Chapter 31
Chapter
Thirty-One
TATE
The refectory is alive with chatter and the clinking of cutlery and tableware. Oregano, rosemary, and the scent of roasted meat hang in the air. Our flight is spread out around the table, and I’m content. And the news Janus gave me this morning has nothing to do with it.
Ever since the night of the assassination attempt, the warmth in my chest hasn’t lessened. I smile.
“Livia Vaccari is dead,” Jared says, setting down a close to overflowing plate before squeezing in next to me. I slide over to make room for him.
“I know,” I answer. After Silence’s statement, I looked into the supposed robbery. Not that I buy any of it. Who chooses an armed skyrider when there are so many easier targets out there? And why take all her weapons?
Jared’s gaze jumps to me. “I would have helped hide the body, you know.”
I snort and shake my head at him. “Your impression of me is truly flattering.”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it,” he retorts, and I shrug. What should I say? I have.
“I bet she had a lot of enemies,” he adds after a brief pause. It’s probably true, but I can’t shake the suspicion that she wasn’t the target.
“Or someone mistook her for someone else.” I voice my worries.
Jared’s eyes widen. “You think…”
“You don’t? After the men in that alley, Foley’s attempt at the obstacle course, and those bastards who tried to cut me down, you think it’s a coincidence that a blond female skyrider turns up dead?”
“When you say it like that … not really.”
I give him a grim nod and look over at Ara and her friends. She’s magnificent … the way she jumped in to save my ass … she can hold her own. But her words, her pleas, still haunt me.
She looks up, giving me a small smile tinged with sadness. Why is she so adamant about pushing me away?
The gods know I'm done fighting my feelings. Now, I only have to convince her to do the same.
Jared taps my chin, drawing my attention back to him.
“Just checking if you are drooling already.” He smirks and bursts out laughing when I glare at him. “You should talk to her.”
“I’m working on it,” I grumble, then decide to share the news I just got from Foley.
“The competing flight came back one man short.”
That catches his attention. “You mean…”
I nod.
“We are still in the flight games!” Jared shouts loud enough for the entire room to go quiet.
Smiles spread over the faces around me. Ilario is the first to whoop, and then there is whistling and cheering, but nothing compares to Ara’s dazzling smile. Her eyes are on me, and the warmth filling my chest grows. Maybe, just maybe, we still have a chance.
It’s only hours later that I get proof that something changed between us. Ara bursts into the common room, her eyes finding mine, and I’m up before she reaches me.
“I need your help, please.” Her eyes are big and pleading, and no matter what she’ll ask, I already know the answer. Her coming to me for help smooths something inside me, like a shard slipping back into place.
“Okay.” I follow her out the door.
“It’s Sloan,” she whispers. “She’s in trouble.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. A messenger boy came for me. Sloan needs a healer, and it has to be someone I trust.” Her words fill me with warmth.
“Who sent him?”
“I don’t know. It wasn’t my aunt or uncle. They’re away on business,” she says. And I frown.
“It could be a trap.”
“I know. But I won’t stay here and wonder all night if she might be hurt. I need to see her.”
She hurries over to the coop, her hands shaky while she drags down Solaris’s harness.
“We’ll take Daeva. She is less obvious and more comfortable in the dark.” Ara bites her lip as she nods. I want to hold her, only I’m not sure she would let me.
I harness Daeva quickly and efficiently, and Ara mounts before I slide in behind her. Her back rests against my front, and I wrap my arms around her. The moment she settles into me, another shard finds its place.
“Where are you meeting her?”
“At Sloan’s house.”
We are silent during the flight, and only part of it is Ara’s worry. The rest is filled with memories, unspoken words, and a mix of caution and regret.
We have barely set down when the patio doors fly open and out strides… Silence.
“You.” The word tumbles from Ara’s and my lips, and my insides turn to ice.
How does Ara know him? She gives me a curious look, as if she’s wondering the same. We’ll definitely discuss this later.
“Hurry,” Silence’s voice sounds anguished, so we quicken our steps. I’m alert, my hand resting on the hilt of my sword when we enter the house. But I’m not prepared for the sight that greets us.
I’ve only seen Sloan once—and I was focused on Ara at the time—but when I say I wouldn’t have recognized her, it’s not due to lack of attention.
No, her face is a beaten, swollen mess, her usually light hair streaked with blood and matted, clumps missing.
Ara makes a sound of distress and hurries to her side, taking her in without daring to touch, her hands hovering over the girl who is like a sister to her. She whirls around, her eyes promising murder.
“If you did this, you’re dead,” Ara threatens Silence, and I tense. Either she is not aware of who he is, or she doesn’t care. With her, it could be both.
“And if I did, I would let you,” he bites out, surprising me.
“I would never hurt her.” He shakes his head, glaring at Ara’s suggestion, but his entire demeanor changes as soon as his eyes land on Sloan.
And I believe him. The soft brush of his trembling finger pushing Sloan’s hair back speaks even louder than the torment in his eyes. “And still it’s my fault.”
“Who did this?” Ara asks, her stance proclaiming she is ready to take on whoever is responsible.
“I killed him,” Silence answers coldly.
“Good.” She nods. They share a look of grim satisfaction, forming an unspoken alliance, while they step aside, giving me room to work on Ara’s cousin.
Sloan’s eyes are closed, but pop open as soon as I touch her, too wide, too twitchy, flitting around until they land on Silence and Ara talking behind me, then they still. Slowly, the tension seeps from her body, like honey melting in the sun.
Nothing I say will make her trust me right now, but having people close who mean safety to her is enough for her to let me proceed.
“I’ll have you back in working order in no time,” I promise, then get to work. But I can only heal her body. Her mind must heal on its own, and that will take time.
The men who tried to intercept Ara on her way home pop into my mind, and the thought of seeing her like this has me clenching my teeth.
I’m as gentle as possible, and still I can’t avoid causing Sloan pain while setting her bones.
“Be careful,” Silence snarls. Every whimper draws his attention and has him fighting for control, but I don’t hold it against him. The mists know I would be even worse if someone else were healing Ara.
“I wish I could resurrect him, only to kill him again, slower this time.” Silence mutters behind me when I straighten Sloan’s collarbone. “To see her like this…” His voice breaks, and in my periphery, Ara wraps a comforting arm around him.
She is amazing like that. No matter if admiral, slave girl, or assassin, she treats everyone around her with the same care and respect unless they are stupid enough to get on her bad side. Then she is ruthless. But I’m pretty sure a person’s status doesn’t make a difference then either.
“She is strong, and Tate is very good. She will be fine in a few minutes,” she murmurs, and her trust gives me a peace I didn’t know I had been missing.
I concentrate on the woman in front of me, who shares Ara’s coloring, and let my healing gift flow into her. She sighs, and the tension trickles from her features, the fine lines next to her eyes and mouth smoothing out one by one.
Her chest rises more noticeably as breathing becomes easier, and her body sinks into the couch beneath her, her eyes drooping.
“Sleep,” I tell her. “Your body needs to replenish.”
She searches out Silence again, who is still talking to Ara.
“I don’t think he goes anywhere,” I tell her, and her eyes drift closed.
Ara and Silence are in a heated discussion when I reach them.
“You need to take her with you,” Silence says, his eyes finding mine. “Healing and taking her with you—I’ll take it as payment for your promise.” His voice is a demand, but his eyes are pleading.
“What?” Ara asks, looking from him to me and back, but I nod. He is obsessed with his woman and desperate to keep her safe. I understand that.
“You’re leaving for Avina, and I want you to take her with you. Maybe even bring her to the mist court,” Silence elaborates, looking at Ara this time. The entire statement makes me frown.
“How do you know we’ll go to Avina? And mist court?” I look at him for clarification.
“Of course I know. Interests, remember?” He shrugs.
“Mist court is only an expression. I want her so safe no one can find her.” He dismisses my question, but Ara’s brow furrows while she studies him.
“I have a lot of enemies,” he continues.
“And Telos won’t be safe for a while, at least not for anyone close to me. ”
“What about the spider? Won’t he mind about the promise?” I ask.
He waves me off. “Don’t worry about him.”
Sloan sleeps soundly while we plan.
“I still need to pick up Solaris’s harness at Blackstone,” Ara offers. “I could leave tomorrow if my centurion lets me go early.” She looks up at me. “I would meet the rest of you as planned in Avina a few days later.” She shrugs.
Silence nods, but I shake my head.
“You’re not going alone.”
“I could take Joel,” she offers. “I’d bet he would love to see my family and his.”
“Absolutely not.” I shake my head again.
“How about Calix and Mariel, then?” She goes through every name on our flight until she huffs out a breath in exasperation. “You don’t want me to go alone, but I’m not allowed to take someone either?” She throws up her hands.
I bite my lip to smother a grin. “You didn’t ask me to accompany you.”
Her eyes widen. “I’m supposed to take you home to meet my brothers? No! Absolutely not.”
“And still it’s going to happen.”
“No, Tate, you don’t understand…” she groans.
“At least one of us will die—either me from humiliation or you because you got too close to me.” She throws her hands up.
“You don’t know what you’re asking.” She continues explaining why going home with her would be a bad idea, not realizing that every word makes me more determined.
She’s certain her brothers will come between us, and I’ll prove that’s not true.
They are important to her, so they have to get used to me being around.