Pain fled from my brothers’ expressions as they fell into a deep slumber, and the blight creeping up their bodies halted altogether.
Safe. A gasp escaped my lips at the same time I capped my own magic. Noam and Nohr were alive. For now. Tears fell down my cheeks, and I felt my shoulders roll forward. I could save them. I could...
The aftermath of attempting to cure their blight—even to the smallest degree—hit hard and fast. Red-hot pain hammered into my bones as total darkness began to fill my peripheral vision. Sleep. I needed to sleep.
“Don’t worry about your brothers.” Orin crouched down before me and clasped his hands together. “I’ll transport them immediately to Fernglove and ensure the magic remains intact. A few of my family members came to town when I didn’t return home.” He glanced over his shoulder at the open door, then turned his focus back to me. Concern tugged at his brow, and he inched closer. “Edira?”
The world tilted on its axis, and I toppled to the side. Before I could hit the floor, Orin was there. He cupped my head with his hand and eased me down gently. Light fingers swept away the sweat-slicked locks clinging to my forehead.
“Rest. We’ll take care of everything else.” His words were muffled and distorted as sleep tugged at my senses. I didn’t know what I’d find waiting for me at Fernglove Estate, but I prayed that when I woke, I’d have the strength to survive my new role and eradicate the affliction that had robbed me of my family—and my future.
My head knocked against something firm as a loud thud pierced the fog in my brain. One by one, aches started to register, and I cataloged the sensations without opening my eyes. Clammyskin. A deep pounding behind my forehead. A throb that racked my very bones and worsened as another peculiar bump jostled my body. My thoughts drifted back slowly, and I steeled against the queasiness of my stomach with a forceful exhale. I’d made an agreement with an Ever. Not just any Ever, but Orin Fernglove.
My brothers.It was a whisper, an echo of a memory, and my eyes flew open. But instead of the comfort of my living room, I found myself in the confines of a tufted carriage sitting opposite two young girls.
More Evers.Their dark hazel eyes were a stunning shade of hickory with flecks of clover green, and they perfectly complemented the tawny beige tone of their skin. One had loose blond curls that tumbled in a wave to her waist, whereas the other’s hair was a deep brown and stopped at her clavicle. They shared the same severe jutted chin and full lips, and neither one of them spoke. Evers stopped aging in their mid-twenties, but these two couldn’t have been more than sixteen, possibly seventeen.
“My brothers?” My words scraped against my throat, and I swallowed dryly.
“They’re still alive,” the blonde said as she tilted her head. “I’m Amalyss Fernglove. This is Tasia.”
“Also a Fernglove,” she chimed in a breath after her relative. They certainly looked alike, down to the way they dressed. Skintight sable pants with the reflective sheen of oil covered their long legs, and they each wore sleeveless blouses embroidered with silver stitching—Amalyss’s in cobalt blue, Tasia’s in a rich eggplant.
“Where are they?”
“Already at the estate,” Tasia answered. “We’ve never had a threadmender bring their family before. That should be fun.” Tasia’s grin was cruel, jerking up sharply at the corners to reveal too-bright teeth with canines honed to fine points.
Amalyss’s smirk matched Tasia’s. “True, and your brothers are quite handsome. Maybe we’ll get to keep them.”
I should’ve encouraged Noam to spend time with Lysa. Her parents were far less dangerous than the pair of wolves sitting across from me, cackling as they shared a dark, private humor I had no desire to comprehend. I might have been employed by their family, but I would not allow them to frighten me. Not visibly, anyway.
“My brothers aren’t playthings. Leave them out of whatever you’re thinking.” I glowered at them as I fought against the rising irritation in my chest.
Amalyss’s and Tasia’s smiles only stretched wider toward their ears. Leaning forward, Amalyss pressed one elbow onto her knee and cupped her chin with her hand. “You’ll be fun, too.”
We hit another bump in the road, and a wave of pain flared through my limbs, momentarily shifting my focus away from their predatory remarks. I prayed we were close to their estate. I’d never been to Fernglove, but I’d heard from a few lucky elders that it was several hours by carriage. I needed a bath and some balms... My shoulders sagged.
“I didn’t get a chance to gather my things.”
Tasia’s tinkling laugh was as unsettling as her grin. “We grabbed your remedies in case you needed them.”
“But nothing else,” Amalyss added. “No need to invite blight into our home.”
I couldn’t imagine how any traces of blight in my house would’ve posed a threat greater than what my brothers carried, but I was just thankful Orin hadn’t balked at the idea of me bringing them along. Otherwise I would have no way of knowing if Noam and Nohr were safe.
Or alive.
A rumbling gurgle rolled through my stomach, and both Amalyss and Tasia raised their brows in disdain. My hand pressed firmly against my belly, trying to quell the sound, but of course that did nothing other than alert me to the fact that my clothing hadbeen changed. A dawning sense of frustration and anger thrummed beneath my fingers. One of these Evers had undressed me.
“My clothes?” I asked.
“As we said,” Tasia murmured, her voice silky and full of threat, “we didn’t need any extra blight in the house.”
“Not that you had any fun garments to pick from.” Amalyss’s lips pulled together in a childish pout. Then she beamed. “Maybe he’ll let us make you more presentable.”
The absolute last thing I wanted was to be locked in a room with these two so they could dress me like a doll, curl my hair, paint my face—I didn’t even know what Evers did to beautify themselves. Anything beyond their normal appearance hardly seemed necessary. Their skin was flawless, their hair glossy and nourished. I’d never seen an Ever even appear to be ill. Between their own brand of magic and their insistence on having a threadmender on hand, they remained forever timeless.
Absently, I dropped my hand to my pants in search of my mother’s leather scrap and froze. “What did you do with my blouse and skirt?”
