Page 80 of Silver in the Bone

There was a clear command in his tone, one that reverberated around us like a soft echo. As he spoke, I saw a faint shimmer in the air where his hand rested on my brother’s hunched shoulder.

Emrys was right. Bedivere had magic that apparently worked similarly to a Cunningfolk Coaxer. Able to soothe and commune with beasts.

“Tell me your name,” Bedivere said once more.

“Cabell.” My brother’s voice was clear, his form human.

Emrys released me then, and I darted toward Cabell, dropping to my knees beside him. He sagged into my arms, clutching me like he needed to remind himself of what was real. He looked up at Bedivere with amazement. I gripped his arm, helping him to stand.

“Is it a curse, then?” the older man asked.

Cabell nodded. “I’ve had it my whole life.”

Someone hissed behind us, though I couldn’t be sure if it was Emrys or Caitriona.

The question would remain unanswered. Outside the tower, our horses began to whinny, stomping and pawing at the dirt. Caitriona moved toward the door, looking out, her hand already on her sword’s hilt.

“We’re losing the light,” she said. “It’s past time to leave.”

“That’s it?” Emrys asked.

“Our days are short,” the girl said, “but I assure you, my patience for this sort of foolish delay is shorter.”

“We can’t leave his body like this,” Cabell said. “We need to bury it—”

“No, we don’t,” I said. “Leave it. We’re not dying for him.”

The horses were so thoroughly spooked that not even our presence settled them. The speed with which the light was departing, drawing back over the sky like a riptide, turned my blood to ice.

I climbed back into the saddle, allowing Emrys to settle behind me. My gaze never left Cabell as he staggered out of the watchtower. The hair was still receding on his arms as he hauled himself up onto his dapple-gray horse. When Bedivere nodded to him, he gave a curt nod back.

“I’m not going to ask if you’re okay,” Emrys told me quietly.

“Good.”

“I wouldn’t dream of saying I’m sorry about Nash, either,” he added.

“I’m glad,” I said, clenching the reins. “Because I know you wouldn’t mean it—all you care about is the fact that he didn’t have the ring.”

I’d barely spoken above a whisper, but somehow Caitriona had heard it.

“Yes, the ring,” she said, circling her horse around ours. “I look forward to hearing your explanation once we’re back at the tower.”

I clenched my jaw, keeping my eyes straight ahead on the dead moss dripping from the branches above the waiting path.

“And this time,” Caitriona said, clicking her tongue to get her horse moving, “perhaps you’ll be so good as to tell us the true reason you came to Avalon.”

We rode back to the tower at a grueling pace that left me feeling breathless and bruised by the time the gate was shut behind us.

“Come with me,” Caitriona told us. An order, not a request.

We fell into line behind her as we made our way up into the tower. Up past the storage and sleeping halls. She only stopped when we reached the third floor of bedrooms. Glancing back over her shoulder, she met Bedivere’s gaze and nodded.

“This way, lad,” Bedivere said, guiding Cabell off the stairs and down the dark hall. Cabell said nothing, his black hair a curtain in front of his lowered face. My pulse leapt, clearing the haze from my thoughts.

“Wait,” I rasped out, hurrying past Emrys down the stairs. “Don’t take him—”

Bedivere held out a hand, stopping me before I could follow. The look he gave me was almost unbearably kind. “Don’t trouble yourself. I’ll watch over him.”

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