Page 9 of A Promise so Bold and Broken (Compelling Fates Saga #2)

Chapter Nine

L essia questioned her conviction that Merrick wasn’t evil when he stormed into her room at dawn, after she’d only gotten a few hours of sleep, and barked at her to “get out of the damned bed.”

With a yawn, she dragged her tired body out of the warm sheets.

While small, she thought it might have been the most comfortable bed she’d ever slept in.

Or perhaps anything was better than the rigid cots on Venko’s ship.

She winced when her back ached at the memory of the hard planks, and bile burned in her throat when the smell that seemed to permeate every inch of the cramped cabin, making her eyes tear every morning when she opened them, stung her nostrils.

Scrunching her nose, she pushed the memory away, and after rummaging around the room for a hairbrush—and finding none—Lessia ran her fingers through her tangled hair and straightened her leathers.

She’d slept in them, since Raine hadn’t offered her a nightshirt and there was no way she’d sleep undressed.

Not with Merrick’s penchant for slamming open her door anytime it pleased him.

Making her way into the kitchen, Lessia found all the men standing around the tall island in the middle of the room, steaming cups of coffee in their hands, although when she passed Raine to get her own, she suspected his cup was laced with something stronger, judging from the fumes wafting over her.

As she took a sip, she couldn’t stop a flinch from flitting over her face when the scalding liquid hit her tongue, and she slammed the mug down on the island harder than she’d intended, all heads snapping her way at the loud thud.

Trying to stop the heat threatening to flush her face, she offered them a weak smile. “So what’s the plan today?”

Her words came out clipped, but she tried to attribute it to morning grouchiness, not the simmering rage that seemed to want to take over every time she met Ardow’s remorseful eyes.

“I sent for Alarin last night.” Merrick’s eyes lingered on the hands she’d clenched atop the wooden countertop before he continued. “I’ve asked him to meet me, so we’ll need to wait for his response.”

Lessia swallowed.

She wasn’t sure if she was ready to face her father.

Even if Merrick suspected that he knew something was amiss when he met her, she wasn’t sure how he’d react if she undid the magic that made him forget her.

If he found out what she’d done…

Not just to Frelina—even if the incident wasn’t as severe as she’d believed—but to him…

To her mother.

For a moment, she wondered if it was best to leave it be.

But then her mother’s kind face, her father’s deep laugh, and Frelina’s teasing fought through the darkness in her mind.

She could have that again.

Have her mother braid her hair.

Join her sister on rides in the forests behind their home.

Train with her father like she did with Merrick.

She fought for the breath she’d tried to draw when dread tightened her chest.

She could have that again.

But first, they’d need to find a way for Havlands to withstand the threats it faced.

Make sure there would be a home for her to return to.

Lessia squared her shoulders when she met Merrick’s eyes again.

She’d have to be strong for them.

And for the family she’d left behind in Ellow.

Merrick’s chin dipped an inch as he eyed her, and that feeling—the feeling that he understood her better than anyone—caused a sense of awareness to prickle over her skin.

Rubbing her arms, she fixed her gaze on the slightly swaying Raine when Merrick spoke again. “I also sent eagles to Kerym and Thissian.”

Ardow’s eyes widened. “The Siphon Twins? I thought they’d left this realm.”

Raine broke in. “They have. They won’t come, Merrick. Last I heard, they tried to get as far away from here as possible.”

“Siphon Twins?” Venko asked.

Lessia shot him a grateful look.

The nickname sounded vaguely familiar, but she knew little about the warriors Merrick had fought beside.

Only that the four of them were absolutely lethal.

“They drain the emotions—the energy—of others, making themselves stronger.” A chilling smile spread across Raine’s face, making Lessia question her wish to know more about them. “People think Merrick is terrifying, but it’s those two that you should have nightmares about.”

Venko clenched his jaw as his eyes shifted down, and he murmured something incomprehensible.

Lessia didn’t blame him—they didn’t sound like Fae she’d want to encounter if she didn’t have to.

“Why did you ask them to come?” Ardow asked with eyes fixed on the cowering Venko.

Merrick sighed. “We need anyone we can convince on our side. If we’re to try to convince Loche and Rioner, we need numbers—as many as we can to make them stop and listen.”

Reaching over the table for a nearly empty bottle, Raine shook his head, his reddish hair flying around his face. “I told you they won’t answer the call.”

“Then so be it,” Merrick snarled.

When Raine rolled his eyes, Merrick slammed his hand down on the table. “We used to face these threats with a smile, Raine. We used to believe in protecting our people. Doing what’s right. Do you think these Oakgards’ Fae will stop at Havlands? They’ll come here too.”

Raine shrugged, an infuriating lazy smile that reminded her too much of Loche spreading across his face. “Ydren will keep them out. Besides, the others here have some tricks up their sleeves, should it come to that. We can protect our sanctuary.”

The anger boiling inside Lessia turned hotter at Raine’s indifferent tone, and she couldn’t stop herself from hissing “Your sanctuary ? From what I can tell, this is merely a hiding spot for cowards and drunkards. I used to savor the stories about you growing up! You used to be a hero, and now you’re nothing more than a bitter shell.”

“Look at you fighting back.” Raine grinned at her, the smile a little lopsided from finishing yet another cup. “If you survive this, come back in a few centuries, and we’ll talk about cowards.”

Her nostrils flared as she bore her eyes into his hazel ones, which seemed almost green now, turning lighter from the alcohol perhaps. “If I survive this, I’ll never go anywhere near you again.”

“Thank gods.” Raine lifted his cup toward her. “You’re quite irritating.”

“Raine,” Merrick warned in a low voice.

“And you’re a coward,” she snarled back, her pulse thundering in her veins.

“Perhaps. But there are more of them in this room. Aren’t there?” Raine raised his brows as he shot a glance at the seething Merrick.

Leaning over the table, she opened her mouth to argue, but then Merrick flew from his spot, and his hand slipped across her face, silencing her.

Dragging her backward so forcefully she stumbled into his chest, he growled at Raine, “That’s enough.”

Raine winked at her. “Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.”

She shook from restrained anger, her entire body itching to charge at him.

“Save your energy for training. Raine has offered to help us, and since he’s drunk about ten of those cups already, you might even get a hit in,” Merrick hissed into her ear.

Shaking her head, she pushed against him, but when Merrick kept his hand over her mouth and continued to drag her toward the door, she didn’t think.

Lessia bit into it as hard as she could until the taste of iron flooded her mouth.

“Fuck!”

When Merrick dropped his hand, she spun around and stormed out of the house, her body buzzing with energy and heart pounding so hard she didn’t hear if anyone called out for her.