14. Secrets Uncovered #2
“No,” Calia called. “I took the liberty of buying new clothes better suited for our travels.” She tossed her some brown suede pants with a green and gold embroidered tunic.
A matching suede vest with white fur lining the cuffs, neckline, and arms. Gailean colors.
She couldn’t remember the last time she wore such finery.
Questions trickled through her about the true identity of Calia and how she could afford such things.
The thick garments were well-threaded and heavy.
“How did you know I would say yes to coming with you?” Aradia glanced at Calia.
Calia huffed under her breath, sounding almost like a chuckle. “In the short amount of time I’ve had with you, I realized one important thing.”
Aradia turned to fully look at the mysterious girl who she was quickly becoming fond of. “And what’s that?”
Calia smiled from her crouched position by the door. “That you and I are not so different. Our purpose we crave to fulfill will not be found hiding behind borders or crowded taverns. Besides, I’d also say you’re in desperate need of a good adventure, no?”
Aradia fingered the soft fur. “I’d say you’re probably right.” A small smile danced across her lips. She lifted the clothes and nodded. “Thank you.”
“They should fit.” Calia finished wrapping the packs and stood. She chewed the bottom of her lip in thought. “Do you think —”
“What?” Aradia asked, raising a brow.
Calia opened her mouth to speak but stopped, eyes squinting. She tilted her head to the side listening for something Aradia could not hear. An elegant finger lifted to her lips and her blue eyes hardened like an ice storm.
Aradia froze. She watched Calia slide to the door and unsheath a dagger at her thigh. She wretched the door open and a body fell into her arms.
Aradia covered her mouth as a yelp squeaked out.
Calia spun the person and kicked at the back of his knees, forcing him to the floor.
“Wait, stop!” Aradia lurched forward.
The familiar brown hair and crooked smile was now tousled like his fingers had ripped through them in frustration for days. Gone was his easygoing smile, replaced with a thin line of pain as he rocked on the floor, right hand splaying near his lower back.
“Saints, you didn’t need to do that,” Quinn groaned.
“Quinn?” Aradia dropped to her knees beside him.
Calia growled clearly annoyed. “What the depths are you doing here?”
Quinn pushed himself up, scooting closer to Aradia and glared at Calia. “I could ask the same thing. I came searching for Aradia after you kidnapped her!”
Calia pinched the bridge of her nose. She sheathed her dagger, muttering curses under her breath.
“No, it’s not like that Quinn.” Aradia helped him to his feet before crushing him with a hug.
He pulled back, raking his gaze from the top of Aradia’s curls to her muddy boots.
“I watched her knock you out, put you on the back of her horse, and leave Gail.”
Aradia raised a brow and glanced at Calia. Well, that certainly did seem like a kidnapping.
“I thought you were in danger, so I came to rescue you.”
Calia laughed in the corner as she wrapped her hooded cloak around her shoulders. “You could not rescue anything. I heard your labored breathing before you reached the door.”
Quinn stiffened at the insult.
Aradia winced, thinking of his father who would now be buried deep beneath the earth, his soul reaching Moliath’s beyond. She shook his arm, bringing his simmering attention back to her.
“Mareena?”
Quinn sighed. His shoulders relaxed. “She’s still alive, but they’re not sure if she’ll ever be able to walk again.”
“Why did you leave, Quinn? Your family needs you now more than ever.”
Quinn stared angrily in Calia’s direction, who leaned against the door with a single brow raised in interest.
“I thought you did too,” he said slowly, looking between them.
There it was again. His quiet hopes and desires, portrayed through his actions. She opened her mouth, unsure what to say.
“Well,” Calia interrupted and Aradia hated herself for the relief it provided in not having to answer Quinn. “She won’t be going back to Gail. So, the more the merrier, little Q.”
Quinn stepped forward. Although he was inches taller than Calia, she still seemed to look down her nose at him.
“You’re gonna want to refrain from calling me that,” he growled.
Calia shrugged a careless shoulder. “Whatever you say, I don’t care. What I do care about is if you’ll be joining us. Now that you’ve seen your precious Aradia has no need of you, you can go back to where you belong and to the people who do benefit from your presence.”
Aradia stepped between them. Whoever Calia was within Gail had lost every bit of warmth and comfort. This Calia was a chilling mask of mystery. Her silver tongue cut like a double-edged sword, slicing into Quinn’s confidence and fueling Aradia’s doubts.
“As you’ve already said, the more the merrier. Quinn is invaluable and upstanding. Wherever we go, he can help with obtaining entrances into the high cities.”
“What makes you think we’ll need that?” Calia cocked her head to the side once more, the movement precise and calculated.
Aradia frowned. She hadn’t. It was only a desperate attempt to keep Quinn at her side.
Calia chuckled, reading Aradia’s hesitation. She pushed off the wall. “Fine. Just wash up, we’ll need to head out soon and you stink.” She opened the door, casting a glance between Quinn and herself. “Try not to take longer than needed.”
Aradia’s ears strained attempting to listen for Calia’s inaudible footsteps.
No shadows fell below the crack at the door.
Quinn moved to ensure she had gone, as Aradia moved back into the bathroom.
She ran her hands underneath the warm water.
Her muscles relaxed for the first time and she wished for nothing but to waste away in the tub.
“We can’t trust her.” Quinn’s voice was a whisper outside the door. It was as if he doubted Calia had truly left and instead lurked in the dark corners of the room, listening.
Aradia groaned but stripped out of her clothes. “I know and I don’t. But she’s right. I can’t go back to Gail.”
“But why her? What did she say to convince you?”
She washed down with a cloth, feeling three layers cleaner.
How could she possibly tell Quinn about the unjust retribution of her past slowly eating at her.
How could she describe the unlawful revenge she often imagined upon her mother’s murderer?
Quinn, who was honorable and came from a family who performed sterling work within the city.
He wouldn’t even begin to understand and she had not the strength to defend her curiosity nor the desire to.
In less than a month, her life had flipped upside down. She had almost lost everything — again.
Only this time she had earned something more precious in return. Hope. A small, blooming emotion building with each step. She could smell it mixing with the magic in the air, and it electrified her.
The soft furs and cloth of her new clothes fit like a glove. She stepped out of the bathroom and smiled at Quinn’s raised brow.
“Don’t tell me it was her taste in fashion which enticed you. I’ll admit,” he twirled her around twice. “She did a damn good job.”
It was the first smile they shared since their life had blown up. However, she owed Quinn some truth.
“In all honesty, I did not need convincing. In a perfect world, I would have remained in Gail, buried underneath books, baking autumn pies and …” she paused, unsure how much to say. “But, this isn’t a perfect world. You know who and what I am now. I couldn’t run from my destiny after all.”
Quinn brushed a curl from her face, a sad smile pulled at his lips. “Okay.” He pulled her into a tight embrace. “Just let me be here with you in this imperfect world. Where the only thing which ever feels right is this — us.”
Aradia smiled. She knew it was selfish, but her heart beat stronger within his arms. Her foundation no longer shook with frailty, yet she was too afraid to look into his eyes. At the raw truth behind his presence.
“I’m glad you came for me, Quinn.” She murmured against his chest.
“I always will,” he whispered against her hair.