Chapter 5
“I knew you couldn’t hide forever.” Erret’s voice was dark, darker than before.
I spun for the door.
He was already there, knocking it shut before I’d gotten it open enough to slip out. I turned for the other door, but he caught my shoulder and slammed me against the wall.
“No escape this time, witch,” he seethed. “You’re going to answer my questions.”
My brain snapped through a series of orders. Go for his instep. His nose. His sensitive area. Twist his hand from the thumb to break his grip. Elbow to the throat, sweep his legs, and escape while he’s incapacitated.
I’m coming!
I drew in a slow, deep breath. No, Axen. I’ll be all right. I summoned all the composure I could and met his enraged eyes with my own calm ones. “Remove your hand. You’re hurting me.”
He squeezed harder in reply. “I asked you a question earlier. You’re going to answer it now.”
I had to clench my hands into fists to stop them from doing what came naturally—breaking his grip and flipping him onto his back. I kept my gaze steady and went for the safest possible route: Traditional Elf protocol. “If you have concerns, then I’m sure Thone will be happy to speak with you. I will answer any question he asks.”
Erret’s face twisted further. “How dare you? You are a woman, and you are answerable to me!” His fingers dug in, making my shoulder throb.
I’m your guardian. Let me take him!
No.
Despite the pain, I didn’t let myself flinch. “I am a woman, yes, but I am not a member of your village. Unless you have been appointed judge, Thone is the one with the authority to question me. Speak with him about what you wish to know.”
“Authority?” he thundered. He yanked me forward and slammed me into the wall again, sending a jarring pain through my body.
A distant roar pierced the air.
Erret’s face immediately paled, but he didn’t loosen his grip. “It can’t get me without hurting you,” he hissed.
It wouldn’t help to make snarky remarks about my guardian now. Nor to comment on how precise her aim was, how her remarkable senses could distinguish friend from foe and target her attacks accordingly, how her sharp claws could pluck a tree-snit off a tree without so much as scratching the bark.
Axen. I’m serious. Stay back.
I’m going to tear him apart!
I’m handling this. Stay. Back.
I felt her reluctant acquiescence and returned to the problem before me. “As I said, if you have concerns, speak to Thone. Now remove your hand. I wouldn’t want someone to walk in and think you were threatening an unarmed lady.” A jab to his sense of honor would get me further than a jab to his throat, though the second might have been more satisfying at the moment.
The redness returned full force. “How dare you? You wretched snake!” His other hand shot upward.
Before I could move to counter the incoming blow, the door flew open.
Erret froze, arm still poised to strike, as Thone and his boys walked in, the boys jabbering and joking until the door shut and they spotted us. I had never seen Thone’s kind, jovial face turn so dark, as dark as it could possibly get. “Boys.”
The two boys disappeared down the back hallway without a word.
Erret backpedaled a couple steps away from me, his arms dropping to his sides.
Blood rushed to my shoulder. I rubbed it, keeping my mouth shut. There was no need to speak. Thone had seen more than enough.
“I… I understand how that must have looked,” Erret said, his voice quiet but gaining confidence. “But she’s hiding something from you. She disappeared all afternoon to do Maker knows what. As a member of this village, it’s my duty to watch for threats, to protect us all from—”
“Are you certain that is what you wish to say for yourself?” Thone’s words dropped like a rock on the ground, heavy with judgment and threat.
Erret’s fists clenched. “Tabe-ro, you know I would never challenge you. This female is a threat. A danger. Perhaps it is harder for you to understand after she saved your daughter, but evil can do good things for the purpose of fooling the innocent. You must consider whether your gratitude in the matter of your daughter may have blinded you to the truth.”
I’d been mistaken. Thone’s face could get darker.
The other door opened, admitting Tarvia and Fasha, the girl carrying a basket of berries. Tarvia’s smile vanished as soon as she saw the three of us. “Fasha.”
The child vanished after her brothers with the same haste.
Erret looked from Thone to Tarvia, his jaw muscles twitching. He finally bowed. “Forgive me, tabe-ro. I seem to have made a mistake.” He then bowed to Tarvia. “Forgive me, raisa-ro. It was not my intent to disrupt your home.”
He turned, but Thone put a hand on the door, much the way Erret had done to stop me from leaving.
Silence thick with crackling lightning passed between the two men before Erret finally, slowly, turned to face me. His bow was painfully stiff. “Forgive me, raisa-ro. I should have gone to Thone with my concerns.” It was like he was spitting venom on the floor to cleanse it from his mouth.
He turned back to the door without waiting for any acknowledgment from me.
Thone remained still a moment longer, then dropped his arm. “We will speak later.”
Erret’s response was almost too quiet for me to hear. “Yes, tabe-ro.” He vanished out the door, and it slammed shut behind him.
My leg throbbed, vehemently protesting the sustained tension and adrenaline in my system. I sank to the floor.
“Send for Magra.” Thone crossed to me.
“I’m not injured.” I drew in a slow breath, trying to calm my racing heart. He probably wouldn’t have looked so concerned if he knew my reaction wasn’t from fear but from holding myself back for too long.
Thone lifted me to my feet and helped me to the table, and Tarvia set a mug of water in front of me. “We’ll have tea ready shortly.”
I nodded and sipped the water, barely hearing as she called for the children to return to the kitchen and set to work on dinner.
“What did he say to you?” Thone’s voice was quiet so the children couldn’t hear.
I took another drink. My shoulder still ached, but moving my arm helped some. “He wished to question me about my relationship with Axen. I told him that he could take his concerns to you, and I would answer any questions you asked me.”
He was calmer now, but the rage still lurked behind his eyes. “As it should be.”
“I am certain he didn’t intend to disrespect you. If I may say, I believe he is afraid. He is convinced that I am some partaker in evil magic, and he sees me as a genuine threat. That is what directs his behavior.”
Thone laughed in a sharp, jarring tone. “His disrespect to me was not what concerned me the most about his actions.”
Tarvia sat in the seat opposite me and pushed a steaming mug toward my hands. “Are you certain you don’t need to see Magra? Kaisal can summon her. It isn’t any trouble.”
“Thank you, but he didn’t hurt me.” I’d probably have a bruise on my shoulder, but it was nothing to waste a healer’s energy on. I drew in the tea and relaxed into the comfort.
Thone met his wife’s eyes, his fist tightening. “If I hadn’t walked in when I did…”
Then one of his top men would have a bloody nose and a swollen throat. “I thank you for your intervention. I am sure he would have restrained himself from doing any real harm.”
He looked at me, and I got the feeling he knew that I could have defended myself. But all he did was nod. “I’m glad you weren’t injured.” He stood and joined the children in the kitchen.
The meal was more subdued than the previous ones. Thone left the instant he finished eating with a look on his face that suggested someone was about to deeply regret his choices. I finished my own food quickly and escaped to my room.
&n
bsp; The first thing I did was draw my sword from its hidden spot and tuck it under my mattress. I doubted Erret would push matters, and doubted even further he’d take the risk of entering the inn, much less my private room, but it never hurt to be prepared. It made me feel better to have the blade in reach again.
The quiet caught my attention as I lay on the bed. Axen.
I’m not talking to you.
I sighed. Axen, I can’t have you swooping in and terrifying the villagers over every little scuffle. It was nothing I couldn’t handle by myself. I’m fine.
She gave no response.
I sighed again, then relaxed and allowed myself a small smile. When you roared, he just about soiled himself.
She couldn’t mask the immediate rush of delight she felt at my words.
You should have seen how pale his face got, too.
How pale? she asked.
I thought you weren’t talking to me.
Shut up and tell me how pale.
My smile widened. Just shy of pasty. He tried to sound brave, but he was scared out of his wits.
Her giggle skipped through my mind. Serves him right.
I closed my eyes and sank into the bed. Serves him right indeed.