14. Liam
Liam
It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Mare and I were not related by blood. The two of us often forgot.
Seeing Mare wearing Tirnanog's armor reminded me that we had different mothers.
No matter how much I wished I could forget mine.
My adopted sister was performing her usual theatrics—standing tall, wearing insincere smiles and bravado while responding to every comment with sarcasm.
She was terrified inside.
Most people didn't notice how she hesitated before speaking, how she winced after making a snide comment. Choosing her words, wondering if she'd misspoken.
She'd grown adept at hiding it.
I held her elk's reins, watching her and Father speaking inside the city gates. Saying their goodbyes.
Clutching the leather straps, I turned to Paragon Tiernan.
Speaking to the man was intimidating. Half-breeds like me were regarded as scum in most places. To Solhearts, we were more like personal insults—stains on their expensive silk coats.
Stains that should be eradicated, not merely reminded of their place.
Swallowing my fear, I addressed the vaunted 'hero.' "Listen—taking Mare to a battlefield is only going to put you in danger. Let me come with you. I can watch her for you."
Paragon Tiernan fixed his molten gold eyes on me. It took everything I had not to flinch.
"No," he said firmly. "I don't involve civilians in my affairs."
"I'm not a civilian. I'm her brother."
The Paragon chucked. "Forgive the assumption, but you don't look like a soldier."
"Neither is Mare."
"She is now." His voice darkened. "Help her by staying safe, so she has something to return to."
The finality in his voice told me not to press the matter. Turning away, I watched Father wrap Mare in a hug so tight her eyes bulged from her head.
We hadn't spoken a word about what happened in Galasvar, of the dragon that had nuzzled Mare, like a dog reunited with its long-lost master.
If it happened again . . . If this Solheart saw . . .
My sister would die a most painful death. Inquisitors would not be content to execute her.
They would light a pyre on the largest stage in their capital of Forlaith.
Father released Mare, and she extended her hand, asking for the reins. I placed them in her palm and leaned in to whisper. "Try not to die, sister."
"You always say the nicest things, Liam." She rolled her eyes, planting a foot in the stirrups to mount.
Backing away, I joined my father by the gates and watched a Solheart ride away with my sister. Mare glanced back, raising a hand in farewell. Father barely suppressed a sniffle as he waved back.
The two steeds disappeared into a sea of trees, following a wet, dirt road.
"You didn't leave with the king," I said, turning to Father.
"No." He wiped his nose. "No, I'm to head to the capital."
The capital of Muirashi, I presumed.
"You shouldn't come with me," he said quietly.
Muirashi was not tolerant of my kind. I nodded. "You could have warned me. I would have left with the king."
"No, you wouldn't have." Father touched my shoulder. "I should pack."
I leaned on the fence, watching him trudge through the snowy paths back to our hostel. He rounded a bend and vanished from view. A shadow took his place, darting out from a doorway and flitting across the snow toward me.
Reaching into my cloak, I palmed my dagger, but something in the stride was familiar.
A young, lean man stopped beside me and threw his hood off. Steel curls spilled loose. Brilliant emerald eyes shone from his freckled face.
"Prince Ferris," I said, releasing my dagger. "Am I mistaken, or should you be about an hour's ride east of here?"
"To do what, sit at home?" He stood on his tiptoes, staring into the forest. "Did Reese say you couldn't come? He told me the same."
I narrowed my eyes. "Why do you want to follow a Paragon into certain death?"
"Because . . . " Ferris' eyes darted around. "There's something they don't know—something that'll get them killed."
"And you know it?"
His eyes landed on mine. Chaos swam in those emerald eyes, and I found myself wondering if the delinquent prince knew a whole lot more than everyone believed.
Pushing off the fence post, I made a decision. "I'm going to follow them. If you're on a first-name basis with the Paragon, you could smooth things over when we inevitably get caught."
He grinned. "I'll get my elk." Ferris took two steps away and whirled around. "Have you seen a female Shatterblade around, by the way?"
I snorted. "Is that a joke?" Seeing the grim expression the prince wore, I answered, "There was a woman in blue robes the night we returned—I haven't seen her since."
"Oh." A tick of worry tugged at his mouth before he continued on his way.
Biting my thumbnail, I turned back toward the forest, imagining the great wall of blackness that rose behind the walls. The shadows from which Galasvar's death had emerged.
Memories of those shadows swirled in my head. Of a black sea, and dark clouds. No moons or stars lit the sky. The scales of a dragon glinted from an unseen light.
Why did I remember the Ceorthan Shadowlands?
The southern walls were the last place I wanted to return to, but Mare . . .
Mare was all I had, really. And I would not let her die.