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She immediately relaxes at the sound of my voice, melting into my arms. “I missed you,” she breathes, leaning against me while I hold her weight.
Her head falls back against my chest, landing on one of my deep wounds. I wince in pain as silently as I can, but she notices me flinch. She turns toward me faster than I can stop her. I knew this was coming.
I kiss her cheek as she rotates toward me, stalling her for another second. “I missed you too.”
Her sterling eyes fill with concern as they land on the deep cuts covering my face and neck. Raising her hand to my cheek, she slides a finger just below a cut. “What happened?”
She looks like she wants to cry seeing me hurt, and it breaks my heart. I’m fine, but explaining that to her is easier said than done.
“I got into a fight with a cat,” I shrug with a gentle smile, running my thumb and index finger under her chin, tipping her lips to meet mine as I plant a soft kiss.
“I can see that,” she says, avoiding my gaze as she surveys the gashes in my flesh. “What cat would do this to you?”
Considering my options for a moment, I decide I shouldn’t lie to her. I’m working on trusting her, and I can’t break her trust in the process, even if she won’t like my answer. “There was a sphynx hunting near Northford. I took care of it before it made its way into town.”
She pales at my mention of the creature. “I thought sphynxes were a myth.”
Shaking my head, I say, “They’re not a myth. There are a few that have dwelled within the Wychwood Forest for hundreds of years. The Archai courts and Tartarus exiled them instead of killing them. Probably a stupid mistake now that I think back on it.”
“Is Tartarus livable anymore?” she asks.
A question I’ve thought through many times before. “The truth is, I don’t know. If we can find a way to take control of the criminals and creatures it could be made livable again with some time. If we can’t rid Tartarus of the evils… the few remaining people will not survive. Not for much longer. The supply drops are being cleared out shortly after we’re stocking them. We can’t keep up.”
“They need a leader,” she sighs, looking deep into my eyes.
I nod, closing my eyes as she strokes the back of my neck, slowly massaging the store muscles. “They need a leader and a large show of force to round up the criminals and scare the creatures back into the Wychwood Forest.”
She’s quiet as she continues massaging, kneading her fingers into my neck. There’s a light tingle that zips along the surface of my skin, raising every hair on my body for a brief second. I open my eyes to find her glowing with a soft silver aura surrounding her body.
“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper as I watch her in awe. “I’ve never seen you do this.”
She smiles sweetly as she removes her hand from my neck and the aura around her dims. “I told you I’ve been working on some things.”
I feel around, chasing the tingle on my neck and face as it fades with her aura, and I realize my wounds are gone. “You healed me,” I gasp with wide eyes.
She stands there beaming at me, quietly waiting for the praise she knows is coming.
“Perhaps your training sessions aren’t as bad as I thought. You’ve learned so much from Geras. He’s teaching you these tricks faster than I learned them... It took meyearsto master the art of healing, and sometimes I’m still not the best at it.”
Her eyes light up as she whispers against my lips, “It’s nice to hear you admit when you’re wrong.”
“I’m doing my best to trust that you know best,” I wink at her, stealing a quick kiss as she grins at me.
Pulling her into a hug, I wrap my arms around her tightly as she hugs me back. I rest my chin on the top of her head.
For the first time since arriving home, I take a second to look around. There’s a line of travelers arriving toward the end of the row we’re standing in.
“They’re still arriving? How many?” I ask as I pull back to meet Adeena’s eyes.
She’s reluctant to answer my question, and there’s hesitation in her voice. “We don’t know the exact number, but I’m estimating we’re over twelve thousand now.”
“I think we need to finish our meeting with Izan and Lyra.”
Exhaling deeply, she nods in agreement. “Yes, I know. I’ve already set it up for this evening. They’ve cleared their schedules to meet with us after dinner.”
Chapter Sixteen
ADEENA
