40. Brinley
Chapter 40
Brinley
F or nearly three days, Brinley, Gabriel, and Joel traveled south, following the directions Darren had shared before leaving. Three quiet days of riding hard. It was strange not being able to speak to Gabriel or Joel as they ran alongside her. As her mate curled around her at night to keep her warm and safe.
Though, it was probably for the best that they couldn’t communicate. No talking meant no more arguing over the plan. Before they left home, she and Gabriel had fought worse than they did a couple months ago when she didn’t know him as anything other than her enemy. They had shouted at one another, getting in each other’s faces… which had led to incredible sex, but that was beside the point.
Brinley knew she needed to approach her grandmother alone. If Gabriel tried to go with her, she feared what the witches would do upon seeing him. She didn’t think they would even hear her out before attacking him. And she wouldn’t risk that. She also knew that Rose’s time was running out and he needed to return to his sister before it was too late. Just in case this didn’t work.
Gabriel adamantly disagreed. He refused to leave her alone. Even Joel had tried to insist he stay behind with her.
In the end, she barely managed to convince them that she would be safe among the witches and they would not. She still didn’t believe that her grandmother had sent those rogues to kill her, but even if she did, Brinley knew the woman wouldn’t attack her heiress among a village full of their people. Brinley also reminded Gabriel and Joel of her power, her ability to protect herself.
Go home, and I will meet you there in a few days to end this once and for all , she’d promised him.
She knew it was best that they couldn’t fight about it now, but she still missed his voice. She would argue with him every day if it meant being in his life.
On the third day of their journey, the village of Nimiré came into view. It was a quaint little area butted up to the river, deep in the woods. Gabriel stopped in front of her, and she dismounted, seeing the guards in the distance. Joel kept close enough to jump in should they need him, but he gave them space to say goodbye.
They stayed far enough from the village that no one would notice her red cloak without looking for it. But she didn’t want to take a chance; they needed to hurry. Brinley knelt before Gabriel and put her brow to the top of his furry head. “Déesse above, I wish you could yell at me right now.”
His wet nose nudged her cheek, and she chuckled.
“I love you, Gabriel,” she said in a soft tone. She wrapped her arms around him. It still felt odd to trust a wolf so much, to hug him even in this form. But she did, and now she needed him to trust her too. “I’ll convince her to help and see you in a few days.”
He whimpered, breaking her heart.
“I’ll be safe,” she lied. “I have magic now, remember?” For the last couple weeks, since it was unlocked in the courtyard, she’d been practicing as much as possible. “But I really believe she cares about me. I don’t believe the rogue. He was just trying to stir more trouble.”
Gabriel nuzzled her neck.
“I’ll see you in a few days.” She kissed the top of his head and stood again. “Go home to Rose; her time is running short.”
He bowed his head but whimpered again. Taking Stella by the reins, Brinley led her toward the village. Once the guards saw her, she didn’t know what would happen. She and Gabriel had reluctantly negotiated that he would let her approach alone but wait to see that she was greeted warmly before leaving.
Walking away from Gabriel felt like pure torture though. Brinley didn’t want to leave him, but she hadn’t expected such physical pain from his absence. It was enough to make her reconsider running back and begging him to stay. But she didn’t.
Brinley wandered closer to the small village with one hand out at her side, preparing for anything. She knew her people were here, saw them in the streets and around the stone homes, even from the trees. She did not, however, know how they would react to her reappearance after being gone the last couple months.
Three guards gathered, blocking her path. A tall figure stepped forward as she neared, and she stopped in her tracks. Her breath stuck in her throat, tears filling her eyes in an instant.
“Brinley?” he said in that familiar tone she’d missed, more than she even realized.
A sob escaped her lips, and she ran toward the one true friend she’d had before leaving, the one she thought had been killed. She flung herself into André’s open arms. As soon as she collided with his chest, he wrapped her in a tight embrace.
“How?” he asked against her hair. “How are you here, sweetheart? I—we all thought you’d been killed.”
“I thought that about all of you.” She cried into his shirt. She didn’t know his role in all this yet, but she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. The memory of him helping her out of the castle was the main reason. She had to believe he was on her side. It was too painful to consider the alternative.
His hand swept up and down her back. “What happened?”
Sniffing, she leaned away and shook her head. “Not yet. Where’s my grandmother?”
André smiled and kissed her brow before tucking her against his side. She took the comfort as they walked past the guards who watched her with wide eyes before inclining their heads. One of them—a human man—took her horse, saying he’d put her in the stables. André led Brinley into the village proper and down what appeared to be the main street, ignoring the stares and whispers. No one else greeted her with happiness, but she hadn’t expected them to. She’d been an outcast all her life; why would anyone suddenly act as if they cared just because she returned from the dead ?
Except, now, she had a theory as to why. She had always thought that in the villages it was because they felt strange having her among them, a guarded witch whose identity was always kept a secret, but she didn’t think that was it at all. Remembering the different comments made, the way they always glared at her, she was certain they knew the truth of her parentage, had hidden it from her all these years.
André led her to one of the better-looking cottages, one with flowers along the path to the front door. He pushed inside without knocking. “Your Majesty?”
“In the drawing room,” her grandmother’s voice called out, nearly sending Brinley to her knees.
Dropping his arm from around her shoulders, André took Brinley’s hand and walked toward an open doorway. He paused long enough to say, “We have a visitor.”
For a moment, his choice of words struck her— visitor . But he had always seen her better than anyone else, and she had long suspected that his powers included clairvoyance. If he knew she wasn’t here to stay, he kept the thoughts to himself. He smiled at her as he stepped aside and let her into the room.
The woman’s jaw dropped as Brinley slowly moved closer.
“Grandmère,” Brinley whispered.