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I laughed, eager to find a room for the two of us. “Will there be a space available for us, or should I set up the tent?”
She rolled her shoulders and yawned. “I’d rather not start waking up to scorpions in my socks just yet. I’ll find us a place. Be right back.”
She slid off the vanira, too tired to remember to shudder. I dismounted and stretched, my back and legs aching from remaining in place for so long.
“Where’s Kael going?” Herrath asked, holding a sleeping Mirijana in his arms, much as I’d held Kael. He looked settled in a way I’d never seen before, his bearing no longer so rigid, his features gentler.
“To find us sleeping arrangements.” A commotion sounded from up ahead and I recognized Roza’s voice. What were she and Zerek arguing about now? Confusion filled me as Zerek rushed past me, his jaw clenched. If he was here, then why was she shouting?
Hurrying forward, I ran to the scene. “What is going on?”
“I found these two spying on us,” Roza explained as I pushed past Zerek to see the people in front of me. Two figures, ragged and worn, were being manhandled by a group of rebels.
“We’re not spies.”
“Release them!” My voice was sharp, and Zerek sucked in a breath, recognizing them a second after I did. “Atar’s hammer. Oz, Zora. What happened to you?” I pulled my cousins into an embrace, their hands still awkwardly bound as I drew my dagger and cut through the rope.
“Theron.” Varzora hugged me again before pulling Zerek into a hug as well, something Roza didn’t miss. “I’m so glad to see you.”
Osiel, ever the scholar with his wavy black hair and those distinct metallic eyes shielded by glasses, gave me a weak smile. “Give me some water and I’ll tell you everything.” His voice was harsh, his lips cracking.
“Oz! You said that you had more,” Varzora chided, her eyes narrowing. She didn’t look as worn as Osiel, her twin no doubt giving her his extra water and food.
He raised a shoulder as I handed over my canteen.“It’s fine, Zora. We found him.”
“It is not fine.” Varzora’s hands went to her hips, reminding me of all the chidings she’d given us as children. “What if we hadn’t—“
He held up a hand. “Yell at me later. I don’t have the energy to respond right now.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “You both look... like it’s been rough.”
Osiel adjusted his glasses, exhaustion coating his features. “We were in the Hundaelr when Nyana... when she and Theodas killed Varzorn. Zora overheard the guards looking for us. They didn’t know I was still in the library and she came and found me. We escaped before they could take us hostage.”
Varzora added, her voice a tremulous whisper, “Soldiers have been chasing us. Nyana wanted to use us as leverage against you.”
I closed my eyes briefly, a weight settling on my heart. The possibility had never occurred to me, and the guilt gnawed at my insides.
“We couldn’t go home. They would have found us. We’ve been trying to reach Adraedor ever since.”
“On foot?” I asked, my head swimming. They’d been on the road for weeks... I’d always thought of Zora and Oz as my softer cousins, the ones who got to grow up in a manor even after I was thrown into a prison cell. I’d never think they could survive this kind of march.
“Couldn’t get to the vaniras,” Osiel explained, taking another drink from the canteen before passing it to his sister. “Too risky.”
Roza scoffed. “Going into the desert on foot is foolish.”
Oz laughed to himself, muttering his House words. “A Fool’s Wrath.” He glanced up at me. “Never thought it fit me before. Guess I was wrong.” He looked over the dunes, his expression darkening. “I understand what it means now, though.”
“It’s alright. We have supplies—fresh clothes, food, water. We’ll send word to your mother that you’re safe.” My aunt would kill me if I didn’t.
Osiel nodded, his gaze distant before he turned to Roza. “I’m sorry for hitting you. I didn’t realize you were allied with Theron.”
Roza looked taken aback as she rubbed her jaw. “It was a good punch. Didn’t see it coming at all.”
Zerek’s eyes narrowed as he glanced between them. “Come here, Roza. I have a healing plate—“
She waved him off. “I’m fine. Why don’t you help your... friend?” She gestured to Varzora, who hovered near Zerek, though I doubted she realized it. The circles under her eyes were so dark I wondered if she’d slept at all in the last few days. “I have other stuff to do.” Zerek watched helplessly as Roza stalked off, not bothering to look back.
“Come on, I’ll get you situated.”
