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She hiccupped, forcing down another sob to continue. “She asked if I wanted him to live. And I…and I…oh Gods.”
“You said no.”
She nodded, closing her eyes while fresh tears ran down her face. She hiccupped again.
“Look at me,” I said, but she didn’t, continuing to stare at herself in silent self-loathing. “Look at me!” I wove a threat of compulsion through my words that I knew she would be able to identify. But at that moment, I didn’t care if she knew what I was or not.
She raised her head to stare with unblinking dead eyes at me.
“What he did, no one deserves that. No means no, Miss Arison. There is an extraordinary place in Hell for men like him, and had I been there, I would have ended him myself. There is no blame on you for choosing to end the risk to others.”
“He could have been arrested,”
“Do you really think casters like him ever get what they deserve? Do you think a few months in a cell is really going to reform him - if he even got that much? Humans have never properly punished those who take from others the way he tried to take from you.” I paused to watch the penetration of my words. “Men like him do what they do because they aren’t afraid of the consequences. The consequences don’t even weigh into their decision-making process when they decide to take what they want. You saved others from going through what he would have done to you by telling Aeryn no.”
I released my compulsion, but still she looked at me, the wheels of her mind churning with my words. Finally, the tears slowed, and she nodded her head at me.
“But here is another truth I must tell you: no one in this keep will care about what that scout would have done to you. There’s no evidence Aeryn was there; I investigated the body myself before anyone else was even aware he was dead. There is nothing that is going to convince them you aren’t guilty. These men want someone to blame, and you’re it.”
Fresh hot tears rained down her cheeks, desperation oozing from her like the blood from her cuts.
“Now, I have to ask something else - what happened to Ness when you healed her?”
She pinched her eyes shut, shaking her head gently before surrendering to my inquisition.
“I couldn’t heal her. I’d just lost her pulse when Ryn entered. Her eyes had been just as bright as they had been the night before. But she didn’t say anything, she simply put her hands on Ness’ chest and healed her. I don’t know how she had done it, but when she’d finished Ness had no visible wounds left.” The woman paused, as if putting something together she hadn’t before. “Did she - did she kill Acton to save Ness?”
I didn’t reply, my silence was all the answer she needed.
“Did he… I can’t believe I’m asking this, but did he deserve it?”
“Many people at this keep deserve worse fates than what both these men got. That’s why we must get you out of here. There is no future for you in the guilds now. If you want any hope of freedom, of not becoming one of those damned angel’s forsaken Forgotten you have to trust me.”
She nodded, and with a tiny touch of wrath, I broke the lock on her prison.
She flinched as I approached but didn’t fight me as I lifted her into my arms and cast us into shadows.
My Thief was awake when we returned to the ramshackle tetanus hut. She sat up, her silver curls bouncing animatedly as she spoke with her friends. Her cheeks were still sunken, and she looked a little malnourished, but the now bright silver of her irises belied how healthy she would be soon.
She didn’t remain in her cot once she saw us, bolting to her feet to come to my side, a blanket tucked in her arms.
“Penny!” she cried, wrapping the blanket around the half-exposed woman before pulling at my arm to lead me to the cot. I didn’t bother arguing, placing the girl’s delicate broken form in the pathetic excuse for a bed. She hadn’t coughed when we’d arrived, taking in just a few deep breaths to replenish the air in her lungs. This one was much stronger than appearances would make one believe.
“What happened?” my Thief asked, immediately running her hands across the girl’s broken body. I could tell she wanted to heal her, but the waning look to her aura made me doubt her current capabilities.
I crouched down beside my Thief, meeting Penny’s warm green eyes that reminded me of the spring groves of olives and figs grown around Rome.
Before I could start the tale, Penny began instead. My Thief didn’t argue with any of it, simply accepting the words that flowed out of Penny’s battered lips as fact. Penny seemed to understand that Ryn did not remember what happened, and to her credit, she didn’t question why that would be.
I did not doubt that one day Aeryn Ryans would remember every each event like this that had taken place in her life. And I would be at her side when she did.
When Penny finished her tale, Ryn exchanged a glance with Ness, who bent beside her. Ness lifted her hands, palms up, and my Little Thief wasted no time doing what she did best - taking the essences of another. Once she was satisfied, Ryn lifted her fingers away, before returning her attentions to Penny.
It didn't take long for her to heal most of Penny’s wounds. But not every wound could be healed, some simply ran too deep. Depending on where she ended up, I would try to connect her to some of the resources we supplied for our people who suffered similar trauma.
“What will become of her?” My Thief asked when she was done, Penny’s body slipping into a gentle slumber as the pain eased away.
“She can’t stay with Sarnas, unfortunately,” Felix said, regret lingering in his voice. “She’ll be too high profile for us to be able to use her in real capacity.”
