Chapter 6
Allie
Sylvester’s shriek shattered the stunned stillness in the huge atrium.
He flew from my shoulder, announcing our entry like a true herald, before perching himself on a ledge in the back, so that he’d have a perfect view.
Then silence.
Heavy, distrustful silence, brimming with expectations and accusations.
They were wary of Dax, yes, but I was to blame for bringing him here.
Luckily, he’d walked into his fair share of animosity-laden rooms and he carried himself with the ease of a man who wasn’t looking for any problems, but more than able to solve them if they came his way.
As for me, skin crawling and heart shrinking, I squared my shoulders more and tilted that Vegheara chin up.
I’d fought for this crater.
That was something no whispers could take away from me.
“Still a natural,” Dax whispered.
“Thank you,” I mumbled, swallowing my true feelings.
What good was looking the part of a leader in a new world when I didn’t feel like I could lead my own Clan?
Together, we entered the atrium, steps echoing against the ancient stones and rippling through the crowd.
The warriors’ gazes narrowed on Dax with the kind of precise assessment only years of training could instill. They lingered on his feet and hands, measuring how fast he could move. How big of a risk he truly was.
He returned their curiosity with his own careful scrutiny, eyes gliding over each of their faces, every nook, door, window, and hallway.
“Still looking for an escape route,” I muttered, as my own gaze searched not for an exit, but a friendly face to ground me in this skeptical standstill.
But the only person who could’ve quieted this frantic drum in my chest and eased the roiling tension in my belly was thousands of miles away.
The pressure in my temples grew, as if it wanted to cage my thoughts.
Between the leathers, furs, and weapons, my frenzied stare caught Vylkor, one of the land’s best–and tallest–warriors.
He’d been at the battle.
Had seen my powers light up the passage.
We’d howled together in the dead of night.
Vylkor must’ve sensed the intrusion and leapt out of bed without Mrs. Thornbrew’s say, because gauze still covered half of his face, a bloody red line soaking through it.
With his powers, Ryker had healed his wounds before he’d been forced to leave.
The scars must’ve split open while we’d rushed back to the city.
With a limp, Vylkor stopped near one of the pillars holding up the domed ceiling, right underneath Sylvester.
Gossips, both of them.
At least Vylkor could walk. And scowl.
Gods, did he scowl at Dax, top lip curling underneath his thick, blond beard, teeth bared and all. Which surely must’ve pained him after having half his face sliced open, but it seemed he considered the ache a worthy price to pay for open hostility.
As a disappointed sigh threatened to break my composure, Vylkor turned his attention to me. The antipathy thawed, even as his right hand still instinctively reached for the broadsword he wasn’t carrying.
Vylkor raised his good eyebrow at me.
Waiting for a command or an answer. Respecting the chain of rule, nonetheless.
That small show of faith tempered my galloping heart.
“Cousin,” I mouthed.
Vylkor gave me a curt, warrior nod, and leaned against the pillar, crossing his hands in front of his broad chest, as if he’d been waiting for permission to relax. A hint of frustration clung to him that he wouldn’t be attacking anyone today.
He tilted his head, no longer watching Dax as an intruder, but an anomaly. A strange man who’d braved the crater and was now smiling at them, of all things.
The crowd gave Dax and me a wide, cautious berth as we advanced.
“Allow me to introduce you to Dax Vegheara, member of the First Family,” I announced. “Blood from my blood.”
Dax gave a low, respectful bow, smile not wavering for a moment.
More silence.
Back in Aquila, we greeted all official visitors with salt, bread, and wine, to the tune of lutes and drums. A joyous moment, not a funeral, mistrusting stillness.
My fingers ached to twitch and my feet wanted to pace the hectic energy away.
“Send for Mrs. Thornbrew, please,” I said to no one in particular, keeping my gaze unflinching.
Calm.
The kind of attitude that wouldn’t alarm people, even big, burly, battle-seasoned warriors.
My voice echoed for a few surprised moments, before it was broken by the scuffle of heavy boots disappearing down one of the hallways.
The tingles in my temples turned more urgent, burrowing themselves deeper.
I didn’t flinch, but I let my gaze wander lazily around us.
Was the crater trying to warn me? It wouldn’t have been the first time.
But the sensation didn’t feel like a warning. It was…impatient?
It sought–no, needed–my attention.
For what? Everyone stood eerily still. No glint of a weapon, no ripple of an impending attack.
Trust nobody.
Ryker’s words rolled in my mind, as if he were standing right beside me.
One of these people could have led the attackers through the passage, endangering us all and forsaking their homeland.
And they had the gall to watch me with distrust.
Dax leaned closer to me and whispered, “I haven’t felt on display like this since I visited the Morgana Clan.”
“They’ll warm up eventually.” I hoped. “Best start using those special skills of yours.”
“My silver tongue doesn’t work on command.”
“I’m sure the tongue that charmed thousands throughout Malhaven can work here, too,” I whispered under my breath, barely moving my lips.
He chuckled. “You’ll give these people the wrong impression. They’ll think I’m trouble, too.”
“You are.”
Probably a bigger one than me, under the right circumstances.
He winked my way. “They don’t need to know that.”
I huffed a cool laugh right as Mrs. Thornbrew’s five foot two frame speared the atrium, bringing in a hint of pine and warm hearths that contrasted with the smell of leather and steel.
All the enormous warriors stepped out of the way of her billowing wool skirts.
A few silver hairs had escaped her stiff bun after tending to the wounded all night, but her tired eyes were as alert as ever.
Nadya and Geryll rushed behind her. Well, Nadya rushed and dragged poor Geryll along with her, who still couldn’t quite put all of his weight on his maimed leg. He ran a jittery hand through his blond hair, while Nadya patted Francisca, the axe resting on her belt.
I narrowed my eyes on them. “You two should be in bed.”
“So should you, you’ve been up since Solkar-knows-when,” Mrs. Thornbrew admonished, before huffing the stray hairs out of her eyes and giving Dax a more imposing once-over than all of the fighters.
“May I introduce you to my cousin, Dax,” I said, formal down to the long pause. “He’ll be staying with us for a while.”
A ripple of unease spread through the warriors, and I couldn’t stop it.
“They are the Commander’s protegees.” I nodded at Nadya and Geryll. If they wanted to give their full names to him, they would.
Nadya glowered.
Geryll gave an awkward wave.
The pressure in my skull tunneled deeper. I fought the urge to reach back and claw it away.
“My absolute pleasure to meet you.” Dax tilted his head, smiling widely their way.
“So we do have company,” Mrs. Thornbrew said, still assessing him. She must’ve found what she was looking for, because her thin lips finally curled at the edges. “Surprising company.”
“Good news always travels fast.” Dax stepped forward and bowed, gently taking Mrs. Thornbrew’s hand and kissing the back of it. The perfect gentleman. “A delight to make your acquaintance. I hear you’re the one I need to speak to for the best bowl of stew in the city.”
Mrs. Thornbrew chuckled. “You should also try my scones.”
“A delicacy I’m sure.” Dax straightened and rested his hand on my shoulder. “Thank you for taking such good care of my cousin when our family wasn’t able to. I know we’re supposed to be sworn enemies and all, but we are in your debt for keeping her safe.”
“Yes, thank you. For everything,” I said quickly as Mrs. Thornbrew opened her mouth.
Dax didn’t need to know the extent of my despair. How I hadn’t been able to crawl out of bed for so many embarrassing days or eat until I almost withered away.
She gave me a knowing look from the corner of her eye. A fox-like mind rested beyond that kind gaze.
“He’s quite a charmer, isn’t he?” Mrs. Thornbrew raised her pale brows at me, but she couldn’t hide the way her cheeks reddened.
“I try to,” Dax said with false modesty. “You flatter me, madam.”
Mrs. Thornbrew laughed. “Oh, you would have been just my type when I was a young woman. Good thing I’m old.”
“What’s he doing here?” Nadya grumbled.
“Visiting,” Dax and I said at the same time.
Well, that sounded suspicious.
“He’s the cousin you were worried about?” Geryll muttered, not really looking at Dax, but somewhere near his knees.
“Yes. And I’m glad he’s safe and here with us,” I said, loud enough for the entire atrium to hear.
Nadya licked her teeth. “How did he get in?”
The question hung in the air like a sword.
“Same way I did. Unexpectedly,” I said.
Not quite a lie, but far, far removed from the truth.
“My arrival was much more exciting than hers,” Dax said. “Your crater is quite formidable. It takes strong people to not only face this harsh climate day after day, but also thrive. Back in Aquila, we had trouble when a stiff breeze hit our shores.”
A gross exaggeration, but one that made the narrowed stares open up slightly.
This was what Dax excelled at.
While I had to wear my strength as armor, he just did not care. He had that way about him to make others feel at ease and seem much less of a threat than he was. If I hadn’t trusted him, I would have been alarmed at how easily he could disarm with a grin.
The tingles now crawled down my entire back. Burning. I blinked rapidly against the insistent sensation. It felt like someone–or something–wanted to drag me out of the fortress.
My gaze roamed again, more insistent.
No sign of the crater’s purple light.
No hum.
What in Xamor’s name was happening–and what was I missing?
An ache grew inside of me. It almost compelled me to walk out.
“That’s ‘cause you’re not wearing the right boots,” Nadya growled, snapping me back to this tense moment I needed to navigate carefully.
No show of weakness.
Mrs. Thornbrew’s eyes widened as she took in Dax’s leather boots, made for riding horses in balmy weather, not facing mountains of snow.
“You Protectorate lot sure have a thing about improper footwear.” She tsked. “Your cousin walked barefoot through the whole fortress when she first came here.”
Dax’s eyes shined mischievously. “Did she now? Do tell.”
“I was making a point,” I said firmly.
“She was trying to give Ry a heart attack, that’s what she was doing.” Mrs. Thornbrew laughed. “You must be famished–”
“Does the Commander know he’s here?” Nadya persisted.
Even Geryll gave her a small nudge, careful not to jostle her gauze-wrapped shoulder.
I swallowed my sigh. Nadya had bigger issues with trust than my own, but shining such an insistent, public light was not helping.
I licked my lips, trying to ignore the pulse yanking me back. “The Commander will be informed as soon as he arrives.”
Nadya grimaced. “But–”
“Informed of what?” The voice I’d been craving boomed through the atrium.
Suddenly, the gripping pressure vanished, replaced with warm relief that washed through me. I turned, heart in my throat, only to see Ryker standing in the doorway and commanding the entire fortress with one look.
Unflinching.
Steadfast.
Everything I needed right now.
The warriors thumped their fists over their hearts, metal clinks vibrating through the air.
I took a step toward him, as restrained as I could while my entire body begged to relax into him, tuck my head under his chin, bury my nose in his furs. Feel his hot breath across my forehead, strong arms circling me protectively.
His eyes sparked as he took three long strides and met me halfway, as if drawn by the same insatiable need.
We stopped a breath away, drinking each other in. My worried gaze raced over him as fast as his did.
Ryker still had flecks of ash clinging to his short blond hair and the creases of his leather armor, but looked unharmed, though his face betrayed the exhaustion of the last few days.
He’d been breaking his bones and running at impossible speeds right after an attack, after all.
A darkness seeped into the corners of his eyes, even as he smiled down at me.
“Are you alright?” I mouthed.
He nodded, hand rising to cup my shoulders. Thank the gods I had my back to everyone else, because my eyelids fluttered at the small contact, his warmth seeping into me.
Ryker was here.
He was safe.
“We need to talk,” I muttered, suddenly serious.
“I gathered.” His gaze slashed to Dax. “Glad to see you’re alive. Allie was worried.”
I heard the reproach in his raspy words as they rushed through the atrium and dissipated the tension.
The Commander was here and he accepted Dax’s presence, so everyone else accepted it just as easily.
They might have respected my words and presence out of obligation to Ryker, but they didn’t trust them.
Not yet, at least.
“I was worried about her, too,” Dax said, but there was a cold edge to his words that made me turn. “After she was whisked away in a coffin.”
“Saved from Sanctua Sirena when her family was nowhere to be seen,” Ryker said with just as much bite.
“After the wedding was crashed by your Clan.”
“And your sacred, so-called impenetrable island was attacked by an unseen force.”
“Mrs. Thornbrew, you said something about dinner?” I interjected loudly.
“Yes,” she said, gaze jumping between Ryker and Dax. “Empty stomachs can make people cranky.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. With these two glowering at each other, this was going to be a long visit.