“How?” Juna stomped toward the men. “The entire building and cell was warded.”
“Perhaps wards aren’t as effective with Icarus.” Meran’s gaze slid to Rell for a second and back to the crowd. “Or maybe he knows how to break them.”
“That must be it,” Ravyn said. “I can’t imagine he would have voluntarily touched the wards and been burned just to get back to the Shadow World.” She shuddered. “It’s a horrible sight.”
“I agree.” A heavy sigh eased from Gregory. “Well, there’s nothing to be done about it now. Mount up and stay vigilant. It looks like we have one more demon to worry about.”
The other Bringers turned back to their tasks but Siban started on a direct path toward her. It took all her willpower not to cower on the other side of her horse. She stiffened her spine and held his glare.
Inches from her, he stopped, his face so close to hers his breath brushed her cheeks. “It was you, wasn’t it?”
“What was me?” She lifted her brows and widened her eyes. Ignorance seemed like the best course of action.
“You helped him escape.” He glanced around, lowering his voice even further. “Just as you helped me.”
“I heard you and Luc plotting to vanquish Icarus.” She pushed her face toward him. “I couldn’t let you do that.”
“Why, because you care for him?”
“Because he doesn’t deserve to die.”
His lip curled into a sneer. “So you seduced me and then betrayed me?”
She gave him a humorless smile. “I could ask the same of you. What was your plan, to kill him this morning before we left on our mission? No one would be the wiser until we returned?”
Her accusation seemed to snap him back to reason. His jaw clenched and unclenched, until he huffed out his frustration. “I only want for your safety.”
“You want my safety under your conditions. Soon you’ll figure out that I make my own decisions. If you can’t accept that…” She left the threat hanging between them.
He looked around, making sure none of the others were listening to their exchange. “Icarus is a demon and not to be trusted.”
“Just like I was.”
Siban shook his head. “No, you were never like him.”
She adjusted the stirrup and mounted her horse. Peering down at him, she said, “Yes, I was.”
She spurred her horse forward, leaving him to stand alone. At some point he would have to start listening to her, but she was done fighting. For too long she’d been a prisoner to the darkness that grew inside the Bane. Now free, she wouldn’t bow down to one man’s idea of how she should feel or what she should believe. She knew what she knew and Siban either needed to start valuing her opinions or not be a part of her life.
A lump formed in her throat. He’d been her rock since her transformation and the thought of being without him sent a tiny wave of anxiety through her. But she couldn’t be with a man who sought to be her keeper instead of her partner.
The dangerous reality of their mission pushed through to replace her depressing thoughts. Fears about reentering the Shadow World crowded in. It seemed no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t detangle the riot of feelings she was plagued with. As a Bane, that hadn’t been a problem. Now her emotions were like leaves swirling in a windstorm, fluttering around her head.
The hollow thump of hoofbeats sounded behind her. Siban pulled his mount next to hers and stopped. Neither spoke, the strained silence stretching between them. Finally, he relented. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have accused you of seducing me for the purpose of betrayal.”
She shifted in the saddle to look at him. Of all the things to apologize for, that must have felt the most honest to him. She would accept his peace offering. Though at odds over Icarus, she still loved Siban. “I never want you to think that I am in our bed for any other reason than because I want to be there.”
He nodded but didn’t say anything further.
“Is everybody ready?” Gregory’s asked. He strolled among the Bringers, pulling on a pair of leather gloves. “The sun will be up in an hour and we need to be on our way.”
Jade stomped past Rell and Siban. “I didn’t think I’d ever have to get on another damn horse again.”
“It won’t be so bad,” Luc said, following her. He glanced at Rell and winked, his outrage over Icarus’s escape obviously usurped by his love’s discomfort. “She still hasn’t recovered from our last journey.”
Rell smiled. “Just make sure she doesn’t fall off.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Luc said.
“I heard that,” Jade tossed over her shoulder.
The urge to snicker welled inside Rell, but she repressed the impulse in order to save her sister’s pride. It comforted her to know others were nervous about this mission too—for whatever reason.
She glanced at Siban. “Thank you for not saying anything to the others about…last night.”
“My intent isn’t to get you in trouble.”
“I know.” She nodded. “It’s to keep me out of trouble.”
He lifted his brows at her acceptance of his concern, though she refrained from clarifying that acknowledging was not the same as submitting.
Once the Bringers had mounted, Gregory held up his hand. “We’ll ride in single file to hide our numbers. Keep talking to a minimum and stay alert. We don’t want to get separated. Besides the Bane, there are bands of highwaymen on these roads and in the woods. Though probably not a threat to us, we’d still like to keep our progress as incident-free as possible.”
Gregory gestured the group forward, with him taking the lead. Juna walked her black mare along the line, double-checking everybody and then took her spot at the very end. Anticipation rolled through the group. Rell strengthened the barriers of her mind. With emotions high it was difficult not to feed into everybody’s anxiety and excitement, but she needed to remain as focused and as calm as possible.
Willa stood on the step with Jacob, Delphina, and Delphina’s children. The group waved at the departing Bringers, their expressions sullen.
Hayden’s small voice called across the grounds. “Good-bye, Rell.”
A knot formed in her throat. The boy had been standoffish since her conversion back to human. Only within the last day had he ventured near her, skulking around corners and hiding to watch her as she trained. Not wanting to frighten him, she’d let him take his time.
She held up her hand and waved. “Take care of everybody while we’re gone, Hayden, and when I return we’ll go hunting.”
His wiggled free from his sister’s hold and ran to the edge of the top step. “I will, Rell. I promise.”
She couldn’t help but smile at his serious tone. No doubt the boy would be ever vigilant while she was gone. She sent up a prayer to the Sainted Ones that she’d be able to keep her pledge to him.
The line moved forward, the horses’ hooves crunching against the frosty grass and the leather from saddles and reins creaking in the cold morning air. She pulled her cloak more tightly around her shoulders and glanced back at the manor. The three adults were walking back inside, but Serena and Hayden continued to watch them.
How quiet the manor would be now that the Bringer horde was gone. Rell stared until Willa disappeared inside. They had said their good-byes this morning. If and when she returned to the manor, her mother wouldn’t be there.
She shifted in her seat and focused forward, suddenly very happy that she was not staying behind. Having to wait for the return of the Bringers and helping her mother prepare for her departure home and back to her other life were tasks that would have probably driven her mad with worry and boredom.