She could feel Kael’s dark green eyes on her, but she didn’t look at him. Instead, when her eyes opened, she watched as Reyna unsheathed the long blade at her back and swung it in one fluid move, completing the kill. With a sick thud, Tinka’s head landed on the ground beside the rest of her spasming body.
Effie swallowed hard, her hands balling into fists. It was the only physical reaction she allowed herself. “May the Mother carry you home,” she whispered, turning away.
Lucian began moving away from the edge. “We should get out of here before these things get big enough to climb over the edge,” he said.
Effie couldn’t agree more. She wanted to get as far away from what happened here as she could. Without another word, she started running. Footsteps echoed around her as the others followed suit.
Khouman looked relieved as they spilled out of the cave. “It’s done, then?”
Lucian nodded.
Khouman’s eyes fell closed, and his lips began to move with silent words.
“Your people should stay out of the cave until we learn how to deal with the vines permanently,” Lucian said once he was done.
Khouman nodded. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“Alright, then,” Lucian said, “we should get back to the citadel. It will probably be a couple of hours before I make it back to collect the others. I don’t want to impose on your hospitality, but I know they haven’t had a chance to eat today.”
Effie’s stomach rolled. Food was the last thing on her mind, but it was sweet of him to think to ask.
“Of course. It’s the least I can do.”
Lucian turned to her expectantly. “You ready?”
“Me?” Effie asked, her eyes shooting to Kael, whose lips were pressed together like he was fighting a smile.
Lucian crossed his arms, brow quirking with challenge. “You spent the better part of the last month bitching at me every time I so much as hinted at leaving the citadel without you, now you want me to leave you behind?”
Effie was about to protest, especially since she just explained to him about her premonitions, when she caught on to what he was doing.
Lucian didn’t let his guard down around anyone, which made him a hard man to get to know. On the surface he was a broody bastard, and he knew how to play up that persona. It kept others at arm’s length and prevented them from looking too closely.
To them, the Guardian was just being the same jackass he always was, but Effie knew him better now. She had seen past his mask. He was offering her a distraction, trying to cheer her up after what had gone down inside the cave by making himself a scapegoat so she had somewhere to channel her churning emotions.
How long had he been doing just that? Playing the role she needed him to in an attempt to help her process all of the changes in her world?
“I’d be happy to accompany you, if you think that’s what’s best, Guardian,” she said, visibly shocking him with her answer.
“That might be the first time you’ve ever agreed to one of my suggestions without having something to say about it,” Lucian said as she moved into place beside him.
“I told you I could be reasonable.”
“Hmm,” Lucian murmured, his eyes unreadable. “I think it’s more likely you hit your head while we were in the cave.”
Biting back a laugh, Effie shrugged. “If that’s what you need to believe.”
Lucian shook his head. “I don’t trust new, agreeable Effie. What have you done with my fledgling?” he asked, the slight twitch of his lips giving him away.
“I need to keep you on your toes, Lucian. Can’t have you feeling too sure of yourself.”
“Why not?” he asked, amused.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
Lucian sighed, pulling the Kaelpas stone out of its pouch. “Come on, then.”
“You sure you believe it’s me?”
“Oh, it’s you alright. Only my Effie could be cheeky enough to find a way to make agreeing with me a method of undermining me at the same time.”
Effie bit the inside of her cheek, surprised at how much lighter she felt after exchanging a few teasing words with her Guardian. She had to give the man credit; sometimes it did feel as if he knew exactly what she needed.
Lucian wrapped his fingers around hers. “I’ll meet you back here in three hours,” he called over her head.
Effie didn’t even have a chance to wave goodbye to her friends before Lucian activated the stone and transported them back to the citadel.
Chapter 11
Lucian’s grip on her hand was the only thing that kept Effie upright as her feet made contact with solid ground once more. No matter how many times she’d done it, the Kaelpas stone still affected her.
“How do you make it look so easy?” she panted, trying hard not to gag as bile worked its way up her throat.
“You’ll have to be more specific.”
Effie shot him a baleful look. “You look like you just took a stroll through the garden, and I’m probably some lovely shade of green while my stomach attempts to climb out of my throat. So what’s the secret?”
Lucian let out a bark of laughter. “I can assure you, you’re not green.”
“You aren’t going to tell me, are you?”
He brushed a damp curl off of her face, his finger lingering to stroke her cheek. “If there was a secret, I would tell you.”
“That would be a first.”
Some of the laughter faded from his eyes. “There are many things that I am bound from revealing to anyone. Secrets I’ve kept for longer than you’ve been alive. Even if I could tell you, many of them aren’t mine to share. But I promise you, Effie, I take no enjoyment in leaving you in the dark.”
“I know,” she whispered. And she did. It was right there in his eyes. If Lucian was closed off, it was only because he had to be.
Swallowing, unsteady now for reasons that had nothing to do with the Kaelpas stone, she let her fingers slide from his and looked around the unfamiliar room.
It was a cross between some kind of study and a storage room. Weapons and books dominated nearly every free surface, including the walls. Three massive padded chairs—which could easily have been mistaken for thrones anywhere else—were in the center. The room was made to be lived in, the furnishings well-worn but comfortable.
“Where are we?” Effie asked as her fingers brushed the velvety blanket resting on the back of the nearest chair.
“The Hall of Guardians.”
Effie’s brows raised. “Sounds important—and off limits.”
Lucian shrugged. “It’s a glorified barracks for my brothers and I. We come here when we need privacy.”
Heat flooded her cheeks at the thought of what she and Lucian could do with a bit of privacy, and she turned away, not wanting him to see the direction her thoughts had taken.
Noticing four black doors encircling the room, Effie asked, “So, you what? Come here to read?”
“More like to sleep.” Lucian gestured to the door on his left. “That’s my room. Kael is across from me,” he said, pointing to the door on his right. “You haven’t spent much time with our other brother, but his room is just there.”