Page 32

CHAPTER 32

Elva woke to the sounds of horses whinnying.

She squinted at the light that shone through the tent.

She felt terrible; all her muscles ached and her head throbbed.

She raised her fingers and gently touched her forehead, finding a lump between her eyes.

She hissed as her skin screamed at the touch and flopped back onto the soft bedding.

The past twenty-four hours were a blur, and she had more questions than answers: they didn’t know who sent the priests, or if they even were priests.

Neve’s death was only partially avenged.

And Fyn?

She had no idea what the hell was happening between her and Fyn.

She sighed and threw the covers back.

She was in Fyn’s tent, but the man was nowhere to be seen.

Great , she thought.

Add this to the list of things I don’t know.

She was about to slide her feet into Oriann’s slippers when she saw her pair of boots by the door, next to a small wash basin.

She gently splashed her face, careful not to press the bruise on her forehead, and felt marginally better.

Stuffing her feet into her boots, she ducked out of the tent and was about to go in search of food when Lonn’s head appeared from the command pavilion, waving her over.

‘Good morning,’ she said when she was a few yards away.

‘Blessed day, Highness Elva, but I think you mean good afternoon,’ Lonn said, letting the tent flap close behind her.

‘Shit. Did I sleep for that long?’

‘You did,’ Fyn’s voice called from the middle of the room.

Dark circles ringed his eyes and his hair was mussed, the stubble on his face more prominent than she remembered.

Small butterflies danced in her belly when their eyes met, and she didn’t know whether she should curse or applaud the hope that glimmered inside of her.

‘How are you feeling?’ he asked, silver-flecked eyes taking in her face.

His eyes lingered on the bandage around her neck.

‘I could be worse. Thank you.’ There were a million other things she could say – needed to say – but words were suddenly hard and she didn’t know how to force coherency.

‘Will his death...’ she began, knowing there were protocols and punishments in every army to stop soldiers turning on one another.

‘Winsten’s death was a tragic accident caused by too much drink,’ Lonn said, finishing her sentence.

He gave her a hard look.

Understood.

‘We have also announced that any man found taking liberties with another person will be stripped of their position and thrown into the stocks.’

‘Was that not the case before?’ she asked, unable to stop scepticism creeping into her voice.

‘It was, but we have made sure it won’t happen again.

’

She nodded.

She didn’t feel like diving into Clochain politics so soon after waking, so she scanned the tent.

The usual array of maps were on the centre table, and she spied a cart with bread in the corner.

She went to make a beeline for it, but her eyes snagged on a blade she recognised.

She ran to the table and grabbed her axe.

‘Where did you find this?’

‘A unit travelled back to the priests’ camp to sweep the area,’ Fyn said, watching as she grasped the handle.

She immediately felt calmer with its familiar weight in her hand.

Someone had cleaned the blood off the blade, and she swung the handle in a high arc, admiring the clean, glossy steel.

She grinned and looked up to find the two men staring at her.

‘What?’

‘We found something,’ Fyn said, walking closer.

He slowly reached into his pocket and brought out two small, shiny items.

She frowned.

‘Am I supposed to know what they are?’

Fyn hesitated a second before handing her the gold.

‘They were found in your pocket.’

Upon closer inspection the pieces of gold were halves of a pendant.

The rip down the middle was jagged, and the memory of it rose to the surface.

She ran her finger over her axe blade, finding a small nick in the metal.

It wasn’t visible, but the pad of her fingers snagged where the metal had caught on her blade.

She gently touched the torn edge of the pendant.

The middle of the disc was warped with a small indent which looked like it had once held a gemstone.

A border ringed the circumference, which was broken at the bottom with a wreath of rowan branches, the leaves folding in around the metal.

‘It came from the priest we killed,’ she said, handing her axe to Fyn, who ran his hand up the blade, fingers pausing as they found the small dent.

It was disconcerting, she rarely let people handle her weapon.

She couldn’t help but like the look of it in his hands.

‘Did you find any on the other bodies?’ Elva asked, keeping herself focused.

Fyn and Lonn looked between each other in silent conversation.

‘No. The bodies were all gone by the time our soldiers went back.’

She frowned.

‘What do you mean the bodies were gone?’

‘Exactly that – no bodies. No trails, no clues. Nothing.’

Dread pooled in her stomach and she looked at Fyn.

‘Did a demigod come and collect their remains?’

Fyn shook his head slowly.

‘I don’t think they serve the Seacht.

’

She sighed at the implication.

‘They’re Ever Blessed?

’

Lonn cursed and made the blessing of the diamond, face pale.

She tore her gaze from Fyn and looked at the coin, dismayed.

‘And this is all the evidence we have?’

He nodded, and she held out her hand to drop the pendant into his open palm.

Their fingertips brushed, causing her brain to stutter.

She cleared her throat, forcing the chaos of her feelings away so she could concentrate.

‘Do you recognise the pendant?’

Lonn shook his head, revulsion on his face.

Fyn, on the other hand, schooled his features into a bland, docile expression.

She frowned at him.

‘Why are you—’

‘If they’re Ever Blessed and dressing up as the Seacht’s priests, they clearly want to hide what they’re up to,’ Fyn said.

‘What if they’re Ellarch loyalists?

’ Lonn asked.

‘The loyalists have been actively recruiting Ever Blessed. Perhaps it’s an ungodly attempt to place blame on the Seacht?

’

‘Perhaps,’ Fyn said, voice distant.

‘Can we have a minute?’ Elva asked Lonn, keeping her gaze trained on Fyn.

She knew it was blunt, but her knowing was pulsing and her patience was nonexistent.

Lonn looked between them, his mouth open in surprise.

‘It’s fine, Lonn.

Can you send a report to my father?

’

Lonn frowned, but stood at attention and saluted, then disappeared from the tent.

As soon as his footsteps were gone, Elva rounded on Fyn.

‘What do you know?’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Don’t play games, Fyn.

How do you recognise the pendant?

’

He raked a hand through his hair and she wanted to shake herself for what it did to her mind.

But she waited, unwilling to brush this to the side.

He dragged a chair over and sat in front of her, resting his elbows on his knees.

‘My mother had a necklace like this.’

Oh.

Oh .

He loosened a shuddering breath and sat back, his eyes clouded.

‘But just because someone is Ever Blessed doesn’t mean they’re an Ellarch loyalist.

’

She tried to make sense of this new information.

‘Are you saying your mother was both Ever Blessed and an Ellar—’

‘I don’t know.

I thought she was lying to protect me.

But that doesn’t explain why she’d have the same necklace.

’

They stared at each other, sparks erupting in his eyes.

Not all Ever Blessed joined the Ellarch resistance – they were both prime examples of that – but many did.

And if Fyn’s mother was Ever Blessed and an Ellarch loyalist, then it could stand to reason the priests were as well.

The burning blood still didn’t make sense, but then no one knew much about how Ever Blessed abilities developed.

They were hunted, not studied.

‘So if your mother’s Ever Blessed—’

‘Can we please not—’

‘And let’s say she was, in fact, an Ellarch loyalist.

.

.

Are these people trying to recruit you?

I don’t understand—’

‘Elva—’

‘—how the massacres play a part, but—’

‘Stop. She was my mother, Elva, not some puzzle piece.’

She paused her rant, realising too late Fyn’s knuckles were clenched white, his breathing erratic.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean.

.

.

’ She trailed off, unsure.

Fyn sighed.

‘It’s fine.

I’m just not used to this type of brainstorming.

’

‘You mean you’ve never been in an arranged marriage before?

’ she replied, trying to lighten the mood.

It didn’t work.

He rubbed his forehead and took a deep breath.

‘No one’s ever known this about me – or her.

It’s a lot to process.

’

She paused to ponder his words.

‘My last relationship came out of years of friendship, but even they didn’t know I was Ever Blessed or the whole mess of’ – she waved a hand in the air – ‘this. I have no clue what I’m doing, either.

’

He nodded, eyebrows creasing as he looked at her.

‘Why did it end?’

Remi’s face flickered in her memory.

‘I came here.’

He sat back, the light in his eyes fading.

‘I’m sorry you had to leave him.

’

‘Her. We were warriors together,’ she said with a fond smile, memories of that time bubbling to the surface, all rosy and golden.

‘You had a girlfriend before this?’

She nodded as her knowing pulsed in a staccato rhythm.

‘Of course you did.’ He rubbed a hand over his jaw gruffly, then stood.

She frowned, trying to figure out what she’d said wrong.

She’d thought he’d known about Remi and was fine with it – it wasn’t a secret she’d dated both men and women, but gauging his reaction, she wished she could redo the announcement and tell him in a way that didn’t threaten his godsdamn Clochain ego.

Not your responsibility, Elva , Neve’s voice echoed in her head.

‘Why are you acting weird?’

‘I’m not.

’ He began rolling a map and she moved to stand beside him.

Maybe she was reading into it.

Maybe he was scared about the ramifications of the pendant and what it meant for his mother’s memory.

‘Can we please talk about this?’

He stared at the map.

A surge of frustration rocked through her.

They were playing the silent game again?

Fucking fine.

‘Okay then,’ she said, stepping away.

He opened his mouth and her breath caught.

Please.

But then he nodded once and turned to the table, his focus entirely trained on methodically rolling the map.

She took a breath.

Then pivoted and strode out of the tent.

Her pride wouldn’t let her look back, not when she felt like her insides were being scooped out.

Of course his conservative values would kick in when he found out she’d had a girlfriend.

The thought made her whole body ache, and her mind whirred to try and find the signs she’d missed.

I didn’t miss the signs, I just chose to ignore them, hoping my feelings were reciprocated.

It was all she could do to keep the tears from cascading down her cheeks as she strode away from the man she was supposed to marry.