AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“There isn’t.”
He kissed another knuckle. “I know there’s nothing that can be done, but this is what your mother wanted. She wanted you safe most of all.”
“I know,” she said through a sniffle.
“And she wanted you to complete your mission.”
“I wish she were here.”
“As do I,” he said. “She loves you, and you are strong, just like her. You will endure this.”
He didn’t say it would be okay. Because it couldn’t possibly. Just like all the deaths he had seen before him when he believed himself to be cursed. All of his family, aside from Wynter, was gone. He understood the sacrifice better than anyone. And he continued moving forward. That was all she could do.
“Thank you,” she whispered and let him draw her to her feet.
She placed a kiss on his lips before turning to see exactly where they were. They were in Corsica Forest, the land for the House of Cruse. The small village of Lillington was a short distance away, and farther away, she could see the manor estate, Waisley. It had stood for thousands of years, and yet she doubted very much that it was in friendly hands at present.
She had no idea whether her father was alive, and Kerrigan was the only holder of the house. Likely, Bastian had given the house to someone else, or the Bryonican crown had confiscated it for themselves. Either way, to go there would be tantamount to turning herself in. As much as it pained her.
“Too dangerous,” Fordham said, mirroring her thoughts. “We should find cover and then reach out to our allies.”
Kerrigan nodded. “Agreed.”
The last thing she wanted to do was walk away from her home and leave it in a usurper’s hands, but she had bigger problems right now. The bangle felt heavy on her wrist as they walked as one out of the empty field and into the Corsica Forest for better cover while they regrouped.
“We need to find a way to figure out what happened in our absence,” Fordham said.
“Yes,” she said wearily. “Find out … who is still alive.”
“I’m going to reach out to Netta.” He was almost eager when he said it. Though he was clearly trying to hide it.
“You’ve missed her,” Kerrigan said.
“Very much. I knew she was alive. Or else … I would be dead.”
Kerrigan winced. “Right.”
She had gotten so used to the idea that she and Tieran weren’t bonded that she had forgotten Fordham and Netta still were. She couldn’t reach out to Tieran, except on the spirit plane, and she wasn’t sure she had the energy while steeped in grief.
Her mother had made it seem like she would be able to get that bond back, but Kerrigan couldn’t imagine doing it without being in his presence. And she had no idea if he was alive. Just because she was … didn’t mean Tieran was, unlike Fordham and Netta.
Fordham’s eyes went distant. Netta could be anywhere on the entire continent of Alandria. Their connection had a limit. The more they were connected, the easier it was to speak across distances, but at large distances, he might only have a vague sense of where she was.
“She’s … north,” Fordham said. He frowned. “Near the House of Shadows.”
“Did you speak to her?”
“It’s too far to get more than a vague understanding from her. She wants to meet. I showed her where we were, but she seemed adamant against coming into Bryonica.”
Fordham’s and Kerrigan’s eyes met. That meant they were in danger every second they remained in enemy territory.
“Suggest somewhere near the city. We’ll need to find out what’s been happening in Kinkadia and with the Society. We should get as near as we can without being seen.”
Fordham nodded, and his eyes went very far away again. His brow furrowed in concentration. “I think she understood,” he said, panting as he let the connection go. “We should head in that direction, and then I should be close enough to have a real conversation with her.”
There was only one problem. How were they going to get to Kinkadia without being noticed?
“Ford,” she muttered, “how will we make this work? We can’t go on foot. I’m too recognizable by a long shot.”
His eyes glanced to the bangle on her wrist. “We could …”
“No,” she cut him off before he could finish that thought. “This thing is one of seven. It depleted my own mother, and she’s a full-blooded Doma, daughter of He Who Reigns. Imagine what it could do to me.”
“She was trying to go between worlds. We’re staying within Alandria and to a location you’ve been to many times before.”
“Do you really want to risk it?”
The bangle made her uncomfortable. It was as if she had a beacon on her wrist and any second He Who Reigns might pop up out of nowhere and claim the thing for his own. The way he’d appeared before her mother. She didn’t know if that was how the thing worked, but the possibility was there.
