Chapter 8 #2
Shrinking in on myself, just a little, I took a moment to meet her eyes. “Like the seal, I was found like this. We aren’t sure who did it or why I was left there, but the most likely story is because of what I am.”
Her eyes darkened. “Is that so?”
“As far as I’ve been told. Bryn—my father, that is—found me as a newborn.
He lived outside of the village but not far from Mila.
Between the two of them, they got together what would be needed to take care of a baby.
” Swallowing, I closed my eyes, abruptly cutting off the rambling boiling over as I noticed.
I’d never had anyone to talk to about it before.
Everyone else in my life had already heard the story a dozen times over before I could even walk.
Whispered around tables, muttered by strangers as my small hand was wrapped in a much larger hand’s warmth while we strolled down the market lane.
Even any visiting witches were informed by Mila so they would not make an unintended comment about me.
I didn’t know if Mila or Bryn knew that I was aware, but I was.
Sometimes I hated it, other times I appreciated it.
But regardless of how I’d felt about it before, I was now in strange new territory in which I had to be the one to explain.
Cool fingers wrapped around the fist in my lap, and my eyes popped open.
“I’m sorry, Wren. For all you went through.
But I promise I’m here for you now. We’re here for you.
And I know it takes time to build trust, so take your time.
I want you to know you have someone to talk to, no matter what.
” Schula draped her arms around me in a loose hug that I could have brushed off if I didn’t like it.
“We will find you a place to call home.”
Words caught in my throat. I could feel the tears trying to rise, but I pushed them down. Schula stroked the back of my head, something Bryn would do when I was a small girl. She didn’t pull away again until my breathing steadied.
“Now, you’re probably hungry. You can come downstairs and be subjected to the males, or I can bring you a plate and you can take a nap,” Schula offered, standing and stretching.
“I think I would like to eat from the food I brought, just one more time.” I looked at the pile on the desk. “Can we add what I have here to the stores for this outpost? I want to contribute, and I need to let it go.”
“Of course.” She smiled and helped me pick out a meal. Once I had settled on smoked ham, the last apple, and a small round of soft goat cheese, Schula took what was left downstairs. The room was big and empty without her.
I ate my lunch, stroked Puko’s feathers, and slept.
To their credit, Thain and Eberon welcomed Puko and didn’t ask any questions about what had happened in the bath.
Schula piled strips of venison and spicy herbed potatoes on the table for dinner.
She didn’t say anything while the others made introductions, but she did give the old raven a sliver of uncooked meat.
I took him to the door and let him fly off to find food and do whatever bird business he might have.
“The next patrol will be here tomorrow,” Thain said, sitting down at the table. “Tonight we pack, and in the morning Eberon can take Wren to set up camp.”
“Schula and Thain will meet us tomorrow once they hand over the patrol.” Eberon spooned potatoes on my plate. “We don’t need to go at a hard pace, and I can show you a first glimpse of the Wyldes.”
“Am I the cause of you splitting up for the day?” I asked, putting down my fork. “I don’t want to cause any changes for anyone.”
Schula and Thain exchanged a look, then she folded her hands under her chin.
“We thought you’d rather keep your entrance low-key.
The next patrol is rather boisterous and would almost certainly send the latest gossip back home, possibly before we even reach Thanantholl.
This way, you can move in peace as you learn a little bit more about the lands as we travel through them. ”
It felt as though all warmth drained from my face. “Yes, that. That one, please.”
Eberon chuckled, spooning his own potatoes while Schula managed to hide a smile behind her next bite.
“How early do we leave?” I asked, trying a potato, my eyes popping wide at the new flavors.
“Right after you and I stretch just a little bit.” Schula grinned. “Unless you no longer want to, in which case I understand.”
“Stretching is code for torture,” I muttered, and Eberon snorted into his tea. Clearing my throat, I said, “I would be delighted.”
“Perfect.” Schula laughed. “Might as well get it in before we arrive in Thanantholl. There will be excitement over your arrival, and the crown will have a big fuss that will interrupt our routine, I’m sure.
” More eyes would be on me, powerful eyes, but if that was what I had to endure to enter the Wyldes, so be it.
“I’ll meet your king, and whatever others I must.”
Thain inclined his head. “We want nothing more than to welcome you home. We all lost someone in that plague, and it will do everyone good to see someone who survived it.”
One could only hope that would be true, because jealousy was an ugly thing, and surely the fae weren’t completely immune to it.
I wondered who Thain had lost to the plague but kept my questions to myself.
The rest of the evening was spent avoiding the topic of the sickness and readying for tomorrow’s journey.