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The woman continues to unwrap my wrist, holding my arm gently as her fingers move.

“Oh, far west, my dear. Not anywhere you would have been, I’m afraid,” she answers dryly as she begins to touch my skin. Her fingers are soft against the fragile bones of my wrist, and she gently dances them across my skin.

She makes a “tsk” noise in her throat and closes her eyes as she considers the damage, then moves her fingers deftly around.

The warmth emanating from the healer’s skin increases and seeps into my pores.

She shifts the bones and still there is no pain, only heat trailing behind her fingers.

The embers within me spark with her touch and flare to life.

I recognize this feeling.

“Magic,” I breathe, watching the woman before me. Both men’s eyes are on me, the skin on my neck pebbling beneath their stares.

A wry smile creeps across her face but she doesn’t look up from my hand and instead proceeds to wind a new bandage around my wrist to stabilize the bones.

“I have no idea what you speak of,” she remarks, rising from her chair and gathering her basket of supplies from the floor.

“You should be better shortly, and you will regain use of the hand. It will be back to normal before you know it.” She strides to the door and plants her hand on the knob, turning to me before she leaves.

Her brown eyes glow with the same inner flame I feel.

“Oh, and Prophecy?” she says softly, the name slicing through the silence of the room. “Good luck and may the gods be with you.” And with that, the mysterious woman slips out the door.

I sit there staring at the door for a few beats, not daring to take a breath. What the fuck just happened? I hear Quinn moving before I see him, his boots scuffing against the wooden floors.

“Shit!” he continues spitting expletives as he paces to the door and locks it behind the healer. “How did she know?” He spins on his heel, eyes flaring at me.

Remembering to breathe, I take a long inhalation and lift my good shoulder. “I’m not sure, but—” I stop, concentrating on that feeling I had. “I could feel her energy.”

Evander shifts on his feet by the dresser, arms crossed over his chest.

“Like with Silas?” He’s watching me, and I can see understanding dawning on his face. He gives me a faint smile and my heart warms over.

“Yes,” I confirm, nodding.

Quinn leans back against the closed door and shoves his hands into his pockets.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he says, looking between the two of us, trying to piece together the puzzle of the bizarre woman who just left.

“For someone with magic to be here . In this town. Did you see the mark of Vaohr? It’s everywhere. ”

He has a point. How has she survived here for so long?

“Perhaps because she could hide it through her work as a healer,” Evander offers, pushing off from the side of the dresser and walking to the small table in the corner of the room. He scoops up the remaining bowls of stew and comes to sit next to me, resting a bowl on the bedside table for me.

I thank him, moving closer to the food and starting to eat.

The stew is still hot, and the savory broth is exquisite compared to the salted meat as it hits my taste buds.

I’m so hungry I would shovel it down my throat if given the option, but using my non-dominant hand is more challenging than I expected and I struggle not to spill it all over myself.

“My mother told me of them. The healers of old would travel to different towns and villages aiding those in need. They’ve been around for ages,” Evander pauses, swirling the stew with his spoon. “But they came from the Forsaken Woods. Some of the first blessed by the gods and the land.”

He stares at his bowl, and I gather thinking of his mother must be very painful for him. I reach my bandaged hand across the space between us and place it on his thigh, letting him know I’m here and I understand.

His lips turn up slightly at the gesture and he continues.

“She told me as a child that they still walk the lands even with the king and his...laws. I saw some of them in the dungeons, I thought he had found them all. Their power is great and could be of such use if they could openly practice, but Braddock doesn’t discriminate what someone’s powers are, just the magnitude of them.

Though now, it appears my mother was right.

There’s no telling how old that woman is and how long she’s been here. ”

Quinn’s shoulders slump, relief settling into his bones when Evander is done speaking. Someone with magic would not be out to get us, meaning the healer is not a threat to us, no more than she is to herself in this town.

Evander has begun eating, scarfing his stew comically fast. I clamp my lips together, fighting the smile that strains against it as I watch him. Quinn notices as well and shakes his head. “Did you tell her the plan for the capital?”

Evander chokes on his stew, coughing, and covers his mouth.“No,” he sputters.

I finish my own meal and sit up straight, throwing a pointed look toward Evander.

“What plan?”

“Well, what I was saying—” Quinn starts, but Evander cuts him off.

“It’s. Too. Risky,” he says, punching out each word to make sure his point is heard.

I scoot my body back closer to him, sitting with my legs crossed under me, and lay my injured arm across his leg. “Ev, just let him tell me what it is.” My voice is soft and his tension lessens, though only slightly, as he places the empty bowl beside him on the mattress.

Ev drags a hand through his hair, still damp in spots from washing up before waking me.

Then he looks at Quinn, whose hands are shoved deep in his pockets.

He appears slightly more relaxed here, taking in the lack of armor and weapons.

I’m confident his body still houses weapons I cannot see, but there’s no show of it.

He’s also fresh from bathing, his dark hair pulled back from his face revealing the beauty of his jawline and eyes. He looks far less menacing like this.

“We were discussing strategy on the way here. I think the only way we can get you into Castle Eccleston safely is for Ev to bring you.” Those endearing hazel eyes are steady on me as he speaks, gauging my reaction.

My plan had been to cloak myself in shadow and I say as much to him, but Quinn frowns and shakes his head. Evander slips his hand behind my back, hugging me tight to his side. Quinn’s jaw goes stiff at the all-too-familiar gesture, but he keeps talking.

“You got past two guards that way, Bria. This is different. There are sets of guards placed throughout the castle. And from what Ev has said, the dungeons are more heavily guarded, not from the outside, but once you get into them. Soldiers walk the hallways at all hours, shifts of them move through constantly.” He shrugs before continuing.

“There’s no way you would have the energy to cloak yourself for that long and then cloak both you and Nimai to escape.

It’s unlikely you would even make it to her.

Not to mention, you’ve never been in the castle and have no idea where you’re going,” he finishes, his lips set in a firm line.

Well then.

I run my tongue over my lips and purse them, thinking.

I know from years of being his friend that I won’t win this argument with him.

The castle is not my territory, these are not people I know, and I am not a soldier, despite the training I’ve received.

This is an area he excels in and though it frustrates me to admit it, he’s right.

“Fine,” I concede after mere moments of contemplation, my eyes locked on Quinn’s. The corner of his mouth turns up in a winning grin, hinting at the gorgeous set of dimples I know he possesses. But a full smile out of Quinn is rare.

“Fine?” Evander is incredulous, jolting his head back to look at me, his nostrils flaring. “Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what you’re agreeing to right now?” His head snaps to Quinn, who is still grinning.

The prick always has been a sore winner.

“There has to be a way we can help her cloak better. We can tell her where all the guards are. I know where she needs to go.” His voice hardens at the last part.

Quinn shrugs again. “Wasn’t it just you and Ash who said she has no choice in her life? Who said she should be allowed to live as she pleases?” Quinn queries, one brow quirked at his friend.

Evander goes silent. Quinn always wins these types of conversations. I’m certain he only argues when he already knows he’s right. Which is, irritatingly, all the time. Cocky bastard .

Wanting more information about how he thinks this could possibly work, I press him. “So what? He’s going to turn me in?”I ask.

“Such a smart girl you are, Bria.” I catch a flash of the full smile, the deep dimples, and his glistening eyes. No wonder that curly-haired girl was all over him. “That was my first thought as well.”

One glance at Evander and the confusion I feel is mirrored on his face. At least it isn’t just me who feels out of the loop with all of this. Quinn keeps going.

“But realistically that won’t work in your favor. In that case, you would be alone, locked in another dungeon until they could figure out what to do with you.” He sighs heavily. “It would give you no access to Nimai and Ev can’t help you. There’s no way they would let him near you.”

Evander stiffens at that. “I could figure out a way to get to her. If we must do it your way.” His hand tightens around my waist.

Quinn shakes his head, a tendril of ebony escaping to frame his face. “I believe you think that Ev, and I believe you would do whatever you could to get to her. Including getting yourself killed or outing yourself to your father.”

There he goes. Right again.

Ev’s shoulders fall a little and I move my hand against his leg, trying to reassure him. Quinn is a master of tactic, he’s been a soldier all his life. We just need to hear him out.Quinn ignores our interaction and brings his gaze back to me.

“No, he’s not going to turn you in, Bria. He’s going to waltz right in there with you on his arm.” His eyes darken and the look on his face is deadly. This is the soldier at work.

“As his betrothed.”