Page 48 of A Rose Among Snakes (Gardens of Ruin and Revival)

Chapter Forty-Seven

Mihrra

I t was late afternoon when we left Aeysvarth and made our way back to Hawling. Preoccupied by my thoughts, I barely registered our surroundings. I was proud of myself for finding Enverro, especially since he was not what I’d expected. I had pictured a grimy old man as the king’s hired hand, not a handsome young one who lit up when he heard my name as if it meant something to him. I wasn’t able to place my finger on it, but my intuition told me there was more to Enverro Machendren than met the eye.

Contrary to my own thoughts, Velian’s tension radiated throughout his entire body. The muscles of his back were rigid, and when I braved a glance at his face, the set of his jaw told me everything about his inner turmoil. A bruise was forming on his knuckles, red and blue beneath white peaks, evidence of his tight grip on the reins.

I loosened my hold on the front of his shirt and leaned back, trying to give him some space. I held the back of the saddle, only for Velian to reach around and replace my hand on his chest. He left his hand resting over mine, guiding Zavi with the other. My stomach flipped, and I was grateful he couldn’t see the way my face heated .

We arrived in Hawling as the sun set, making camp in the same place we had the night before. Velian had wanted to ride through the night but he knew the horses needed rest and we still had to form a plan. He dismounted and reached back up, grabbing me by the waist and setting me on my feet. With one finger, he tilted my chin up and gave me a strained smile before turning to tie up Zavi. My insides melted at the gentle gesture, but I composed myself as the rest of the men brought their horses to a stop beside us.

Walking over to where the fire had been the night before, Velian said, “Corman, come with me to collect firewood. Paolef and Denzen, stay here and keep an eye on him.” He inclined his head toward Enverro.

“Yes, sir,” Paolef and Denzen said in unison. Velian and Corman marched into the darkening forest, and Paolef guided Enverro to the fire pit, releasing him with a shove.

“My apologies,” Enverro began, “but I missed the part where I was your prisoner.”

Paolef grunted and returned to his horse to remove the saddle. I joined Enverro at the fire pit, watching as he took a seat and picked up a leaf, tearing it to shreds. He proceeded to mutilate several more before I asked,

“Were you kind to her?”

Enverro’s eyes flicked to mine. “I think so.” He went back to picking at the leaf and smirked. “She might disagree. And I’m sure if she was here, she would let me know all about it.”

I bit back the smile tugging at my mouth .

“Tell me more about her time with you,” I said, lowering myself to the ground across from him.

“Well, she threw a rock at my head the first day, then refused to eat for the next two. She pestered me with intrusive questions and shared more personal details than I’ve ever known a person to volunteer. She proceeded to lull me into a false sense of trust so I would let her outside, then hit me with a log and tried to escape. I’ve never met such a stubborn, formidable woman before.” He chuckled, then grew serious, throwing the remaining stem into the cold ashes. “She protected me from the king, too. He wanted to kill me and she stopped him, speaking to him so boldly… not a trace of fear for herself, only for me.”

His cheeks flushed and hearing the wistfulness in his tone, it dawned on me. “You like her.”

“No,” he paused, “I think I love her.”

I could no longer fight the smile. “She has that effect on men.” Something deep in my chest tightened as I thought about her wildness, missing her companionship. I feared the worst for her, so I prompted him, “Tell me what happened with the king.”

Enverro leaned back on his hands and spoke of the time they spent out in the garden, her fainting, and how she hit him with a log and ran off. He spoke of the way his frustration disintegrated the moment he saw the king approaching and his fear guided him to take her back to the cell and pretend nothing happened.

“The king had only come to check on a prisoner once before. I should have told her to run the other way and stayed back to lead him in the opposite direction. I should have let him kill me rather than take her back. She risked her life to save mine, and I couldn’t do the same.” He buried his face in his hands.

Listening to his story, I was flooded with emotions ranging from heartbreak to fury, to fear, and ending with disappointment. I bit my tongue, holding back the words that would not be productive or encouraging. Berating him for what he already knew was not beneficial for anyone. Besides, he reminded me of someone. I just couldn’t place who that someone was.

“You might get a chance to redeem yourself soon,” I offered, trying to sound uplifting and not patronizing.

Leaves crunched under Denzen’s feet as he approached. “Is he bothering you?” I shook my head, but he reached down to grab me, saying, “Come over here, Mihrra.”

I was fine where I was, but before I could protest, Enverro said,

“It appears you are the one bothering her, my friend.”

Denzen let go of me and marched over to Enverro, picking him up by his collar.

“What did you say to me?”

“You’re bothering her. She doesn’t want to go with you.”

“How would you know?”

“You must be blind. She’s clearly spoken for already.”

Denzen scoffed. “Oh really, by you?”

Enverro snorted in return. “No, you fool, not by me.”

My stomach knotted itself as Denzen wound up to strike Enverro.

I jumped to my feet. “Denzen- ”

“What’s going on here?” Velian barked, striding up with his arms full of firewood, Corman just behind.

“Nothing, Boss,” Denzen said, releasing Enverro and wiping his hands on his pants.

Enverro jerked his chin toward Velian, his eyebrows twitching up. “Not by me,” he whispered pointedly. The scowl on Denzen’s face first turned to confusion, his brows pulling together as his eyes narrowed, and then his mouth opened before he hung his head.

Velian set the firewood down and eyed us all with skepticism.

Paolef approached and said, “Boss, I’ve checked the saddle bags, and I can’t find any food.”

“Did you not pack enough?”

“We packed plenty. I don’t know what happened to it, but I can guess.” Paolef shot an accusing glance at Corman, who still held his collection of firewood.

“I can explain,” Corman said, wincing. “When I was riding earlier, I guess I didn’t buckle my saddlebag closed and my horse tripped and it knocked the bag loose, but I didn’t notice until too late. I lost all the food.”

“That doesn’t explain the small amount I had in my bags,” Paolef retorted, crossing his arms.

Corman dropped the wood on the ground and rubbed the back of his neck. “I, uh… I got hungry on my watch last night. I figured we would restock today, but I forgot to mention it earlier.”

Everyone groaned and Velian closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked up and pointed at Denzen .

“I want you to go into town and see if the baker or anyone is still willing to sell you anything.” Denzen sighed as Velian removed coins from a pouch in his pocket and placed them in Denzen’s open hand. “Hurry,” he instructed.

Denzen nodded and walked over to his horse and Velian faced the guilty man. “Corman, you too.”

Corman pressed his lips together, ducking his head and jogging after Denzen.