“Idon’t see a collar around your neck.”Ireveled in the way her jaw clenched at that.
“Ladies, why don’t we all just calm down?”Avlynhad their hands up, calling for a truce.Weboth rounded on them so fast that they took a step back. “Gods, commander of anarmy at war, andI’min more danger trapped with you two.”Theysat back down, focusing on cooking again.
Itook a breath.Thenanother.Finally,Iasked, “Howdid you know about the necklace?”
Pallaspaused, some of that hatred leaving her face.Butit quickly returned. “Howdid you light that fire just now?”
Weboth sat there, unwilling to yield, untilIsawJunfall next to the edge of the pool.
“Jun!”PallasandIscreamed in unison.Weboth darted over to him, butIwas faster.Iwrapped him up in my arms, and he moaned weakly.Iran my hand over his forehead, and he felt clammy.
“He’sstill weak.Heneeds time to recover,”Pallassaid as she placed her hands on his chest.
“Somefood would likely help.”Iheld her stare until finally she gave in and turned back to the campfire.
“Jun,Idon’t know how, but we are going to get through this, alright?”Iwhispered it in his ear.
Hemumbled, “Tori, if we keep sneaking out,Fatherwill catch us.Idon’t want you to get in trouble.”Hewas confused, andIjust held him tighter.
“You’rethe one in trouble now,Jun.ButI’mhere likeIshould have always been.”Ilaid a soft kiss on his forehead, and his sweat mixed with my tears, leaving a salty taste in my mouth.Pallasreturned with the small, cooked body of one squirrel on a stick.Shepulled a small piece of meat off and blew on it.
IproppedJunup against my chest, andPallasgently placed the food in his mouth.Iwas worried he wouldn’t eat it, but his hunger won out, and he chewed it rapidly and opened his mouth again.Pallascontinued to tear off small pieces and cool them before giving them to him.Wesat like that for quite a while in silence.
Perusual,Iwas the first one to break it. “Thankyou,Pallas.”Shehad been reaching out toJun, andIsaw her hand falter. “Thankyou for taking care of him whenIcouldn’t.”Itwas clear she cared for him, and as much as it pained me,Iowed her a great deal.
Pallasflattened her lips but nodded to me.WefedJunthe rest of the meat in silence.
Chapter 4
Tori
Aftereating,Jundozed off, andIbegrudgingly left him withPallas.Sheleaned against a nearby rock and let his head lay in her lap while gently stroking his hair.
Ireturned toAvlynand scarfed down my share of the meal.Itwasn’t particularly good; the meat was stringy and dried out from the smoke of the fire, butIate every morsel.
Iwas licking the grease from my fingers whenAvlynsaid, “What’sthe plan,Princess?”
Ithrew my stick into the fire and wiped my fingers on my ruined dress. “Whyare you asking me?You’rethe commander.Whatwas the next step of the plan?”
“Thiswas never damn well in the plan, and you know it.”Theycrossed their arms over their chest.
“DoI?Ididn’t know the army was going to invade.Iclearly wasn’t privy to you andAbraxas’ schemes.”Thetears were rising again, andIwas already so tired of it.
Avlyn’sface softened. “That’sprotocol.Knowingcould have compromised your role.Itwasn’t because we didn’t trust you.”
“Butyou don’t trust me.You’vesaid as much, many times infact.”Iraised my knees up and wrapped my arms around them, tucking my head into my arms so thatIcould hide my shame.Tearsfell, andIjust felt numb all over.
Avlynput their hand on my shoulder, butIdidn’t raise my face. “Tori,Isaw you fight for him, for us.Iknow you can be trusted, andI’msorryIdidn’t before.”Theysighed heavily. “Hemeans everything to me, too.”
Yes,Avlynwas mourning, too.Abraxashad kept his secrets, and now we didn’t know if we would ever get him back.
“IthinkIgot so pissed off when you tried to escape, when you got hurt, because of how he reacted.Ihadn’t seen him like that in centuries since the years afterMalech’sdefeat.Itwas like he was completely gone, dead, even if his body was still moving.Iknew then how he felt about you, butIhated how you made him hurt like that again, even if that wasn’t really fair.”
Myheart stuttered.I’dbeen asleep, soIhadn’t seen it.Kaleoshad mentioned something to me, butI’dbeen so blind then, unwilling to see the truth of his feelings and my own.
Avlyncontinued, “Theonly thing that brought him back all those centuries ago was anger, his desire for vengeance.I‘sposeIcan see why now.Allhis family killed; his entire species gone… except for him.Atthe time,Ithought he killed his father.Ithought that’s what was eating him up.Ididn’t understand why he had done it, butIwas young then, never questioned him.Inever did later, either… maybe ifIhad…”
Ilooked up. “It’smy fault we failed,Avlyn.Ifroze up in the dungeon.Hehad my… my mother strung up, andIfroze.Ilet them capture me.”
