Page 30

CHAPTER 30

Quill

The bracelet slipped from Sage’s delicate wrist and she vanished, leaving only the crumpled silk robe fluttering down into the couch cushions. My chest tightened with a churning mix of relief, yearning, and regret. Relief that she was finally free to return to her body, but regret that she was beyond my ability to protect… like Sawyer’s sister.

I shoved that thought as far back as I could, even though I knew it was going to keep haunting me. It had haunted me while I’d bathed and held her, and while I’d fought to sit on the couch in the sitting room while she talked with Zinnia.

Hell, everything about those women haunted me.

When I’d bathed Sage, I couldn’t stop wondering if Sawyer’s sister was bruised like Sage. Sawyer had said their father had hit them. Had his sister’s bruises healed by now or did she have more?

Sawyer had claimed she was safe, but was she? Everyone had thought Sage had been safe but Wells and Crane had proven us wrong. And a human woman in the human realm couldn’t possibly be safe.

The urge to find her twisted my insides, but so, too, did the urge to find Sage. Her trembling sobs when I’d washed her had shattered my heart. I’d never seen a fae woman so small and broken. If we hadn’t saved her, she would have?—

I didn’t want to think what would have happened. She’d killed Wells out of sheer determination, but after hitting her head like she had, she wouldn’t have been able to fend off the other men.

No, she would have continued to fight. She’d only shown me how much they’d hurt her because she’d felt safe… something I wanted to ensure Sawyer’s sister felt.

Goddess, I was losing my mind.

I had to pull my shit together. I wasn’t done. I still had to tell the others about Sage’s mating marks, and we needed a plan to protect her from my mother — even if that meant murdering West and hiding his body. And planning wasn’t going to happen while I was still in a room with West, Zinnia, and Aster.

Beside me, Aster stayed seated in the dining chair clutching the bracelet, his red eyes bright with curiosity.

Swell.

I’d seen that look on a lot of magisters when they were focused on their work or had found something intriguing and knew if I didn’t say something, he’d be lost in thought for hours.

“Magister Aster,” I said, hoping just talking with him would catch his attention. “You’ll ensure the bracelet is returned to the White Tower?”

He slowly turned his head and blinked at me. “Hmm? Oh, yes, yes.” His gaze dropped back to the bracelet. “It’s so interesting. The physical and magical craftsmanship is exquisite. The?—”

I glanced at Talon as he came up beside me. He rolled his eyes and raised a silver eyebrow at me. Aster was brilliant, but he easily became lost in his work — like a lot of magisters in the White Tower did, actually.

“Aster,” I insisted, my tone sharper than I wanted.

If the bracelet hadn’t been a clue as to who’d been involved in Sage’s attack, I wouldn’t have cared. But even if the Order caught all the men who’d been in the sacred pool’s chamber, that didn’t mean everyone had been apprehended, and the bracelet could help us figure out who was left.

“It’s essential the artifact is secured in the White Tower,” I said. “You can study it after it’s been catalogued by the Head of Artifacts.”

Aster wrenched his attention away from the bracelet and met my gaze. “You have my word.”

He stood, slipped the artifact into a velvet-lined pouch hanging from his belt — as if to prove he could focus on something other than the bracelet — and headed to the door. But he was mumbling about it before the door to the suite had even closed.

“You’ll want to follow up on that,” Talon said. “Would hate for that evidence to go missing.”

I hated that thought as well, but I couldn’t confiscate the bracelet. I was in the Garden in my spirit form. The moment I left the Garden’s boundaries, my spirit form would dissolve and the bracelet would fall to the ground where anyone could pick it up.

“I’ll make sure it gets to the Head of Artifacts,” Zinnia said as she stood.

“Wait.” West stepped in front of her, stopping her from leaving the couch. “Tell me about Sage’s condition first. How severe is her memory loss?”

“You know I can’t discuss a patient’s condition with you.” Zinnia glanced at me and Talon. “Or any of you. But I’ll say this. Don’t expect her to behave the way you think she should.”

Talon nodded. “Even without the memory loss, she’s been traumatized and I have it on good authority that she’s painfully shy.”

West stiffened. “Whose authority?”

I studied his expression, but it didn’t change so I couldn’t figure out what the tightening of his posture meant.

“As far as I know Ash and Rider are the only ones who’ve spent time with her,” Talon said as West’s gaze rose to meet mine.

“This was my first time saying more than a few words to her.” And we hadn’t really said much to each other this time as well… which was good, because I might have forgotten she wasn’t Sawyer’s sister and asked her for her name. “Ash has confirmed that she’s avoided the courtyard after her initial arrival.”

“And Rider told me she’d been using his name as a shield to avoid spending time with anyone,” Talon added.

West’s grim expression darkened, but again, I had no idea what that meant. Was he angry with Sage for using Rider’s name to protect herself? Or had it reminded him of what had happened to her? Or did it piss him off that she was going to be slow bonding with her mates because she was shy?

If the latter was the case, he was going to be furious to learn her marks were asleep and she wouldn’t be bonding with anyone anytime soon.

“I suggest the Order hurry their investigation,” Zinnia said jabbing a finger into West’s chest. “Captain Ash is important to her, and I doubt you’ll be able to complete your duty without him.”

Guess Zinnia also believed that Ash was Sage’s first mate.

“If you’ll excuse me,” she said and she strode out of the suite.

West turned his glare back on me, reminding me that we were in his and Sage’s suite. He had the spirit anchor on him, but would he risk leaving and having Sage manifest where he couldn’t easily protect her?

“Well.” I stood, met Talon’s gaze, and jerked my chin toward the door indicating we should leave. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening, Sir West.”

“That’s not necessary, Your Highness,” West said, his voice a deep, emotionless rumble.

“And yet…” I left, not waiting for West to remind me there wasn’t any point to me visiting Sage. He had to be thinking it. I had no magic. The Goddess would never bond us.

“And yet…” Talon chuckled as he followed me into the quiet hall and closed the door behind us. “Well played. Still,” he said as he pulled me into a hug. “I’m sorry you had to become His Highness again.”

I leaned into his embrace. Goddess, I loved the feel of his arms around me, loved how I felt safe and secure and supported. My chest tightened with churning emotions I needed to ignore. What I wanted and how I felt didn’t matter at the moment. Only keeping Sawyer’s sis— Sage ! Only keeping Sage safe mattered.

“Not here,” I whispered in his ear.

He drew back and met my gaze. I glanced at the door to Sage’s suite and he nodded. We’d spent enough time working together that he understood I didn’t want anyone overhearing our conversation and not that I didn’t want him holding me.

We manifested our spirit forms at the entrance to the Sacred Grove and hurried to the now not-quite-so-secret conception suite where we’d brought Sage. It was still the most secure spot in the Garden.

“Do you know where Rider and Ash are?” I asked the minute the door closed behind us.

“Ash returned to the Black Tower to keep an eye on the novices, what with Sawyer threatening to murder Mikel and his group in their sleep.” Talon rubbed his face, suddenly looking exhausted.

Shit. Had that only been yesterday?

It felt like a lifetime ago.

“It’s also a lieu day, and all the novices are usually the first ones through the gate to Lehyrst,” Talon added. “Ash can’t afford to miss that if he wants to maintain his cover, and I should get going soon. It’s my turn to monitor Lehyrst and make sure the novices don’t make trouble.”

I sagged onto the couch and stared at the magical fire in the hearth. The flames had burst to life when we’d entered, offering soft light and warmth, but it couldn’t relax me. With Sage gone, with a moment to breathe and think, everything that had happened came crashing down.

Except I couldn’t wallow or let my whirlwind thoughts and emotions whip through me. “I’m assuming, given that it’s already full morning, that Rider returned to the Gray.”

“That’s my guess as well. Ash had said he went to talk with Lark to calm his wolf and that the sacred pool’s chamber was swarming with Order knights.” Talon sat on the couch beside me and pulled me back into his arms. “The Order’s investigator is Yarrow, by the way.”

“So we still have no idea if we can trust anyone in the Order.”

Yarrow was an excellent investigator, and he wouldn’t stop until he, personally, knew the truth. But he was devoutly dedicated to the Order, and if Lord Commander Phoenix told him to withhold any or all information, he would, and he wouldn’t ask questions.

And that wasn’t nearly as important as dealing with West.

“I know you don’t want to be anywhere near her—” I started but Talon cut me off.

“You can’t be with her at all times. I’m willing the share guard duty with you and Rider.”

I pulled back, surprised. Talon had avoided all unmated women since being infected with his shadow because he couldn’t afford to be bonded with anyone. He even had to be rude to get them to stay away.

“And you’re all right with this? You can’t be mean to her while you’re with her.” I doubted West would stand for it, and I couldn’t bear the thought, either.

I’d held her while she cried and sat nearly comatose in the bath for almost an hour and then I watched her rebuild herself one breath at a time. It was slow and steady, a powerful determination that started as a faint glimmer in her eyes and carefully grew.

She was still shy — that much was obvious when Aster had showed up — and being trapped by the bracelet had still scared her, but I knew when we’d stepped out of the tub she’d regained the same strength she’d had when she’d killed Wells.

And I had to protect that spark.

“We have to be in the suite when she manifests tonight. Whatever Wells and Crane did, it messed with her marks and Zinnia had to put them asleep.”

Talon’s eyes flashed wide. “For how long?”

“She doesn’t know. But my mother will lose her mind if she can’t use Sage.”

“West might lose his mind as well.” Talon huffed. “I doubt your mother will remove the spirit link if Sage turns out to be a broken toy. She’ll just forget about Sage and West and move on to the next game.”

“Unless West is more valuable than he looks.”

But he had to have a powerful magical ability for him to be valuable enough for Her Brilliance to care that he was spirit linked to a woman who might never be bonded and never conceive children. My mother tossed me aside without a second thought, and I’d spend my entire childhood training to be a mate to a High Priestess.

“I’d have to confirm with Ash, but I think linking West to Sage was just part of her game.” Talon stood and offered me his hand. “Let’s get back to the Gray and talk to Rider. Here’s hoping we can convince West it’s in his best interest not to mention Sage’s marks to your mother.”

“Here’s hoping Rider’s wolf will stay calm enough for us to convince West,” I said, taking his hand.

Rider was protective of women whether he was interested in them or not, and given how he’d reacted to Sage being attacked there was a chance he was actually interested.