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“No!” I groaned, chest cracking. “It’s not working! Why isn’t it working—”

“What isn’t working?” demanded Gemma, gripping my shoulders from behind, searching my face for answers. “Ary! ”

“My power!” I choked out a tired, angry sob.

Gemma shook her head, not understanding. “Your power isn’t—”

“She saved a boy’s life,” Gavin explained. “Outside the temple, she healed him.”

Gemma sucked in a breath, the rest of them growing silent.

Rage slithered up my spine as I tried to reach for the green spoke, to summon that viridescent light through my body, through Caz’s leg.

“Caz,” I groaned through gritted teeth. No trace of jasmine in my nostrils, no rush of renewed life. No wheel. No temple. Nothing. “No, no, no! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry—”

“Stop.” Caz reached for my elbow and squeezed. I barely felt it, he was so weak. A brave grin warmed his pale face, brightened his gentle hazel eyes as they fluttered open. “Don’t break yourself for me, Ary.”

I took his hand and cradled it to my chest. The only way I could hug him and not risk hurting him.

Ezra stood beside me, fuming. “I thought Simeon had wards on this city!”

“Magic doesn’t stop rudimentary explosives,” answered Damond. “Who knows how long those explosives had been under that temple? Decades, maybe.”

“And you think it’s a coincidence they went off today?” Gemma pressed a cool cloth to Caz’s forehead. “We should have left sooner. They must know she’s here.”

Calmly, Gavin shook his head. “They don’t know that.”

“How do you know what they do or don’t know?” Her ebony curls trembled—an extension of her rage. “Are you one of them?”

Gavin turned on her. “Why do you think Simeon sent me , Tremaine? Because I’m good with a blade?

” He bared his teeth. “He sent me because I have seen and done shit your precious army commander would piss himself over. He sent me because I know evil, I know Molochai, and Molochai will want her —” he pointed at me, “—for himself. So, if Insidions knew she was anywhere near here, they certainly wouldn’t risk blowing her up. ”

“Insidions have always gone after the temples first,” Damond rushed out in agreement. “They despise the Selvaren. Tovick has been a bastion for years. It was only a matter of time before they decided to strike.”

“It doesn’t matter why,” Finn spoke up. “We need to split up,” He wiped the sweat from his forehead, smearing his brother’s blood over his skin. “Just in case. We need to get Caz to the Caves. If there’s any chance at saving the leg, we have to get him to Nestor and Abram.”

Trembling, Caz took a glass of water from Damond’s hand and rasped, “I’ll be fine.”

“Shut the hell up! You got your leg blown off!” Finn shouted, running his trembling hands through his short black hair. “We have to go back to the Caves, Caz and me, and at least one other.”

Gemma glared at Finn. “We have to stay together!”

“Don’t break yourself for me, Ary.”

They argued, but Caz’s words echoed in my mind, drowning them out. He had broken for me, lost a piece of himself, risked everything—for me. They all had.

No more.

Just because I wasn’t ready didn’t mean they had to stay.

“Enough.” I stood. “You will go home. All of you.”

Gemma gave me a warning glare. “Ary—”

“The four of you will head west to Avendrel.”

Conviction. I’d had to fake it many times before, but not this time.

“If the leg can’t be saved, Caz will rest until dawn tomorrow,” I continued.

“And you will leave once the bleeding stops. You will take horses. Do not stop until you get to the Caves. If at any point you are followed, Elias’s forces are strong enough to deal with them.

Smyth and I will go to Brinnea, to Simeon.

” I cleared my throat and looked up at him, hopeful.

“That is what I want. Will you take me? ”

Utter relief and awe stared back at me through his yearning eyes. “Yes, I’ll take you.”

“Let’s all go,” Ezra insisted, looking nervously between me and Gavin. “All of us, let’s go home.”

He meant all of us other than Gavin. But home, to me, did not feel like those Caves.

“I’m not ready.” Whether or not I would ever be ready, I didn’t know. At the very least, I knew I wasn’t ready until I met with Simeon.

And I wasn’t ready to leave him .

Gemma took my hand. “Ary—”

“This is not up for debate. I need to go to Brinnea. It is…” I forced a swallow, forced that fear and anxiety down. I knew I better start practicing. “It is an order.”

Ezra shook his head. “Elias will—”

“If Elias didn’t deem it crucial to deliver me to the Caves himself, he can wait a few more weeks.” The words clapped out of me, angry and hard.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gavin’s lips twitch for a moment before he tamped down his pride with a clenched jaw.

“Caz.” I knelt down, resting my shaking hand on his clean-shaven face. He was in and out, so I wasn’t sure he had heard. “You are going home. Gemma, Finn, and Ezra will take you home. To Marin and the baby.”

His sweat drenched his skin—far too pale now. “Marin will disown me if I don’t bring back her queen.”

“Then you tell her it’s an order,” I gritted my teeth, eyes burning, “ from her queen . And that I will…” My throat tightened at the promise I was scared to make. “I will come when I’m ready.” Then I smiled, because this next part was true. “I’ll have to meet that sweet baby, after all.”

His responding grin was his strongest yet.

** *

Finn and Ezra stayed with Caz in the tavern’s back room, where they’d moved him to a sofa near the hearth roaring with fire and heat.

I watched as Damond fastened a metal lock on the door.

Now that the front was incinerated leaving the main room open to the elements, there was direct access from the outside.

It was an effort to refrain from helping Tovick townspeople sift through the temple rubble, but Damond assured me few people had been harmed.

Those remaining were under the care of the town healers, and the town leaders were searching for the source of the implosion.

My efforts were better spent preparing our friends for their journey.

So I gave those efforts in the kitchen, preparing food to send with them.

I chopped and boiled potatoes, sliced bread and meat.

Hopefully the food would last to nourish them until they arrived at the Caves.

I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get there on horseback, but surely faster than we’d traveled from Warrich to Tovick.

For Caz, they had to.

Heat warmed the kitchen from both the stove and wood-burning oven. I cracked open the window above the wide metal sink basin for some crisp, fresh air to dry the sweat on my brow and heard Gemma’s shouts.

Standing on the tips of my toes, I peeked outside to see Gavin, gathering and sharpening blades, preparing them to be stored on belts and in satchels. Gemma followed him around the forested area directly behind the tavern, arms waving, beautiful eyes blazing.

“She is not going anywhere alone with you !”

“She is.” Gavin filled a quiver with arrows. “It’s her choice. She wants to go to Brinnea. I will take her there. She is safe with me.”

“Is she?” Gemma hissed. “Is she really ? ”

Gavin turned slowly, lip curled with disdain. “What are you implying, Tremaine?”

“Do you think I can’t tell what a man wants?” she sneered, hands on her hips. “You want to keep her for yourself.”

A lifted eyebrow and devilish smirk appeared as he said, “Perhaps I’ve underestimated your intuition, after all.”

“You bastard! ” She scowled, shoving at him, trying to rile him up. It didn’t work. “You want to ruin her for your own pleasure. Get her to let her guard down and manipulate her. So you can fuck the young queen and say you did!”

Anger stewed in my belly at both of them. At Gavin, for not denying it. Laughing to antagonize her. At Gemma, for speaking of me like I was some mindless puppet who would let him take without my permission. For thinking he really would.

“You even have the gall to laugh about it.” She threw her fists into his chest. But he stood, an immovable stone wall, and answered her anger with an unbothered stare.

“Why haven’t you done it already?” She shoved him again, egging him on to a fight she would lose.

Her free hand tightened on the handle of her blade like she was going to wield it.

“Do you or don’t you want to bed her before Elias Winterton? ”

But Gemma couldn’t catch him off guard. Her blade got no farther than the air in front of her face before he stopped her with a steel grip and a mean, acerbic scowl.

“You have no fucking idea.”

I stumbled back two steps from the sink, fists and stomach clenched.

He hadn’t done a very good job at hiding his interest in me. Though I assumed being sheltered and na?ve were mostly to blame whenever I wondered if he wanted me. He showered me with attention and care, and I couldn’t help but be drawn to him .

Gemma burst through the door to the hallway outside the kitchen, leaving it wide open in her wake. She stopped, her caramel eyes pleading, when she saw me standing there.

“I need more time,” I told her. “It’s my choice.”

With a bitter scowl, she uttered, “It’s a stupid choice,” and stormed off.

Maybe it was, but I trusted my gut regardless.

Still, my chest sunk into my stomach as I watched her go. I was quickly learning that I couldn’t please everyone. Accepting this reality didn’t soothe the ache of knowing how Gemma and I were leaving things.

Heavy footsteps drew my attention toward the kitchen door, followed by a cold rush of leather and sweet cedar blown in from the winter wind.

Gavin stopped when he saw me. I sized him up—his intimidating form, dark hair pulled back with a leather strap. The way his long sleeves were rolled up around his thick arms, revealing those tattoos.

I couldn’t help but look at him and wonder what it would be like to be on the receiving end of his desire.

His face hardened when he saw me. He glanced at the open window, then back at me, then the floor. Nostrils flaring, he asked, “How much did you hear?”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “Enough.”

“Enough to what, Ella?” Panic laced his voice.

“It doesn’t matter.” It was an effort to keep my tone steady. “I trust you.”

That was true. For better or worse, I trusted him.

He took two steps forward, just into the kitchen. I retreated to give him room. He winced at my withdrawal.

“I will not touch you, Aryella. What she said…” He ran his hand over his face and huffed out a breath. “You are safe with me.”

I knew that. Too well. I craved his closeness like a drug and loathed his self-control .

Afraid of the resentful note in my voice, I merely nodded.

“It’s very late.” His deep voice turned gravelly. “If you’re finished here, you should get some rest.” Avoiding my gaze, he backed into the hallway. “We’ll leave tomorrow for Brinnea.”

“Will you talk to her?” I rushed out. “I know you don’t feel the need to prove yourself to anyone, but anything I say… she won’t listen. She thinks I’m helpless.” My eyes burned. “But I don’t want to leave her like this, with her angry.”

“She has no reason to be angry at you, Ella. It’s me she—”

“Please.” I tied the ends of a knapsack and fidgeted with the strings. “She needs to hear it from you. Show her the man I see so she knows I’m safe with you.”

He leaned one arm against the doorframe and ran his other hand over his scarred, bearded face. I’d started to give up hope when finally, he nodded. “I’ll handle it.”

Sighing in relief, I covered the space between us and threw my arms around him. “Thank you,” I muttered into his chest, inhaling his scent, absorbing his warmth.

He folded his strong arms around me—engulfing my small body. “Anything for you,” he whispered, resting his lips in my hair.

Minutes later, I crawled into bed and watched as Gemma semi-successfully tamed her curls into a high knot. She hadn’t spoken a word since our confrontation outside the kitchen.

Three firm knocks on the door snapped the rope of tension. She crossed the room in four long strides and jerked it open, revealing Gavin.

“Tremaine.” His expression was hard and cold. He glanced at me, gaze softening, before looking back at her. “May I speak with you?”

Her scowl was an answer enough. She moved to slam the door in his face, but he stuck out a heavy, black boot and scowled right back.

“Gemma,” I spoke up from bed. “Please. ”

She glared at me, then Gavin. With an indecipherable grumble, she shoved past him into the hallway. Before following, Gavin gave me a pointed nod. A promise.

I heard the door to the men’s bedroom across the hall open and close.

They were in that room for over an hour. There was no shouting, only the distant rumbling of their hushed conversation. For long, torturous minutes, I waited before finally succumbing to my nerves and deciding there was nothing I could do besides get some rest.

Almost asleep when Gemma finally entered, I heard her move quietly and carefully through the room. She climbed into bed but remained seated upright as she rested her hand on my hip. Thinking I was asleep, clearly.

But I could see her face in the vanity mirror. Her worries stewed beneath the moonlight. Her caramel eyes were distant, glassy, sad. She looked like she was somewhere else.

Bile rose swiftly in my throat. I’d known it was a risk, asking him to convince her. I knew he had secrets.

And I suspected he’d just told her one he had yet to tell me.