Helly threw flames from her fingertips to ignite all of the lanterns and take them out of darkness. Then, she assessed Kerrigan’s injury. “What happened? Were you attacked?”
Kerrigan shuddered as she realized she was so close to losing consciousness. She couldn’t do that before she told Helly what had happened. “I was… fighting in the ring.”
“What?” Helly gasped. “After I strictly forbid you from leaving the mountain?”
“There’s more,” she said, but Helly shook her head and began her work.
“You’ve lost a lot of blood. You shouldn’t speak. This will hurt.” Helly looked around the room. “The rest of you, begin to explain to me what is going on, and who is that young boy?”
“We discovered that Basem Nix had killed Lyam,” Fordham began. “But you didn’t believe us, so we had to get proof.”
“Proof?” Helly said with anger in her voice.
But Kerrigan couldn’t say a word. She was using all her strength to stay conscious.
“We staged a meetup, where Basem confessed to trying to kill Kerrigan. He was going to kill her that night, but he agreed to fight her in the Dragon Ring.”
Helly scoffed but said nothing.
“And it was really Hadrian’s idea,” Fordham said, gesturing to him against the wall, “to use the fight as a distraction.”
“And get Ever out,” Hadrian finished.
Helly’s eyes flicked to Ever. “He looks traumatized. Get him from where?”
“From Basem Nix’s home,” Darby said. “Where, as Ellerby had informed Kerrigan, he was being held captive to keep him quiet.”
“What?” Helly gasped.
“So, while Kerrigan and I were at the fight, keeping Basem and his men busy,” Clover said, “Darby, Hadrian, and Fordham infiltrated his home and rescued their hostage. So, now, you have Ellerby and his nephew, Ever, who will testify to what he did to them.”
“And where is Basem Nix now?”
Clover frowned. “He escaped.”
“Gods.” Helly shook her head in abject horror.
She didn’t say anything for a long time, as if she were processing the information and deciding where to go from there.
All the while, she worked on healing Kerrigan’s neck. Restoring the blood loss would be a whole other thing that would take time… time that they didn’t have.
“Do you… believe us?” Kerrigan asked warily. Sleep beckoned.
“I’m furious that you would all take this risk,” Helly admitted. “I had the Society watching Basem after you told me about him. We were very close to arresting him for his actions, but now, he has slipped from our grasp.”
The group withered under her words.
“However, I am glad that you rescued Ever. His disappearance was tragic. I am proud of you lot even if you circumvented Society mandates to do what you did. You’ve saved an innocent boy’s life. That is not a small thing. The tournament is tomorrow. I think you all should get a good night’s rest.”
“What will we do with him?” Darby asked.
“Valia, would you mind finding him something to eat and a secure room for him to stay in for now?” Helly asked.
“Of course, Mistress,” Valia said. She bowed and then ushered the boy from the room.
“Thank you, Mistress Helly,” Darby said, curtsying.
Hadrian gave her a slight bow, and they headed out of the room with Clover and Darby.
“I can help Kerrigan back to her room,” Fordham offered.
“I appreciate that, Fordham, but I believe my patient should stay here with me tonight. I want to observe her overnight.”
“Of course.” Fordham looked conflicted but eventually bowed to them both and slipped from the room.
“You have a loyal team behind you.”
Kerrigan smiled wanly. “Friends,” she corrected. “Loyal friends.”
Helly nodded with a smile. “You should get some rest. Stay here tonight in the guest room. I don’t want you wandering the mountain and undoing all my hard work.”
“All right.” Kerrigan gingerly got to her feet and followed Helly to her guest room. The bed was at least twice the size of her own with a giant, fluffy comforter and big feather down pillows. It looked like the most inviting place in the world. Maybe she’d finally sleep.
Helly left and came back with a bundle of clothes. “These should suffice for the night.”
“Thank you.”
“Kerrigan,” Helly said, gently brushing Kerrigan’s curls out of her face. “Can I speak with you about one more thing? I know you’re tired.”
“Of course.” Kerrigan leaned against one of the wooden bedposts.
“I spoke with Audria.”
Kerrigan froze. She had completely put Audria’s offer out of her mind.
“I know you have been worried about not joining a tribe. That you think it is your mission to join and become a citizen, to help do good. And I want to let you know that we got it all worked out. Audria will be selecting you tomorrow to join Bryonica.”
“Helly…”
“I’m so pleased. You know I wanted to accept you myself,” Helly said. “I should have thought of consulting with someone else in the ranks, but Audria is a perfect fit. You can become an Ather, a Bryonican royal again. All will be as it should.”
Kerrigan opened her mouth to object, but what other offer did she have? It was this or work for the Society, as steward, as Valia did. Not exactly a servant… but nothing more than that either.
“Thank you,” she finally got out, choking on the words.
“Tomorrow, this will all be over.”
Helly smiled brightly at Kerrigan before leaving her to change and get some sleep. But a pit had formed in her stomach that had nothing to do with her ailments and everything to do with what would come tomorrow. Kerrigan of Bryonica… once more.
46
The Third
Helly awoke Kerrigan early. They dined on a nutritious breakfast of eggs, bacon, and berries. She returned to her rooms to change into comfortable leggings and a loose shirt in lieu of her typical dresses and then headed down to the arena with Valia.
“How is Ever doing?” she asked.
Valia shook her head. “He’s frightened, but Mistress Moran has taken him under her wing. She seems besotted with the child.”
Kerrigan nodded. “Good. She’s like that with all the littlings.”
“So, who do you think is going to win?”
“I really have no idea.”
“Fordham, of course,” Valia said.
But Kerrigan hadn’t had a vision again. She didn’t know who was going to win or if Fordham would be in danger. She was walking into this task blind. And it was the most important. The five people who succeeded would get one of the five dragons and be inducted into the Society. A dream come true.
“I hope so.”
They stepped into the competitors’ box in the arena. The last eight competitors stood in clusters around the room. Fordham stood alone with his arms crossed over his broad chest. Audria laughed with Roake, her blonde hair fluttering in the faint breeze. Noda stood with Posana and Chelcie, speaking furtively. Darrid glared at Fordham. Taiga seemed to be trying to get his attention. Everyone, but maybe Audria, looked stressed. Kerrigan could feel it coming off the room.