Chapter 52
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
EVONY
I’ve no idea if you can read this or if you’ll find it. But please… We need your help.
– Correspondence from Evony to Gork, left in an abandoned cave in the southern Lumerians.
Evony – Aedrialis, Sultira
Clouds rolled in above the full canopy overhead, and the growl of distant thunder rumbled through the trees and against my sternum. I picked my way through the overgrown trail as a bead of sweat drew a ticklish line down the center of my chest.
It had to be around here somewhere. Lyvia had said to follow the river to the third bridge, and the trail would wind around to a small, backwater pond, where apparently the water was clean enough to swim in.
She’d told me about it before she left for Kayj last year.
Gods, had it really been almost a year since she’d been gone?
It was where Aeriden had taught her to swim, and one of the few locations in Aedrialis that might feel more like Rivaner. More like home.
My heart clenched at the thought. Where was home? It wasn’t here, but after everything, I wasn’t sure I could ever return to the forest outside of Rivaner.
I also wasn’t sure why it’d taken ten months and a dead priest to finally get me motivated enough to find Lyvia’s pond. Perhaps it had something to do with not knowing her fate. I’d been so relieved to learn she, Tiberius, and Lord Astraeus had returned… but I wish she would return here.
A shiver racked up my spine despite the unseasonal heat of Sultiran autumn.
The Death Scholars said Father Marcus had finally succumbed to the sickness in his mind, that he’d died of natural causes, but for some strange reason, the image of his face stretched in that silent scream was burned into my mind.
Something evil was at work, and I felt vulnerable.
Marian had closed herself off, disappearing into her work with the Life Scholars, unwilling or unable to speak about her brother-in-law in the weeks since. Her distance left me lonelier than I had been before.
And it had been weeks since I’d seen Vander, not since overhearing his conversation with Ronan at the training pit.
While the high steward’s words might have irritated me in the moment, I’d felt his concern for me was genuine, even if it pissed me off.
Vander was only a few years my senior, and a little flirting never killed anyone.
Besides, my birthday, quite possibly the most depressing one yet, had come and gone. And I… I missed Vander.
My chest constricted. Why hadn’t he come to find me? Had I imagined his flirting? Had he really only been interested in the history of Mount Telum and becoming a better archer?
Then again, his comments to Ronan left me jittery. Had he meant to threaten Ronan? I was probably reading into it. I couldn’t see their faces, after all. I shoved the memory from my mind, along with the uncomfortable twisting that arrived any time it surfaced.
The trail finally yawned open, and I sighed. The calm pond lapped little waves up the stony shore. Found it.
A dark line of trees bordered the small backwater, and a blanket of tiny, pebbled stones stretched across the narrow shore.
Another shadowed trail opened at the other end of the pond, but the entire space was empty.
I smiled, a rare contentedness spreading in me.
Aedrialis was loud. Even at night, men howled near taverns, and women whistled outside brothels. The noise never stopped.
I shucked my boots to the side, slipping my socks off and taking a careful step onto the smooth rocks. My hand slid into my pocket where my lucky arrowhead sat. I ran a thumb over the dull, jagged edges, its surface a bit softer than the shiny rocks I stood upon.
I tugged my tunic over my shoulders and shimmied out of my leathers, kicking the sticky pants onto a small boulder.
The air felt glorious on my legs and bare torso, my nipples peaking beneath the tight bandeau strap holding my small breasts in place.
My thumbs reached the band of my thin undershorts, and I paused.
Best keep these on.
Mum used to call it skinny dipping. I let myself smirk.
Gray clouds had moved in overhead. Our moons’ light strained to creep through the thick gathering of raindrops that formed. It did little to illuminate the small pond below, casting a dull gray, almost silvery reflection on the water.
I carefully waded in. The stones were slippery and sharp, and the brisk water left chill bumps along my thighs. I sucked in the muggy night air before pinching my eyes shut and diving.
The water stripped my skin free of the day’s grime and sweat as I swam.
My arms and legs pumped in smooth, practiced movements until my lungs burned.
Worries drifted away, and I pushed through three more strokes until my body demanded oxygen, and my face finally breached the surface at the center of the pond.
Thunder rumbled overhead, and I took a deep breath, tipping my head back and stilling my body as it floated to the surface.
My braids drifted up as water lapped over my ears, the quiet submersion muffling the sky’s growl.
I floated for several minutes, waving my hands in slow movements through the water as if I were petting a hound.
A single plop of rain kissed my forehead, and I blinked my eyes open.
My brows furrowed as my private dip neared its end.
I lifted my head and rotated my legs as I came upright to tread water.
I scanned the stony shoreline, and my heart skipped into my throat as I spied a tall, dark figure standing at the opposite shore.
My hands flew to my thin bandeau, despite knowing the man couldn’t see me from where he stood. He raised an arm, and his hand flicked in a soft wave. My brows narrowed as I strained to make out his face.
I swam a couple strokes closer, and my stomach leaped as I made out Vander’s soft features.
His cropped light hair was dull against the clouds, but his gray eyes were bright.
Why was I surprised he was here? He and Lyvia probably swam here as children.
His lips stretched into a wide grin as I dared a few more strokes.
Vander’s hands slipped to his waist, and his head cocked to the side as he watched me.
“Bit late for a dip,” he called, taking a step toward the water.
“I couldn’t resist,” I said, my breath becoming labored as I continued to tread water. “Not with this unseasonable heat. Lyvia told me where to find it.”
He dipped his head before giving a slow nod.
“Did you come here often with her?” I asked, daring to swim a bit closer.
Vander’s gaze cut to the bandeau strip across my chest. Something flickered in his eyes before he brought them up to my own. Warmth swarmed in my core despite the chill water.
“Often,” he answered. His eyes slid along my bare arms before darting to where my legs would be.
“There’s plenty of room,” I squeaked, nearly choking on my own audacity.
I bit the top of my lower lip, a sliver of appreciation rising for my bravery. A thick raindrop plopped against the top of my head. A deep rumble formed from above, and Vander’s eyes cut to the sky. I held my breath as I waited for him to tell me we should get to shelter.
“Where did you put your things?” he asked.
My heart bolted as he brought his hand to the top button of his shirt.
Oh my gods, he is going to join me. He is going to take his shirt off and swim with me. Half-naked.
I jerked my head to the opposite end of the pond, where my bundle of clothes sat near the shadowed trail.
He followed my gaze, his eyes glinting against the darkness gathering in the sky.
They landed on my things, and his hand popped a button.
Nerves quivered in my stomach as he strode slowly along the stony shore.
I floated to my side and moved into a resting stroke as I swam parallel to him to the opposite end of the small pond.
“You aren’t too tired, are you?” he asked as he reached my pack.
My brows furrowed, and I shook my head, despite my muscles beginning to slow. He popped a few more buttons, and I paused. My eyes slid down the rippled muscles lining his abdomen.
I liked his muscles.
He shrugged out of his shirt and dragged his gaze from where I swam to the pile of clothes I’d left. He held out his shirt and dropped it among my things. His eyes held mine, and something dark flickered in their depths as he stared at me before a flash of silver ignited in his irises.
I froze.
A primal sense of survival rushed through my veins, the type only the hunted understood. I stopped moving my arms and legs, and my entire body floated before he knelt and roughly rifled through my belongings. My heart raced too quickly, my muscles tiring as I forced myself to tread water again.
Vander’s broad shoulders tightened, and he threw my pants to the side before tipping each of my boots upside down.
He chucked them to the ground, and they skidded across the small stones.
My breathing became labored as I recognized the wrath building in his form, something I’d seen often enough training with the Rising soldiers.
I swam backward, not sure why, but knowing with absolute certainty I needed to put space between us.
He slowly stood, his hands clenching as he turned to face me.
Silver waves danced in his eyes as his face contorted in a quiet rage.
A distant, desperate question formed in the back of my mind as panic began to take root.
Who is he?
The answer came fast and urgent, like a slap in the face.
Not Vander.
“Where is it, Evony?” he hissed, his voice like the sharp slap of a dagger against a whetting stone.
I kept my eyes on him, not daring to look at the opposite end of the pond where the second trailhead opened up… my only escape.
“Where is what?” I choked out. Raindrops splashed from above and below as they hit the water around me.
The man’s brows drew together.
“You never stray far from it,” he continued, inching closer to the water line.
I slowly put more distance between myself and the shore, desperately needing to draw him in. If he stayed on land, he’d simply run to the opposite shore, certainly faster than I could swim.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, forcing the exhaustion from my voice.
His lips tilted up, and he cocked his head to the side. “You seem tired, Evony,” he said calmly, taking a slow step into the water. His eyes darted to the snug wrap around my chest once more.
Fuck.
His eyes lingered on the space between my breasts, where my lucky arrowhead sat inside my money pouch.
I had no idea why he wanted this, but I had the sense he meant to take it from me whether I wished it or not…
And for some reason, I knew I couldn’t let him take this.
The feel of the arrowhead always granted me a sense of reassurance, of safety.
Something I was desperate for in this moment.
“You’re slowing down,” he called, as I reached the center of the pond. “It looks like you need help, Evony. Don’t worry. I’m coming.”
My stomach dropped as fear sank its claws into me. The water reached his waist as he cautiously approached, holding his hands in front of him as if soothing a spooked animal.
The arrowhead between my breast pulsed as he approached, and I blinked. An overwhelming sensation surged into me, and the arrowhead commanded me to flee. The man with the silver eyes paused as the sensation hit, and his teeth curled over his lips before he dove.
My pulse banged against my neck, and a panicked desperation forced my limbs to move. I surged into a forward stroke, my arms pulling frantically against the water as I kicked to the opposite end of the pond.
Water splashed from behind, where his head breached the water, the sound too close.
Terror stabbed into me, sending a wave of energy, and I cut through the pond as fast as I could.
My lungs burned as I forced my face in the water, not risking the break my body demanded.
Finally, my feet slipped across the small stones lining the bottom of the lake.
Blood gushed from my knee as it crashed against a jagged rock, and I shoved myself up, stumbling down the rocky shoreline. Rain pelted my face. Wind whipped through the small clearing as I sprinted for the darkened trail opening ahead.
Water splashed from behind, and I urged my legs to move faster as the hard stones cut against my feet. Shadows loomed at the trailhead, the welcoming darkness beckoning me to its shelter.
A body slammed into me from behind, and my face smacked against the small stones. A flood of hot liquid poured from my nose, and hard hands gripped my shoulders before flipping me to my back.
Panic surged from the depths of my being as wraithlike memories from last year raced forward. A group of soldiers closing in on me… The sun disappearing against the rising cliffs of Skyscape Pass… Hands appearing on my shoulders… reaching for my clothes…
My life-threatening reality punched me in the gut, pulling me back to the pond.
The man’s silver eyes burned against my face, and his hands reached for the thin band covering my breasts.
His nails raked down my neck and chest. I screamed as I shot my hands to his face, scratching my fingernails against his cheek as my knee met the space between his legs.
His hand slapped over my mouth, and I twisted, snapping my teeth over his finger and biting as hard as I could.
Blood gushed in my mouth as something cracked between my teeth. He ripped his hand away with a howl. I shoved my thumb into the side of his silver eye, and he reared back enough for me to land my heel in his gut and wiggle out of his grasp.
I tripped as I got to my feet, and his hand wrapped around my ankle. A jagged stick leading from the nearing trail scraped against my side as I fell. My hand wrapped around the base, and I swung with all my might. The long, ragged bark popped off the side as it smashed into his face.
His head whipped to the side, blood spewing from his mouth. I struggled to my feet and widened my base as I brought the stick back once more, bracing myself, before I slammed it over the top of his head and into the ground.
Vander’s body slumped, and I twisted toward the darkness of the trail before sprinting into its shadows.