CHAPTER 17 #3
He turned to me, a storm of emotions in his gaze. Rage. Doubt. Sorrow. His hand stretched toward me, hesitant, as though I might pull away.
I stepped closer, letting him tug me until darkness carried us away.
◆◆◆
We landed in the room I was staying in at Erisea Hall.
Our clothes were drenched, dripping onto the rug as we continued to hold each other. I pulled back first, striding for the bed, not bothering about making it wet.
“What happened?” he asked, following me to where I sat.
My skin was so cold that the ring on my finger slipped back and forth. I winced after touching my chin, small waves of pain shooting off from the spot. There weren’t any mirrors in this room, and I thought it might be better not to see the damage on my face.
“They found out I was human,” I murmured, watching the drops trail down his cloak. “And then they seized me.”
Reagan sat at my side, a deep frown on his face, scanning my wounds before lifting a hand to my cheek. The aura of rage emanating from him matched my own, but mine carried a lingering chill.
“You should have let me kill them,” he said remorsefully. A soothing kind of warmth spread where he touched, his fingers grazing the corners of my throbbing cheek. He muttered, “Sanare vulnus.”
From the corner of my eye, I could see his power coursing through his veins, swirling from his forearm. The throbbing faded with each breath.
“What good would it do?” I asked, contemplating the risk. “As long as they are detained, they can’t hurt anyone else.” My eyes dropped in the direction of his chest, where the heartstone was. “And it would have cost you.”
“It would be too easy for me to justify,” he murmured, his voice edged, all rage beneath the surface. “Given that they tried to harm you. That they did harm you. I’m close to going back there.”
I took him in—the anger he was keeping restrained and the gentle way he was mending the cut. It was conflicting. And still, warmth spread through my chest because of it. I almost wanted to lean into him.
“Stay,” I murmured, and he stared back at me, brows unfurrowing. “I almost forgot about the relic. How did it tell you where I was?”
His fingers brushed over my cheek, my jaw, neither of them bearing the pain from before. “I enchanted this relic, so when you rub it, I sense its direction like a compass. To me, it shines like a beacon. It guided me to where you were, almost outside this city. How did you get there?”
“I don’t have a clue how I got there. I was walking in the corridor and entered one room, but I couldn’t get back out anymore.”
Reagan’s dark auburn brows knitted, his eyes pensive. “It sounds like a portal. I’ll ask Coriander later,” he said, dropping his hand from my face.
I inhaled as a thought crossed my mind. “You called him Scion. Was he a member of an Order?”
He lifted his eyebrows, and a ghost of a smile curled the side of his lips, probably wondering how I knew about them.
Instead of asking, he just answered, “Yes. They bore their mark. One of them had it on his neck. An eye with fire burning inside.” A muscle twitched in his jaw.
“I don’t think Coriander and Alameda are unaware of this activity.
But at least three of them will rot in the depths of Pavilion, where they belong. ”
I lifted my chin. “Depths?”
“Yes. Pavilion is a prison constructed under the sea,” Reagan said, and I could have sworn there was a shudder in his voice.
Part of me wondered how that worked, but those men—those Scions—had left a knot of unease in me. It was worse, much worse than mere contempt. They wanted to harm me.
“Why do Scions live here and not in Mountheim?” I asked, shedding my cloak as the warmth of the room allowed.
“It’s not certain that there aren’t any Scions in Mountheim, but we’re able to track a larger group if more of their petitions are being placed in the Courts within our estate, or if there are gatherings or unofficial publications circulating.
” Reagan kept his cloak, and I caught glimpses of his bare stomach every time he moved his arms.
“But you’re right. There are more of them in Erisea, thanks to the previous rulers.
The Barrows’ lineage was never vocal in their support of the Order, but they were never openly against it.
Coriander and Alameda have only taken over in the last two years.
It’s not enough time to reverse something like this. It’s different from Mountheim.”
He ran a hand through his hair, pulling a damp strand from his face.
“My mother and father were staunch supporters of humans and hybrids. The demimages I told you about. While they had to respect beliefs like the Order’s, being constantly opposed by the estate led many Scions out of Mountheim over the years. ”
It reminded me of what he’d said on the beach.
“Does this type of hostility happen often? Like in the alley?” I asked, thinking of the many months I still had in front of me.
Reagan sighed. “There have been attacks on humans over the years, yes. They’re usually kept secret.
A human is brought to our lands discreetly.
” He paused. “But in rare cases, a few were tortured to demonstrate their inferiority. These acts aren’t common.
The Order rarely takes that type of risk.
Their efforts are usually focused on filing petitions to challenge our treaties.
They’ve never come close to pushing their ideas on the magisters, and they never will, because we’ve lived by the principles of peace since the largest war in our history. ”
My nails bit into my palms. “It wasn’t peace I found in that alley, Reagan,” I said.
He shook his head, surveying my eyes. “No, it wasn’t. Not everyone believes in those principles. Some think power makes us superior, that it entitles us to the land and everything on it. Those people usually despise humans. Some of them, like the vermin in the alley, are violent. It’s the reality.”
I gazed at the window, at the darkened sky beyond.
What a delightful target I was for those Scions to aim their contempt at.
“I suppose it’s a good thing you convinced me to train with you and Gwin, though it hardly made much of a difference in the end.
But if there hadn’t been three of them .
. .” I considered. Maybe I would have been able to run.
Maybe not. “Were you thinking I’d need to defend myself when you told me to learn? ”
Reagan reached out, tucking a damp strand of hair behind my ear.
His gaze held mine. “It crossed my mind, but I figured that as long as you’re with one of us, nothing like this would happen.
” His mouth tightened, and my eyes flickered to it before returning to meet his.
His hand lingered at the side of my neck, a finger caressing it, even though all the wounds on my face had likely vanished.
“You fought back, then, against the three of them?”
I shrugged. It hadn’t been enough. As much as the memory churned my stomach, there was a kernel of satisfaction in knowing they had bled and suffered even worse.
“I’ll have a ward on you from now on,” Reagan murmured, his eyes hard. “You can’t be hurt again.”
Those words hung between us.
My heart thumped faster, and I stared into his tired, hooded eyes. The power he had used had clearly taken its toll on him, but exhaustion didn’t dull the intensity of that gaze. I could see the unspoken words, feel them in the way his thumb brushed against my neck.
Closing my eyes, I let the gentle touch that had mended me soothe my nerves. I wanted to focus on this, his warmth, rather than the harsh grip of those men.
“How did the meeting go?” I asked, forcing my tone back to that of the emissary, trying to put distance between myself and my thoughts.
Reagan lowered his hand, exhaling.
“We have new terms,” he said. “Our costs will drop a lot. And we’ve got a new deal. Relics.”
My brows quirked up. “That’s good news, then.”
“Very good. Your suggestion got us a deal. It was clever, very fitting for a merchant’s daughter.” A smirk ghosted across his face. “You’d make a good emissary, Jan, if you’re interested.”
He cocked his head, waiting for my response.
I weighed the offer, turning over both sides of the coin. The prospect of securing a successful negotiation that would aid his estate. The risk of being hunted by mages seething with hatred.
I kept my expression carefully measured. “I guess that depends on what the pay looks like.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “We can talk about your payment right after we get out of these wet clothes.”