Chapter 44 Evera
EVERA
Whatever misconception I’d had that this conversation would go over well was lost to me the moment I walked into the shop to find Ruairc leaning up against the front counter.
Aureus’s stern expression told me he suspected something, but that the cobbler had refused to give him the information he sought.
Apparently, he’d been in the shop for some time, waiting for me to return home.
“This is truly what you want?” Aureus asked some half an hour later, as he sat in one of the padded chairs in Leighis’s study. He leaned forward with one arm resting on his knee and the other hand smoothing the creases at his brows.
“It is,” I said, keeping my voice steady.
The explanation had taken the breath out of me, leaving me burdened by the guilt of the lies I’d given with little effort.
I wished it were different, that I didn’t need to deceive Aureus, but keeping the entirety of the truth from him in this situation was a kindness to him.
Whether Neirin had received word from Nox that he’d been pardoned or that his brother had refused to read his letter, we would be returning to the capital.
Neirin could not stand by while his brother’s life was in peril.
I could empathize with that; I would do the same for Aureus.
As far as my brother knew, everything would go as planned, and we needed only to walk into the castle, speak with Harlan, and Neirin would regain access to his funds and clear his name so that we could live an honest life together.
“This is not just due to the magic, the bond? You truly love him?” Aureus asked.
“I do,” I said. That, at least, was the full truth.
Ruairc, who’d taken it upon himself to linger, held my gaze, aware of the faulty facts I’d laced my story with.
There was an uncomfortable quiet, then Ruairc pushed off the railing and stood beside me, taking my sack from the table and adjusting it over his shoulder. “I will still escort her to and from the castle to ensure there are no run-ins with thieves through the pass.”
I had suspected Ruairc would volunteer to come along, and had dreaded it when I first arrived at the shop.
I had no desire to embrace the discomfort of traveling with two men who both desired my heart.
But I found myself with nothing to say. I should have dissuaded him, yet the way he stood at my side despite the situation I’d put him in, despite my heart belonging to another, caused me to hold my tongue.
Could I do the same? Support someone I loved after they’d chosen another?
I looked up at him, expression soft, and turned the corners of my lips up in a subtle smile. Thank you.
He nodded, returning my expression.
Aureus sighed. “There is no talking you out of this?”
“No.”
My brother tapped his fingers on the armrest, casting his gaze away from us. His worry, his lack of ability to protect me himself, set his forehead with wrinkles. After a moment, he turned his attention to Ruairc. “You will ensure her safety?”
“I will.” Ruairc’s response came without hesitation. And while I didn’t particularly like the concept of Aureus allowing me to go because I was being escorted, I held my tongue. And Ruairc, I knew, was only trying to keep tensions from mounting. He was trying to help.
“Why?” Aureus addressed his friend.
“I no longer aim to court her, but that does not nullify the promise I made to you. I will stand by her, protect her.” Ruairc placed a hand on my shoulder, the gesture friendly, and smiled at me. “If she will allow it.”
If she will allow it. I offered him a smile to show my gratitude for his gesture, for letting the decision be my own, and not making it for me. “You can come with us. Thank you, Ruairc.”
His beaming grin sent me back to the days when Ruairc and I had played as children, oblivious to the matters of adults—of desires, commitments, and obligations. He hadn’t been courting me. He’d been my friend.
As Ruairc spoke with my brother, disclosing our timeline and the simpler details, most—if not all of which were lies, I gathered the items I would need.
Basic necessities—skins of water, bread, miscellaneous other snacks for the road, along with a blanket rolled tight to conserve space, and a spare cloak to conceal Neirin’s silver hair if it rained or the charcoal washed away for some other reason.
On a last thought, I gathered three vials of the sleeping tincture I’d used on Calix before.
Kissing the crown of Leighis’s head and hugging Aureus, I took one last glance over the study, over my home. This was not goodbye, only farewell for now.
“Are you ready?” Ruairc asked.
“Yes,” I said, “I’ve got all I need.”
Anticipation coursed through my veins, each passing moment increasing my worry. It had been too long. Neirin should have been at the stables by now with Calix.
“What is keeping them?” I asked, needing to air the words.
“It could be anything, Evera.” Ruairc adjusted the straps on his mount’s saddle.
I patted Sorrel’s neck. Taking the wagon would cause suspicion, but Aureus was out with Farren, and that would give us time, at least, to get out of town.
By the time my brother noticed it was missing, we would be gone.
It was an inconvenience to travel in such a way, but it was the only plan I had.
In the back with Calix, half-covered by a quilt, we could pass Neirin’s fox off as a dog.
As long as his tail was hidden, it wasn’t such a stretch.
“Evera,” Ruairc said.
I raised my gaze and found him staring out through the stable doors behind me. I followed his line of sight.
My breath caught.
Passing the open stable doors, making their way down the cobbled road, the two huntsmen rode in front of Nox, a body draped over the rumps of each of their horses. One, a boy, with dark and curly hair. The other form, larger, dusted the horse’s leg with the ashes in his hair.
“No,” I rasped beneath my breath.
Ruairc wrapped his arms at my shoulders and hushed me as the small group passed.
No.
When the road before us stood clear again, I spun in Ruairc’s grasp and struck at his chest, anger and fear coursing through my veins with the rapid beating of my heart. Keeping his hold firm around me, he allowed my pounding fists until they settled, replaced by tears. I crumpled against him.
“Nox took them. He betrayed Neirin. He—” My words came out nearly a wail, and new tears swelled with them.
Ruairc stroked my shoulder.
“I need them, Ruairc. They are my family. Do you think—” I choked back the word that stuck in my throat.
For a moment, only my tears broke the quiet. The rough leather of the apron Ruairc wore smelled of his workshop and brought back memories of playing in the back room together as children.
“They are alive,” Ruairc said finally. “If they were not, the huntsmen wouldn’t have wasted the time to bind their wrists and ankles.”
Overwhelmed, I shuddered. How had I not noticed? But Ruairc was right. There would be no reason to secure them in such a way if—
“What do you need?” Ruairc asked.
I pulled back to glance up at him. “What?” I asked, fighting against the waves of panic.
“Dammit, Evera. What is our plan?”
His sharpness grounded me. “Our plan?”
Dropping his embrace, Ruairc ran a hand through his beard, then took my hands in his. “Since we were young, Evera, you have had more fire than Aureus and I combined. I can fight, but I can’t take three men. So, what’s your plan?”
My breath hitched, and a faint tendril of hope took root.
I latched on to it. Ruairc was right—now was not the time to lose my composure.
Not when my family needed me. I’d lost myself for a moment in the possibility I’d lost Neirin and Calix, but if I was going to get them back, I’d need me—stubborn, determined me.
The me Neirin loved, and the me I loved too, who followed her own path no matter how many people whispered witch.
“There is a tincture.” I withdrew the sleeping tonic I’d used on Calix from my satchel. “If we put this in their drink, the huntsmen will fall into a deep sleep. Nothing will wake them, aside from time.”
“They will stop before the mountains,” Ruairc said, nodding. “It would be too much of a risk to take the pass with such a valuable bounty on the back of their mounts, not when they would still be riding through dusk. They will camp and leave at dawn.”
“Then we must follow them.” I tucked the vials back into my sack and led Sorrel to a stack of crates I could use to mount her.
“You can ride? What of the wagon?”
“Yes,” I said. “Neirin taught me. And there is no time for the wagon. We will sort out a new plan once we get them back.”
Without response, Ruairc mounted his own steed. “Let us get your family back.” There was a glint of sadness, of loss in his eyes as he kicked his stallion’s sides and passed me, crossing the border of shadow into the sunlight of the open air.