Annora laughed, breaking the tension. “That much I will believe, and readily.”
The man from Tribe Patrin hesitated only a moment longer before bowing his head toward King Marius in a gesture of acceptance and apology.
“If I didn’t know better,” he said in quieter tones, “I would suspect you of having—”
“Hold your tongue,” the king snapped, some sort of silent communication passing between them as he added, “It is impossible, as you well know.”
The nomad leader subsided, giving no response to the piercing look that Annora threw at both him and the king. Whatever he had referred to, Tribe Nicabar didn’t know about it. And from the looks on the faces of Augusta and Drake, the Triumvirate didn’t either.
Interesting.
“Whatever the cause,” the lead representative from Tribe Callen said, “it’s in all our interests to identify it. If we are to fight this insidious force that is escaping from the fallen kingdom, then we need all the strength we can gather.”
“We had barely started examining the elements girl when she disappeared,” Augusta started.
“When she was abducted, I think you mean,” Evermund said firmly.
She glanced at him before continuing. “Before she was abducted, then. But Zekiel has been under my care and training for two years now. There has been no shortage of opportunity to watch him utilize his ability. And while he has always been a fast learner and a promising student, I saw no hint that his strength was such as to defy the laws of power. Unless Annora can shed some light on the situation…”
“Absolutely none,” Annora said immediately. “If Tribe Nicabar had such a skill, we would share it freely. This is not a time to be hoarding strength.”
The other nomad delegates nodded approvingly, while I watched in fascination. There was no doubting Annora’s political skill.
Slinking back through the crowd, I positioned myself at Zeke’s side.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I had no idea I was throwing you into…this.” I waved around at the crowd of important people who were continuing to discuss the matter.
“How could you?” He sounded dazed. “I didn’t suspect it myself.”
“Really?” I gave him a closer look, watching for any sign of hesitation. “You never suspected you were stronger than Augusta?”
He had certainly always possessed confidence commensurate with such a belief, but there was no sign of anything underhand in his manner now.
“Not once. In fact, I would have sworn I wasn’t.”
“Do you mean you think your strength has grown?” I frowned. “Then that’s not the same as Airlie. She was more powerful than Evermund right from her activation.”
“I have no better explanation than anyone else.” He turned to fix me with burning eyes. “I swear to you, Cadence. I’m not interested in hiding anything from you. Not anymore.”
I slipped my hand into his, warmth filling me.
“I believe you. Which means we’ll just have to work this out for ourselves.”
Chapter 20
Airlie
As usual, I started my morning at the tallest spot in the settlement. The paths between the clustered buildings and tents were quieter than usual, the attack party not yet returned. Sometimes I told myself their continued absence must mean they had been defeated, but I knew it was too soon for it to mean anything in actuality.
Steps sounded from my right, but I didn’t turn my head to greet the new arrival.
“Why do you still come here every day?” Renley asked, standing beside me and looking out as I did, as if he wanted to see the view from my perspective. “Nothing ever changes.”
“Nothing has changed yet,” I corrected him.
He shook his head. “I’ve lived here for nineteen years. It always looks the same.”
“Hope is important. No matter what, we need to hold on to hope.”
He remained silent, clearly unconvinced.
“Very well, then.” I finally turned to face him. “How about this? One day the General will slip up. He’s going to make a mistake, and I refuse to miss it because that was the one day I chose to stay in bed.”
“Now that is a good reason to come.”
I faced forward again. “It’s the only reason.”
Ten minutes later, we walked back to Quirin’s house side-by-side.
The next morning, when I arrived at my usual position, he was already there, surveying the view. For a moment we stood in silence while I completed my scan. Then he spoke.
“Nan would like to meet you. She’s asked me to bring you over for a cup of tea.”
“Nan?”
“She’s Marissa’s mother, but we all call her that.”
“Where does she live?”
“Come with me. I’ll take you there.”
We walked downhill in silence while I contemplated the meaning of the invitation. It was the first I had received since my arrival, and I felt an unexpected trepidation. Between the Guild and our isolated childhood, I had never had much to do with the elderly. Even here they were few in number. It was a hard life in the settlement with limited resources and no access to anyone with even a weak healing affinity until very recently.
The house he led me to looked just like all the others except for the bright and cheerful yellow curtains. He knocked once and entered without waiting for a reply, leading me into a neat room that looked much like the main living space of Quirin’s cabin.
“Renley!” A tiny, cheerful woman greeted him with a broad smile, her eyes glinting with pleasure. Her sparse white hair had been carefully brushed away from her face, and a beautifully carved walking stick leaned against the chair next to her.
He walked around the table to place a kiss on her cheek.
“This is Airlie, Nan.”
“Ah, Brantley’s girl. It’s a pleasure to meet you at last, young lady. I’m glad they changed their minds and decided it was safe to send you, after all. I can see at a glance you’ve a good heart.”
“Actually,” I said awkwardly. “Brantley was my grandfather.”
“Oh yes, of course he was,” she said, undaunted. “Your father looked just like him. Handsome young men, both of them. But please, do sit down. I have the tea all ready, as you can see.”
I slipped into the seat across from her while she turned to Renley.
“Run along now, dear. You can let the others know she’s here. But tell them there’s no hurry. We haven’t had a chance to get to know each other yet.”
Renley grinned and left, leaving me to stare at Nan in confusion. “Others?”
She cackled. “A bit of subterfuge is good at my age. It gets the blood flowing.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Subterfuge?”
“They’ll be angry if I steal their thunder, so I’ll leave the tale to them, but it wasn’t really me who summoned you here today. I’m just providing a convenient meeting point.” She clucked her tongue. “I think Marissa wants me to feel relevant still, poor dear.”
I suppressed the desire to pepper her with more questions on the matter, instead accepting the mug of tea she poured me.