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Thea nodded. ‘Cal and Kipp are looking a bit better,’ she ventured.
Hawthorne nodded. ‘I managed to get them to take a bit of broth each.’
‘They were awake? Why didn’t you —’
‘Because you needed rest too. I didn’t want another half dead shieldbearer on my hands.’
Thea’s gut lurched. ‘Did they say anything?’
‘Didn’t do much talking.’
‘But… You think they’ll make a full recovery?’
‘That’s not for me to judge,’ he said, tearing his gaze away from the woods and looking at her, studying her intently.
‘What?’ she snapped, suddenly self-conscious.
‘Are we going to talk about it?’ he asked quietly, turning to face her fully.
‘Talk about what?’
‘What you did out there on the cliffs.’
Thea went still.
‘Yourmagic, Alchemist.’
Thea stared at him, stunned. The word was like a whisper against her skin, calling her back out into the storms… a sudden buzzing filled her head, like a swarm of bees, the sound vibrating through her whole body.
‘You havemagic.’ Hawthorne folded his arms over his chest. ‘That wasmagicback there.’
Magic. Thea hid her trembling hands. She hardly understood it herself and she certainly wasn’t going to discuss it withhimof all people. Not to mention if the guild got word she possessed some inkling of power, her place would be jeopardised, there would be questions, interrogations, even.
No, she wouldn’t entertain such notions, not with him, not so close to the initiation.
‘That?’ Thea scoffed. ‘That was the Furies trying to smite our sorry arses on the mountain, and it was sheer, dumbluckthat they didn’t.’
‘I know what I saw,’ he told her, his voice low.
‘Horseshit. Perhaps you’ve taken a few too many blows to the head, or the lightning momentarily blinded you. There was nothing to see.’ The words flew from her mouth and her hand went to her fate stone, running her thumb over the carving as she always did. Magic or not, she’d escaped death again, not because she had secret powers, but because now was not her time.
But Hawthorne didn’t need to know that.
‘Where are you from, Alchemist?’ he asked, taking her by surprise with the change of tact.
‘Thezmarr.’
He made an impatient noise. ‘You are notfromThezmarr.’ He was still leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over that broad chest, but he watched her with an intensity that caused her toes to curl in her damp boots.
The flickering sensation in her veins was back, and he tensed, as though he could feel it too.
‘I know what I saw,’ he repeated. ‘I know what I felt out there.’
‘So you’ve said.’ Thea scoffed. ‘Do you really think…’
His eyes narrowed and he pushed off from the wall, closing the gap between them in a single step. ‘You want to know what I think? I think —’ He took a deep, measured breath, his whole body rising and falling.
‘What?’ she baited him, feeling her own temper rise to his. ‘I desperately need to know what deep thoughts bounce around in that thick skull of yours. Go on, tell me.’
