Chapter Thirty-three #2
But her words did nothing to placate them, and she could hardly blame them, given how long it had taken her to come around to the idea of the shadow-touched folk. Torj and the two Guardians stared as the darkness dissipated and Dratos the Dawnless rounded the corner.
Thea felt rather than heard Wren’s intake of breath beside her, but her sister remained calm.
A glance across at the two Thezmarrian academics assured Thea that neither of the older women were panicking either.
Thea remembered Wilder telling her that Farissa had tried to help Talemir Starling in his hour of need, so she knew about the shadow-touched, and clearly, so did Audra.
With a smirk on his face and his black-and-red wings tucked behind his back, Dratos strode into the room. ‘You know I like to make an entrance, Hawthorne,’ he drawled, his bottle-green eyes sparkling.
‘What the fuck…’ Cal breathed, brandishing his sword.
‘It’s okay, Cal,’ Thea soothed, worried he might do something stupid. ‘It’ll make sense in a minute.’
Dratos seemed to be revelling in the attention as he made a point of inspecting which chair might best accommodate his membranous wings. The Bear Slayer and the two Guardians stared in disbelief as the shadow-touched ranger had the gall to look up at them.
‘What?’ Dratos demanded, before his eyes widened in recognition as he focused on Cal. ‘You’re the bastard who shot me with a flaming arrow.’
Wilder’s hand flexed around hers and Thea knew that although he wouldn’t admit it, he was nervous about the two worlds colliding.
Cal’s face went bright pink and he looked to Thea for guidance. But Dratos gave a dismissive wave.
‘Water under the bridge, Guardian. The ladies love the scar.’
Torj, Cal and Kipp exchanged baffled looks, but didn’t sheathe their weapons.
It was so bizarre that Thea almost laughed, but the moment was interrupted by another newcomer, or several. Anya strode in, scythe at her belt, head freshly shaven, scarred gaze fixing immediately on the trio on the far side of the room – and then her attention slid to Wren.
Wren tensed, spearing Anya with a look of utter contempt.
Thea should have tried to warn her in advance somehow.
The last time the pair had met… it had been less than friendly.
Anya had taken Wren hostage. Thea recalled Wren’s screams like it was yesterday.
The three sisters had been reunited in chaos, wrapped in shadow and storms, each at war with their own darkness.
‘Elwren,’ Anya greeted her, her voice soft and tentative for once. ‘I —’
But Wren’s head snapped to Thea. ‘You’re with her?’ she hissed. The rage laced through her words was palpable.
Thea didn’t miss how Anya’s face fell before her mask of cool detachment slid back into place.
Thea rested a hand on Wren’s arm. ‘It’s complicated…’
‘So uncomplicate it, Thee.’
Suppressing the urge to squirm in her seat from the discomfort of it all, Thea glanced at Wilder, who seemed to be doing his best to give them some semblance of privacy.
‘I felt the same as you,’ she told her sister. ‘But there’s a reason —’
Wren scoffed. ‘A reason she bound me in shadow and lured you out into the darkness?’
‘Yes,’ Thea insisted.
Still standing a few feet away, Anya watched their exchange, her jaw set in a hard line. Wren’s expression was murderous as she surveyed their older sister, but Thea drew her attention away.
‘I want you to listen…’
Wren gave a derisive snort. ‘To her?’
‘To everyone here today,’ Thea said gently. ‘Then I want you to speak to Anya in private. To hear her out. As I did.’
She gave Anya a fleeting glance, trying to convey that it would take time, that her existence and history was hard to process for anyone, let alone the sister she’d held hostage.
Wren’s eyes narrowed. ‘If you think I’m going anywhere alone with that monster —’
‘Please, Wren. It’s not like you to make a judgement without all the information.’
Guilt bloomed in Thea’s gut as the words left her mouth.
Wasn’t that exactly what she’d done with Wilder?
Her face flushed and she refocused on Wren.
She could practically hear her sister’s teeth grinding, but thankfully, Wren sat back with a stiff nod, folding her arms over her chest, her gaze flitting back to the door.
Thea sighed, the tension tight in her shoulders.
Adrienne and Gus entered next. Adrienne gave Thea and Wilder a wave of acknowledgement.
‘Had your horses taken from Aveum and stabled next door,’ she said by way of greeting.
‘Thank you.’ Thea smiled at the crease between Wilder’s brows. She imagined he didn’t much like the idea of someone else riding Biscuit, but he said nothing.
Nor did Gus as he moved past them into the room, his lumpy, oversized knitted jumper making him look younger than his nineteen years. Wilder made a noise of disapproval, clearly not liking that a youngster was to sit in on their war council.
Dratos’ gaze cut to his. ‘We had words about it,’ the ranger said, jutting his chin towards his younger cousin, making it clear he didn’t want Gus there.
‘And the majority won,’ Adrienne said firmly, throwing an arm around Gus and guiding him to a chair, ensuring there was adequate distance between the two family members.
Torj and Cal looked particularly unsettled as several shadows still danced around the room. But they looked to Wilder, who subtly raised his hand from the table. Wait , he signalled.
Thea had to stop herself from shaking her head in disbelief.
It was more than surreal to see the shadow-touched alliance out in a public space like this, let alone sitting opposite Thezmarrians.
It had been only a week or so since she’d been hunting Wilder through the hinterlands with vengeance in her heart.
Her loyalty to the rulers of the midrealms had been unflinching, unquestioning.
And yet now here she sat. The two worlds were colliding with a force that left her momentarily stunned.
The strain between them all had her on edge.
She was sure a fight would break out at any moment —
Wilder squeezed her thigh under the table, as though sensing the shift in her.
However, Thea wasn’t the only one who was having the realisation. The various groups from all over the realms stared each other down, almost a challenge as to who would break first.
‘Someone better explain who called this meeting,’ Torj said, eyeing Dratos suspiciously.
‘Don’t look at me, Bear Slayer,’ Dratos replied. ‘I can think of a dozen things I’d rather be doing —’
‘Is the fate of the realms so low on your list of priorities?’ Adrienne snapped.
‘In case you haven’t noticed, the realms haven’t exactly been fair to —’
‘ Fair? ’ Anya cut in. ‘You want to talk about fairness ?’
The scrape of a chair cleaved through the tempest brewing between them, and Audra, the librarian of Thezmarr, stood at the head of the table.
‘I called this meeting,’ she declared, peering over her spectacles to pin each of them with a discerning gaze. But when her attention landed on Anya, her expression softened. ‘For whatever it’s worth… I’m sorry for all you endured so young.’
Thea started with the realisation that Audra had known Anya as a child.
‘Audra told me to stay with you and Wren. But I was never very good at listening.’
‘I tried to save you from that fate,’ Audra said now. ‘But what was done cannot be undone. I thank you for answering my summons now, despite everything.’
Anya simply dipped her head.
Audra went on. ‘Whether you believe in such things or not, the prophecy binds us together. We are in the end of days… and a dawn of fire and blood is upon us at last. For too long, those who oppose the same evil have fought against one another instead of the enemy. For too long we have been divided and weak, played against each other like pawns on a chessboard.’ Her hands came to rest on the hilts of her daggers.
‘It’s time we were allies. It’s time we faced the war ahead together . ’
Silence fell as the different factions glanced around the room, Audra’s words washing over them all.
It was Cal who eventually said, with incredible dryness, ‘We’re going to need more drinks.’
Kipp clapped him on the back. ‘Best idea you’ve had yet.’