Chapter 26
My stomach squirms as Sloan lowers their sword from Osheen’s neck.
He’s alive.
He’s here. I shouldn’t feel relief—I don’t want to feel relief. But I feel a tightening in my chest and pain in my throat.
Osheen’s body relaxes, but Chiyo says, “Don’t let him out of your sight.”
Sloan nods and sheathes their sword as they grab Osheen’s arm and tug him away.
A warm presence blankets my mind before a familiar voice infiltrates. “Almost there, beautiful. Thank the gods for your loud mind. Are you alright?”
“Just shaken up.”
Chiyo and Sloan draw their weapons again.
“Wait!” I exclaim, frantically waving my arms. Ava’s brown stallion rides into the clearing first, followed by an ivory horse with Tiernan and Isobel atop. Isobel’s red hair sways as she peeks around him, the grin on her face radiant in the lantern she carries.
I’m running before I even realize it. Tiernan’s feet barely touch the ground before I have him in a crushing embrace.
My heart wants to leap for joy, but it’s tacked down again, squeezing almost painfully as the full extent of everything that’s happened hits me.
Tears well in my eyes as I glance around, taking silent inventory of everyone.
Tiernan holds me at arm’s length, giving me a once-over. “What in hells happened?” he asks. There’s a small cut on his cheek, but aside from looking exhausted, he seems uninjured.
Chiyo rushes to Ava, tugging her aside to catch her up, I suppose. Tiernan’s gaze has gone cold, fixed somewhere past me.
Osheen.
“Tiernan,” I start to say, but his steps are quick and sharp as he storms across the clearing.
Sloan barely gets out of the way before Tiernan’s fist meets Osheen’s face. The second strike sends Osheen sprawling on the ground. Part of me feels satisfyingly avenged while the other part feels guilty. I shouldn’t feel guilty, yet I do.
Hands over his cheeks and nose, Osheen stares up at Tiernan. His fists are still clenched as Tiernan says something to Sloan, who nods and drags Osheen to his feet again.
More dizziness rushes in, but there’s nothing for me to steady myself on, so I sink down to the ground on my hands and knees. I squeeze my eyes shut until someone’s hand brushes over my back. Their hand slides up over my neck, then lightly over the back of my head.
I’d recognize Tiernan’s touch anywhere.
The dizziness subsides enough for the ground to stop shifting. I open my eyes and sit back on my ankles, meeting Tiernan’s concerned gaze.
Looking past him, I notice that Osheen now sits near a tree, his wrists bound with rope while Ava crouches in front of him with a lantern.
Chiyo and Isobel are nowhere in sight, and panic returns swiftly as I glance around.
“They went off to find the horses,” Tiernan signs.
I have so many questions. So, so many questions. I close my eyes and massage my temples for a while before looking at Tiernan again. “Who were those people?” I ask.
“Back there—” he points to where we’d ridden from, “Either bounty hunters or Forayers. There were Purists in the area too, as you can see. A lot of them took each other out, which made things easier for us. What in hells happened here? Where did that son of a bitch come from?” He jerks his head toward Osheen.
“These attackers were dressed in white. Purists, I’m guessing? The man who attacked me had …” I look around again, but the white orb is gone. “Something like a ball of magelight. He was about to kill me but Osheen …” My throat tightens. I let my eyes wander to him and say aloud, “Osheen saved me.”
Something sharpens in Tiernan’s eyes. He clenches his jaw and heaves a sigh. “Saved you?” he motions.
“He shot that arrow.” I nod my head toward the dead Purist several paces away, who Sloan is currently inspecting. Sloan lifts the Purist’s hand and slides the large black stone off it. My stomach churns, forcing me to look away from the dead body.
“We should get going again,” Tiernan says as Sloan moves on to investigate another white-garbed body. “To put as much distance between ourselves and all of this while we still have the cover of night. Then we debrief and rest in the morning.”
I nod numbly as Isobel and Chiyo return with the other horses. We’re at least all accounted for now. Thank the gods.
The first light of dawn begins the next time we stop and dismount our horses.
Ava drags Osheen to the trunk of a fallen tree and shoves him onto it.
As we gather around, Osheen’s eyes focus on me and no one else, even as Ava hovers over him menacingly.
“I’m sorry,” he signs awkwardly with his wrists bound.
Ava squints at him, her focus shifting to me and back to Osheen. “I don’t care about whatever history is here, but if there’s something I need to know—”
“He betrayed me. He betrayed all of us,” I respond.
“Please hear me out!” Osheen’s eyes are pinned on me. His face is horribly bruised, dried blood mingling in his beard and across his cheeks.
It’s so strange reading his lips—for the longest time, he was the only person in my life who communicated with me by signing. Having to read his lips now feels like salt in a wound. I blink, embarrassed about the tears prodding at the backs of my eyes, but I don’t look away from him.
“Why are you dressed like a Purist?” Chiyo asks.
“Because I’ve been traveling with them. For information!” He adds the last bit as Ava’s fist clenches as though she’s about to strike him. “Just for information. I’m willing to share it all if you’ll give me the chance.”
“And how are we supposed to trust you?” Chiyo motions.
I turn to Tiernan who drags his eyes from Osheen to look at me. “Can you get a read on him as he speaks?” I ask. “Tell us if he’s lying?”
Tiernan’s arms are crossed over his chest in a way that makes the muscles in his upper arms flex menacingly. He nods and Ava’s brows rise.
“Excellent,” she says. She crouches and glares at Osheen. “Speak.”
Alys moves to the other side of Osheen, and as he speaks, she translates his words into signs.
“After you all left the inn, I continued working there,” Osheen begins.
“They offered me food and lodging in exchange. But I did leave occasionally for fresh air and to get to know the village better. While walking in the woods, I got caught in a pitfall—some sort of animal trap. Aine Slan found me. She’s the sister of the Purists’ leader.
She’d been with a group of followers. I’d overheard them talking about prophecies and lost Heirs, so when Aine invited me to dinner and, ultimately, to join their cause, I played the part of the grateful new follower. ”
His story sounds like something out of a book, but Tiernan nods almost imperceptibly. True.
“I stayed with them for a few weeks, got to know Aine, and I learned a lot about the Purists and their mission. They wanted to kill Princess Carys, and now that she’s gone, they’re looking for the lost Heir. The last of that bloodline.”
My throat tightens.
“But it’s not just that. They want the Veil between our world and the Otherworld torn.
Their mission requires sacrificing the Daughters of Agryna and Ehlach to wake the gods.
They’ll stop at nothing to find the lost Heir.
Just like the princess was, this Heir is considered the ultimate evil.
In fact, most with magic in their blood are considered evil—a threat to the power of the gods and to the balance of the realms. Balance requires sacrifice, and all of that. ”
The contents of my stomach churn, prepared to make a reappearance. I swallow thickly. I am the lost Heir … Rhianu, help me. Chiyo, Tiernan, and Ava glance at me as if wondering whether I’ll volunteer this information to Osheen. But I keep my lips pressed into a firm line.
“So, what else do you know about these people?” Ava asks Osheen.
“I know their way of life, and that they have an entire sector on the outskirts of Barr na Cahar,” he says.
“How did Aine get to the Verge?”
Osheen’s eyes go wide and his lips part, but he only snaps them closed again. “I didn’t know she got to the Verge.”
“You knew how to get there,” says Chiyo. “Did you tell her? You said you were traveling with her.”
“I didn’t tell her anything.”
Tiernan nods again. True.
“The group split, some heading westward, the rest of us heading … well, here.”
I sigh and rub my temple.
“What else do you know?” Ava asks him, and I look to Alys for the next translation.
“They’re enacting a new Purge. This time by gathering willing followers and offering Mages a supposed cure called the Cleanse.
The Purists promise them they can live without the risk of being discovered and hanged.
Soldiers called Peacekeepers have begun making rounds—like the raids, but they’re not scheduled, and they’re far less controlled.
The Peacekeepers are even worse than the Forayers.
They’re merciless. I’ve heard they’re even attacking Mainlanders, and so more Mages are inclined to take the Cleanse. ”
Fear grips my stomach and heart as I blow out a slow breath.
A million thoughts eclipse Osheen’s face before he speaks again. “All my life … we all thought the gods abandoned us. Or lost their power. To hear people speaking of their fall and their rise, it feels—”
“Farfetched,” I say. “But I suppose, even if none of it’s true, people believe it is. And that danger is very real.”
We all nod in somber agreement. The question is: what is the truth?
“Anything else?” Ava asks him.
Osheen looks at me again, his eyes pleading in the magelight.
“Durvla, I truly am sorry for everything. I understand if you won’t forgive me, but please believe that I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you or Taig.
I will spend the rest of my life trying to find a way to make it up to you. ”
My hands shake, but from anger or the effort it’s taking to keep my tears at bay, I’m not sure. I look to Tiernan, who nods—truth—but he still seems incredulous.
“He has valuable information we can use,” says Sloan.
Ava nods in agreement, though she doesn’t seem happy about it. Her lips press into a firm line for a moment, then she looks at me almost apologetically. Turning to Sloan, she asks, “Can he ride with you?”
Sloan nods, and my chest lurches. I turn on my heel and hurry away from everyone.
I keep walking until I’m as far away as I can be while still keeping them in sight.
Then I turn my back on them, letting the tears fall.
I give myself a few moments to feel this reopened wound before I draw in a few deep breaths, steel my resolve, and return to the group to continue on our journey.
This time with Osheen—our prisoner, so to speak—in tow.