Chapter 27 Eryx #2
I glanced at Myrine, who looked back at me with suspicion as we moved back through the tunnel, towards Oleander Cottage.
Rhiannon didn’t want Myrine to know what bad shape she was actually in.
Now I understood what Cassandra had meant about Rhiannon’s people wanting too much.
It was the kind of understanding that didn’t come in clearly articulated thoughts, but a marrow-deep instinct.
Rhiannon’s mother, Admiral Myrine, the island itself, they expected the Maere to act as gods in their stead. Fifteen women against this entire miserable world, while the island retreated behind the mists.
The Maere were incredible. There was no doubt about that in my mind. But they were still just people, immortal and powerful as they were. The expectations the island had for them weren’t just unfair, they were unrealistic.
Rhiannon walked ahead of us, and to someone who didn’t know her well, she appeared fine. But I saw the exhaustion she was hiding in every careful move. Did Myrine? How well did she actually know Rhiannon?
The Admiral stumbled. I grabbed her by the elbow. She gritted her teeth, shaking her head. “Thank you, young man. I am not used to being incapacitated.”
I nodded, pulling her a bit closer to me so she could rest her weight against me, if needed. “She’s been through too much,” I said in a low voice. “You and her mother put her through more than a person should ever have to deal with.”
The Admiral scoffed. “The girl is one of us. There is no ‘too much’ for our people.”
I tightened my grip on her elbow. “You’ve barely lived in this world. You certainly haven’t spent centuries navigating its complexity the way she has. The way I have. You know nothing about what you put her through.”
Myrine glared at me, her pale eyes cold as steel.
It was clear that she thought to argue with me, but I shook my head, stopping in my tracks, keeping the Admiral at my side.
“I respect you, Admiral. But don’t push me on this.
I’ll protect her from anyone that tries to hurt her, or make things harder for her. Do you understand?”
Slowly, the Admiral nodded, a glimmer of something in her eyes that I didn’t recognize. “You are a warrior, then? Like her.”
“Worse,” I replied. “I’m her underboss now. The guy who’d rip out the entrails of anyone who so much as hurts her feelings. You feel me?”
The Admiral laughed, a loud and hearty sound that caused Rhiannon to pause, glancing back at us, her brow furrowed. Myrine shook with mirth. “So, a warrior then, as I said. Like her.”
Rhiannon’s eyes narrowed. “What are the two of you talking about?”
Myrine grinned at her, white teeth flashing in the murky depths of the tunnel. “Your lover’s honor,” she shot back. “He’s got as much as you.” She glanced up at me. “Maybe more.”
Rhiannon nodded. “You have the right of him, then. Move a little faster. I know you’ve got it in you.”
The Admiral laughed again. “Well, I deserve that.”
We drew closer to Rhiannon, who’d slowed for us. She nodded, pursing her lips. “Indeed.”
The Admiral winced, clutching her side. The wound she’d taken wasn’t seeping blood anymore, but it obviously still hurt. She shook her head, swallowing hard before letting out a breath. “Don’t get stabbed with an adamantine blade, children.”
“Where did they get it?” Rhiannon asked as we came to the crossroads again. “How did they get it? I thought we’d destroyed the last of the deposits in the war.”
The Admiral shook her head again. “I don’t know, child. The trouble is that they have it.”
Rhiannon stared off into the dark tunnel back through the Ossuary. The spirits were quiet now. Perhaps their lament was only for those going in the other direction. “Is there a deposit of it somewhere we missed?”
The Admiral shrugged, leaning against me once more. “Truly, Your Highness, I have no idea. If I’d thought it was possible, I’d have taken more precautions. You need to make peace with the fact that Blaire got the drop on us.”
So, Blaire had come to the island himself? “How did he do that?” I asked. “Get to the island, I mean? How did he figure out how to get there?”
The Admiral shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine, child.”
I was about to ask another question, but Rhiannon growled, ducking under one of the Admiral’s arms. “You need to move faster so we can figure it out.” I glanced at her, wondering just how she thought she was going to do that, but I didn’t have to wonder for long.
“The Maereling you wanted to take from us is a genius, Myrine. She’ll figure this all out. ”
The Admiral coughed. “You’d trust this to a child?”
Rhiannon’s laugh was dry. “You’ve always put your trust in the young, Myrine. Don’t stop now.”
I glanced at her over the Admiral’s slumped shoulders, looking at her ‘til she looked back at me. I wanted to tell her I loved her, right then and there. But it probably wasn’t the moment. Not with Myrine between us. I wondered if she knew. If she could read it in my eyes.
The Admiral coughed, and this time she spit up blood. “I don’t think I’m going to make it up those stairs on my own,” she said as her eyes rolled back in her head. Rhiannon caught her before she could fall, scooping the Admiral easily into her arms.
“No,” I said, holding out my arms. “She’s out. You let me do it.”
For a moment, I thought she’d resist or argue. But then she sighed, pushing the Admiral’s body into my waiting arms. “Thank you, Eryx.” She looked up at me, exhausted tears in her eyes. “I love you.”
I nearly dropped the Admiral, I was so surprised. Had Rhiannon Bronte just said she loved me?