Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Evadine
Iwoke with a gasping breath. Bolting upright, I choked and spluttered as I took in my surroundings.
The mountain was gone. The storm was gone. I was back in a warm cottage, with a fire crackling in the hearth and the scent of pungent herbs wafting around me. A blanket was clutched in my grip, and soft cushions lay beneath me.
Then I remembered.
I was in Zaro’s house. With—
“Evadine?” Branock called from the couch across from me. His brow was furrowed, his eyes searching for me as he threw the blanket off his body. Within seconds, he was at my side, kneeling and cupping my face in his hands. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I said, wrapping my fingers around his arm. “Is it over? Are we back?”
“Well, isn’t this a lovely sight,” Zaro said from the side. Branock and I both whipped our heads to the kitchen, where our cups of tea rested on the counter. Zaro stood there with Frosty in his hands, the little cat contentedly purring and licking at his arm. “Have a good sleep, you two?”
A low growl sounded deep in Branock’s throat, and he slowly stood with his hands clenched at his sides.
“Branock…” I drew out his name in warning as he stalked closer to the elderly Alchemist. His muscles were clenched, anger radiating from him in waves.
“You did this to us,” Branock said, his tone low and menacing. To his credit, Zaro merely hummed. “Do you know what you put us through?”
“Just a little one of my tests.” Zaro tapped his nose. “You made it out though, didn’t you?”
Branock slammed a hand on the counter, leveling Zaro with a glare. Frosty’s tail went rigid. Then, to my absolute shock, Branock held out his other hand.
I blinked.
“Thank you,” Branock said. “I didn’t know I needed it, but thank you.”
Zaro shook his hand and grinned. “They never do. You’re most welcome, my boy.”
With a chuckle, I got to my feet and crossed to the kitchen to scoop Frosty into my arms. “Maybe a little warning next time?”
“Fates, next time?” Branock grumbled at my back.
My eyes slid to Zaro’s bag of herbs strewn across the counter, catching the word Zareleon stitched into the burlap. “Who’s Zareleon?” I asked.
“Oh, that’s me. Zaro for short.” The Alchemist tipped his head in my direction.
“Hmm. Zareleon. I kind of like it,” I said, shooting Branock a wink.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head, but his lips turned up slightly. When he reached for me, I threaded my fingers through his. “I’ll give you a pass just this once, Zaro,” he said. “But any more illicit use of potions and I’ll have to bring you in.”
Zaro lifted his hands in the air. “Of course, of course. Wouldn’t dream of it.”
I shared a knowing look with Branock, and Zaro ushered us out the door, offering us several bags of tea and tonics that we promptly refused.
When the door shut behind us, we both took a deep breath.
I’d never been so happy to see the real world.
Frosty nudged at my chest with her nose as horse hooves and carriages clattered on the roads ahead of us, the scents and sounds of the market still in full swing.
It was as though we’d never left. As if no time had passed at all.
But I knew the truth.
Everything had changed.
“Where to now, Your Highness?” I asked, looking up at Branock with a smile.
“With you?” He raised my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “Anywhere.”
See where the future takes Branock and Evadine in In the Wake of the Wicked, book 1 of the Veridian Empire series.