Page 9 of Keeper of the Word (The Unsung and the Wolf Duology #2)

At five years old, Elanna’s Sight began to shine.

It began with simply predicting the weather the next day.

At first, Daved laughed when his little sister pointed to his shoes and told him how soaked they would be on the walk home, suggested he bring a shawl because of the strong sea winds the next evening, or asked if they could stroll along the docks in the sunshine the following day.

But she began to See other incidents, too.

Accidents. Their father’s ill moods. Bad food that could cause them to retch for days.

Daved became inquisitive; then he’d told her to tell no one but him about her “predictions.”

Once a StarSeer’s powers were known, the law commanded that she be brought to Ashwin.

Elanna was unaware of that, but she knew the intense look in Daved’s eyes. Knew she needed her brother to keep her safe .

And so, they hid Elanna’s gift from the stars for nearly a year. But then, Elanna told Daved about their father’s death.

“Will you not warn him?” Elanna questioned Daved as they sat in the scullery, a handful of almost rancid nuts between them.

His one-eyed stare—for the other eye was blackened shut at the time—flickered into something Elanna was not certain she liked.

“Nay,” Daved returned. “And neither will you.” He left the scullery without a backward glance.

Two days later, their father was crushed by cargo that he’d been unloading at the docks. Neither Elanna nor Daved cried, nor did they sleep that night.

In the morning, Daved packed a burlap sack with Elanna’s scarce possessions.

“Come. We’re going for a walk,” Daved said, opening the door and letting in the early morning light.

“Where are we going?” Elanna peered up at him.

“Just come on.”

Daved guided Elanna to the stronghold of Mara’s constable. When the guards opened the gate, Daved gave Elanna’s hand an extra grip as if he might shepherd her back.

Instead, he said, “This is my sister, Elanna. She is a StarSeer.”

Of all the fortunes Elanna could have hoped to see on her future’s path, Daved’s words took her completely by surprise. He gave her a side hug across her small shoulder, whispered goodbye, and strode away.

“Daved!” Elanna shouted, ready to flee after him, but a guard caught her by the wrist and tugged her inside the stone wall.

“’Tis all right, lil’ one. You’ll be right safe with us.” His voice was surprisingly tender for as gruff as his whiskery face appeared.

Elanna nodded, not daring to peer back to where Daved had retreated—for she was certain she would cry—and followed them into the hall of the constable.

Weeks later, six-year-old Elanna had found herself in the glistening castle of Aura Hall. Never had she gone hungry again. She’d always slept in a clean bed. And over the last nineteen years, she’d trained herself not to linger too many thoughts on Daved. She understood now that he’d saved her.

So, when she opened her eyes and recognized the big man who’d perched on the tree branch scowling at her, her first thought was of her brother, Daved.

“’Tis you,” Elanna whispered. “The keeper of the word.” The words fled her before she knew their meaning. But of course. Here was the knight she’d Seen. The one with melancholy in his past. The one whose destiny crossed with hers in this moment. She hadn’t realized it would be now .

The man’s stern expression hardened at her words. “Your companion used that phrase. What does it mean?”

“I do not know,” Elanna said. “But you are the Wolf.”

She sat, noting for the first time the knight’s companions.

Three men and a woman knight. They stared at her.

She took her time scanning each of them, waiting to remember something she may have Seen about each of them, but nothing came.

One of the men did not match the appearance of the others.

His skin was a darker shade of bronze, and he had conflicting eyes.

“You are not from the Capella Realm, m’lord.”

The man hid his surprise well. His half-smile was an infectious, genuine one. “Nay, I am not. From Deogol, Lady. I am Hux.”

Elanna nodded and reconcentrated on the one called the Wolf.

Now that she observed him in the full light of day, she wondered how this huge man had climbed that tree.

Like the other men, his face was bearded, but a sharp chin outlined his scruff.

A three-day journey, she assessed from the length of his unshaven neck.

The Wolf was not only a knight, she noted, but a noble as well.

His shoulders were squared in a way that came from dignity, not training.

“What do they call the Wolf?”

“Lord Tolvar Weslyn of Askella, Lady Elanna.”

She didn’t ask how he knew her name. Tara.

That complicated matters.

Blissfully, being upright did not cause the state of exhaustion she had imagined it would. She examined the tears in her dress, noticing that a bandage covered her shoulder underneath.

“Dame Joss dressed your wound, m’lady.”

“My thanks.” Elanna inclined her head toward her. “Help me stand?”

On her feet, she breathed in determination. All she needed was Rasa to be found in the grove, some food, and the words to convince them to follow her plan instead of what she could tell they thought was theirs.