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9
EVANNA
Once breakfast was over, I stood, and began to walk out of the dining hall with Kingston and his warriors on my heels. The room had remained silent after my speech, no one daring to speak their thoughts out loud, but I didn’t need them to. I could see the doubts on their faces after learning that for the first time in nineteen years, Raithian had actually gotten to me.
He had taken me and were it not for Braxton coming to my aid with the kids, I didn’t know what would have been of me.
I’d been avoiding thinking about it all this time, but Raithian was right. I had been distracted. If I hadn’t been engulfed by Braxton’s presence and how I felt with him...
My chest ached at the same time that movement came from my left. I stopped walking to see Kingston block Lachlan’s advance with his massive body.
“I didn’t hear you request an audience with the princess,” my guardian said all too calmly, his voice as cold as steel.
A heavy sigh left my old friend, and he stepped back. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware I needed one.”
“You should have. You were part of her guard long enough to know that only her Elevated Warriors and Lady Willow can approach her freely. Do I need to remind you that you are no longer one of us?”
“No.” Lachlan’s jaw tensed with the answer. “I remember you purging my armor and spear clearly enough.”
“Good. Now that each of us understands our place, I would recommend that you go scout the land for a new refuge for your Battlesky Clan. You are a leader now, so their wellbeing is your responsibility, not Evanna’s.”
“Kingston…” I reproached, receiving a sly glance from him.
“He has his own clan, and now it is his time to learn about the sacrifices you make every single day. If he wants to be a true leader, he does not get to rip your rewards, he needs to sow his own.” My guardian turned to scowl at his ex-commander again. “If you need to speak to her so desperately, you can head to the throne room and wait for the people’s aid session.”
I had no patience for this. Not today.
“I will not stand for this drama,” I huffed and walked towards Lachlan. “Stop challenging Kingston. You are only making your life more difficult, and frankly, you know better than to behave this way. You can’t force your way to see me just because you want it so. I have a million things to deal with, none of which involve nursing your ego. Be respectful.” My eyes then bore into my guardian’s. “I need you to move on from what he did, because this is only setting us back. There are more important things you and I need to focus on.”
My gaze said what my words hadn’t. The main thing right now was Braxton. We needed to figure out a way to tell him the truth about his father and mother, and who he was. Not that we truly knew, ourselves. I also had to find out what Kingston perceived from his interactions with him. Braxton was different, and I needed to know how?
“What do you want?” I asked, glancing at Lachlan again.
He sighed, still standing on the other side of the wall of muscle that stopped him from reaching me. “I just wished to say that I’m sorry.”
“I know.” My hand waved at Kingston to let him come to me.
“Willow is right,” he admitted, walking closer to stand a few feet across from me. “I never should have challenged you in front of everyone like that. It was impulsive and rude, that has always been my downfall, but it was never my intention.”
“If you want it forgotten, I’m willing to move on, but you have to stop instigating doubt among my people. I am doing everything I can!” I assured, perhaps a bit more emphatically than I should have. My hands fisted at my sides from frustration.
“Instigating? I am not instigating anything,” he denied, sounding insulted.
“If not you, then who spread the word that Raithian crossed my path?”
“When I saw the state you arrived in with that new‘warrior,’I was worried about you. And I didn’t know that was supposed to be a secret. You have never hidden things from your kin.”
Letting out a heavy sigh, I shook my head. “It ismyresponsibility to informmykin of what has happened, not yours. These people have been through so much, Lachlan. They are scared, petrified, and thinking that the one person they have left to protect them and guide them to freedom was almost taken by their enemy, doesn’t give them any respite from that. As a leader, you have to bear many rocks over your shoulders, so your people don’t have to. This was one I was willing to bear fully, because travelling again was a risk I had to take. Youneedto understand that. Nothing good comes from letting fear fester in their souls.”
“So, you weren’t going to tell them? They deserve to know the truth!” he pressed, sounding stunned.
“I was going to tell them when I was ready, andafterI had the answers I needed. You have no notion of the things set in motion and the situations I’m currently dealing with, so you couldn’t possibly begin to understand. The next time you are worried about me, Lachlan. Come to me, not everyone else.”
With the demand, I whirled around, making my way to the throne room. I was fuming. Halting by the double doors, I held my side and took a few calming breaths—trying to stop the pain the argument had caused. I wasn’t fully healed, only well enough to resume my duties.
I regretted getting so upset, but I didn’t like being forced into things before I was ready. It hadn’t been the right moment to talk to him about what happened. And certainly, not the time to reveal a situation to my kin that could potentially uncover Braxton’s truth before we even knew the extent of his nature, and before he knew it himself.
“Are you alright?” my guardian whispered next to me, placing a gentle hand on my back.
