Page 97 of The Rose in the Shadows

Kent entered first, followed by Rankor, with Iris tucked between them. Rankor and Kent looked so tired, the dark circles under their eyes and slumped shoulders caught my attention first, but when my gaze finally landed on the small girl between them, my stomach sank. I hadn’t seen Iris since the attack, and no one had spoken to me of her.

They’d refused to talk to me about her.

Clay hadn’t acknowledged whether she was angry with me over Lorelai’s death, but his silence had been answer enough. As was the venom in her gaze as she met my eyes. Her expression was sharp and vicious. I’d never seen Iris look at anyone that way, let aloneme.

I hardly recognized her. Her hair, usually vibrant and elaborately dressed, was straight and dark. She wore no fancy gown with bright embellishments and instead donned a simple tunic and riding pants, both black. And she must have lost nearly ten pounds. She had already been so thin I wouldn’t have thought she had an extra ten pounds of fat to lose. But now, her arms and fingers were bone-like. And yet it wasn’t the clothes, or hair, or weight-loss that truly sank my stomach. It was her eyes. Hollow, dark circles swelled and surrounded her usually bright and teasing eyes. She’d been crying. She looked as if she’d been crying for a long time.

I struggled to gasp in a breath through the clenching of my heart.

From behind her, Rankor shifted slightly, pushing gently on her shoulder until she started to walk into the foyer. She ripped her intense gaze from mine as she sat. Rankor and Kent were silent as they watched her go, and it was only after she seated herself that I felt the pressure of their gazes scanning over me as if they were trying to predict which of us would need the most support next. I nodded my head to the parlor. Iris. Iris deserved their attention.

“We thought it might be nice for us to see each other,” Kent explained, shutting the door behind him. “We won’t stay long if you’d prefer to be alone.”

“Please, sit.” I hurried to follow them. “How are you?”

He nodded, pulling me to his side and squeezing my shoulder as his head dipped briefly to press a kiss to my forehead. “It’s been a hard week. I’m sure for you, too.”

The emotion clogging my throat prevented any words from escaping in response, so I simply squeezed him back and let him go to Iris. As I went to join them though, Rankor stepped into my path and gathered me in his arms, squeezing harder than usual.

“I’m glad you’re okay. I didn’t get to see you afterward, but you made me proud that night.”

My stomach somersaulted slightly at the compliment, both in joy and disgust. Fighting in the battle had felt natural. I wasn’t trained for a battle of that size, but my body knew what it needed to do. That swirling feeling in my stomach had guided me.

And yet, for as fast and deadly as I had been, I hadn’t been able to do enough.

Rankor squeezed my shoulder, pulling my attention back to the room, and he nodded to where Iris sat, picking at her fingernails.

“I’ve never seen her like this,” he confided. “We’re worried.”

“Do you think seeing me right now is good for her? She blames me.”

He sighed, not denying my assertion. “You’re her best friend, Thea. Whether she’s willing to admit that right now or not, she may not want you, but she needs you. She needs all of us.”

“Where’s Clay?”

“In town. He took a small team and they’re searching houses.”

I frowned. “Do they have reason to suspect anyone is hiding Camilla?”

Rankor sighed and shook his head. I suspected he was worried about the same thing I was. Why should the people be subjected to having their homes invaded when we had no evidence to motivate the intrusion?

“She needs to be found,” Rankor finally murmured.

He took my hand and pulled me to join Iris and Kent in the foyer, bringing my attention back to the issue at hand. Gently, I sat on the couch across from Iris, feeling more awkward and nervous than I had since the moment I woke up in the infirmary wing.

“Iris?” I asked, feeling stupid as the words came out of my mouth. “How are you?”

The room was silent for a few moments, the only sound being our shallow breaths in and out. Finally, her weight shifted, and her dead eyes met mine. There was so much anger and pain hidden in them; it was all I could do not to turn away from her as a chill slid down my spine.

“How am I?” she questioned, as if she was musing over it herself. “Well, I’m… I’m simply stunned. You see, a year ago, my life was grand. I was living in this beautiful castle with all my friends and had a crush on this amazing woman. But then, suddenly, some stranger from a dead house shows up, and everything changes. Suddenly, one of my best friends - someoneI’ve known since we were girls - has been conducting forbidden magic. She’s beenmurderingpeople behind our backs.”

Kent shifted uncomfortably, running a tired hand over his face. And though it was morning, Rankor excused himself to my bar cart to pour himself a drink. Part of me wanted to join him.

“And you know what the hardest part is?” Iris continued. “It’s that I don’t really understand it.”

“I don’t think we can understand what she was thinking, Iris,” Kent whispered.

She laughed darkly. “No? No, you’re right. Without talking to her, we won’t know why this person weallloved and trusted decided she needed to kill Thea so desperately that she was willing to go to those lengths.”

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