Page 16 of Song of the Dark Wood

Elder Garrett’s eyes went wide. “You dare to blaspheme! You little liar! You’re further gone than I realized! Don’t worry. I’ll give you a comprehensive cleansing?—”

Before he could move, Cade shoved everything off of the elder’s desk and threw a glass vase across the room.

“Goddess above!” Elder Garrett shouted. His wide eyes met Rowan’s. “You did this!”

“Sir, I didn’t. The Mother’s will be done,” Rowan said reverently.

Elder Garrett stared at her, his face red with fury, but his eyes showed a hint of fear. “Get out of my sight before I change my mind.”

Rowan shot to her feet and stumbled out the door with her cloak in hand. She tugged it tight around her still-unbuttoned bodice and didn’t stop to button it until she was safely inside Maiden’s Tower. She leaned her head back against the wall in the hallway, and Cade stood next to her.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“That man is a problem,” Cade grumbled. “These elders are all pretenders.I’mmore devout than they are. He just wanted to jerk off on your virgin tits.”

Rowan’s stomach turned over at the thought of it. The act was one of the things she’d been taught about in tutoring as it was something the Wolf might demand, but experiencing the threat of it firsthand from another was degrading.

Her mind spun wildly. “I have to get out of here. I need air. I feel like I’m suffocating.”

She fumbled with the rest of the buttons on her dress as Mrs. Teverin walked around the corner. She drew up short when she saw how disheveled Rowan looked.

“Mrs. Teverin, it’s not what it looks like—” Rowan started.

“I wasn’t born yesterday, Rowan, and I know enough to suspect what it is. Are you all right?” It was the first time the woman had been the least bit compassionate with her.

“I wasn’t really supposed to let him do anything to me, was I?” Rowan asked.

Mrs. Teverin gave her a grim smile. “No, you weren’t. Don’t you worry. He’ll keep his mouth shut because he knows what’s good for him. If he doesn’t, I’ll have something to say about it. Forget your afternoon plans. Take some time for yourself and calm down.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Teverin,” Rowan said.

It was the smallest kindness, but it meant the world to Rowan. She took off down the hall before the woman could change her mind, swapping her red cloak for the plain green one she used when she snuck out. Then she tore through town until she reached Finn’s apartment. She frantically banged on the door until it flew open.

“Rowan, what’s wrong?” Finn asked. “Come in.”

He beckoned her inside and peeked down the hall to make sure no one had seen her before closing the door.

“I need your help, Finn. I—” She felt ready to burst with rage and panic.

“What happened?” Finn asked.

Rowan burst into tears as she explained what Elder Garrett had done.

“He had no right to do that, and he should never have put you in that position. He needs to be held accountable.” Finn jumped to his feet.

Rowan caught his hand and pulled him back down. “Finn, it’s my word against his. No one but you will believe me. And if they find out, it could ruin me. He could lie and say that I’m impure or that I’ve laid with a man and confessed it to him. It would put both me and Aeoife at risk.”

“We can’t let this stand. We have to do something!” Finn said.

Rowan understood his outrage. He’d never met a problem he couldn’t solve with wealth, influence, or courage. She might have been accustomed to powerlessness, but Finn was new to it.

“Finn, I can’t move through the world as you do. You’re the first son of a lord, and I’m no one. I can’t count on anyone to listen to me?—”

The furrow in Finn’s brow softened and his shoulders relaxed. He cupped her face in his hands. “You’re not no one to me,” he said. “You’re everything, Row. I—” He stopped himself, but she could practically hear the unspoken words.

It was selfish to want to hear them when she didn’t feel the same way. Still, she longed for them. She clung to the hope in those words like it was an anchor.

He tucked her hair behind her ear and left his hand on her cheek, the tender touch in contrast to the rough, callused feel of his palm. She didn’t mind that the only gentleness in her life came with its own rough edges. It suited her just fine.

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