. Hate blossomed in her heart.
A soft knock at the door drew Arianna away from the past. Her heartbeat quickened when the knob turned then the door swung open to reveal Talon on the other side.
He stared at her, his honey eyes scanning her form as if he could see all the wounds Zylah had yet to heal. It made her want to scoot under the blankets and hide from those prying eyes. Hiding anything from him was impossible, even when they’d been younglings.
Arianna’s gaze fell to the tray between his hands.
“I thought you might be hungry.”
Her stomach growled in response. Talon didn’t wait for an invitation. He crossed the room and carefully placed the tray on her lap before backing away. He looked her over again and Arianna wondered what else he might be searching for.
Talon seated himself in the small armchair on the right side of her bed.
She cringed at the scent that lifted from the cushions.
A clear indication that The Demon had been in here while she’d been unconscious.
The thought didn’t sit well with her. Who knew what such a creature might do?
She hoped Talon’s scent would wash it away, maybe then her head and heart could relax.
Arianna took in Talon’s disheveled state. The wrinkled clothes. He was clean, but the way he wore his tunic too loose and untucked told her he’d either slept in it or hadn’t slept at all. Judging from the dark circles beneath his eyes, it was the latter.
She studied the honey color of his irises, refusing to back down from the intensity of his gaze. Arianna knew him the way she knew her own sister. He’d always been there for her, a constant companion throughout their childhood. A solid rock for her to lean upon.
But that rock looked uncertain now, his expression pleading.
Talon leaned forward, clasping his hands together, patiently waiting as she took him in.
Arianna’s heart longed for the friend she used to know. She prayed he wasn’t under Pádraigín’s control, or worse, that he’d betrayed them altogether. But Talon would never stand for the destruction of Levea. Right?
He might have sided with The Demon for now, but once they were safe, Arianna was confident she could convince the others to leave the foul creature behind.
Mates didn’t have to recognize one another, after all.
It wasn’t as if it was law and she certainly wasn’t about to let a monster be in charge of the continent.
Arianna finally broke Talon’s stare and glanced down to the hearty soup before her. It smelled divine and more importantly, it was warm. She reached for the thick slice of bread first and dipped it into the broth.
Arianna hesitated and set it down again. “I’m sorry.” She didn’t look away from the food. “I was—confused.”
Talon sighed and ran a hand through his hair, pulling at the loose strands. He let that hand slide down his face, then leaned one elbow against the armchair. “Are you still?”
To deny it would be an obvious lie. Arianna swirled the chunk of bread in her soup, watching as small pieces of it broke off in the liquid. “I don’t know.” It was as honest as she could be right now.
“I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“I know.”
“So what don’t you know?”
She chewed her lip. “Whose side you would take if it came down to it.”
“It won’t.”
“But if it did?”
Talon leaned back, staring at the far wall. “I’m with you through everything. You know that. I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth. I’ll do whatever you command of me, but I will not hurt you, and hurting him would do just that.”
Arianna continued playing with her food. “Zylah said you wanted to talk.”
A beat of silence. “I wanted to tell you the truth. The whole truth, if you’re willing to hear me out.”
She wasn’t really in the mood for truths, or Talon’s perception of them, but given that she wasn’t leaving this bed anytime soon—“Might as well.”
He eyed her, then began with the war. Talon told her about how she’d been captured, and all the details she’d shared with him about her time in captivity.
She remembered being in chains. She could recall each crack of the whip, every stinging slap to her face and the boots that had collided with her stomach.
None of those memories had been tampered with.