Page 88 of Song of the Dark Wood

Rowan swallowed hard.

A frantic knock on the door saved her from having to break Finn’s heart. Finn opened it and found a breathless Sarai with Raya slumped in her arms. Sarai’s cheek was swollen, her lip split, her eyes red and puffy, but Raya’s shirt was soaked with blood, her body bent from pain.

“What happened?” Rowan asked as she helped Raya to a chair.

Sarai turned and looked from Finn to Rowan. “The elders caught us together and had us whipped. I got off easier since I’m the Crone’s daughter and they’re afraid of her, but they want to cast us both out for our deviant behavior.” She shook her head, wiping her eyes. “Raya can’t travel like this. Her back is a mess. She needs time to heal.”

Fury surged through Rowan. “How dare they! How dare they take love and make it something ugly and shameful! How dare they lay a finger on you!” Her anger was a life force pounding through her like a beating heart. “What do you need? What can we do?”

Sarai paced the room as Finn brought Raya some water. “I don’t know. It’s possible we could make it through Huntsman’s Hollows, but it will be weeks before we can leave. And I need calendula, marshmallow, or chamomile to try to heal the wounds. I don’t—” She broke into a sob as she collapsed to her knees in front of Raya. She brushed the hair back from the huntswoman’s face. “I’m so sorry. I should have been more careful.”

Raya smiled weakly. “We were both there and knew better.”

“I could talk to the elders for you,” Finn offered.

Sarai shot to her feet and stormed toward Finn. “You have been willfully ignorant long enough, Finn Ashand. You knowbetter and yet you remain blind. What will you say to those bigots? How will you convince them? And what good is their mercy if it condemns me to my knees to plead contrition for the rest of my days? What was my sin? She is to me what Rowan is to you, Finn. How can it be wrong to love someone?”

Finn swallowed hard. “Sarai, you know I don’t care who you love. I love you no matter what, but the scriptures say?—”

“I don’t care about the goddess-damned scriptures from those blasphemous morons!” Sarai screamed. “I care about Raya! I have asked you for nothing in all our years of friendship, Finn.Nothing. I have kept your secrets and given you advice. I have told you exactly how to get what you want.”

Finn shook his head. “I know. I owe you so much, Sarai, but I cannot do this right now. You don’t understand. Everything with Rowan?—”

Sarai’s gaze shot back to Rowan. “The secret ceremony?”

Rowan nodded. Despite the fact that she appreciated Finn’s loyalty, she couldn’t help but be disappointed in his lack of imagination. He had more power than she and Sarai combined, but he was unwilling to use it.

Rowan stepped behind Raya, carefully lifting her hair from her back and braiding the blood-stained strands out of her face. “You could hide them in your hunting cabin.”

Finn frowned. “And what happens if they’re caught?”

Sarai let out a bitter laugh. “Don’t worry, we wouldn’t dare sully the name of Ballybrine’s Mother-blessed golden boy. We would say we snuck in without your knowledge.”

Finn threw his hands up. “Goddess above, Sarai, that’s not what I meant, but if they’re this on edge and they find out I helped, there won’t be anywhere left to run.”

“The goddess above is no goddess of mine. I’ve had about enough of her absence,” Sarai snapped.

Rowan held up her hands, trying to settle them both. She crossed the room and took Sarai’s hands in hers. “I won’t let them hurt you again. I’d sooner see them dead.”

Sarai’s face softened. “You’re not a killer, Rowan.”

Rowan took a deep breath. “I don’t think we know yet what I might become to protect the people I love.”

For weeks those words had been a poisonous specter that haunted her mind. Saying them out loud and having witness to them, strengthened her resolve.

Finn looked startled by the admission, but Sarai’s shoulder straightened, and hint of satisfaction lit her eyes.

“We’ll hide until Raya is healed and make a plan. We’re not going to run. I’ll not leave this town to festering hate that will hurt other women.” Sarai’s eyes blazed with fury. “I’m going to burn it down, just like we talked about. I’m going to burn out every bit of infection in this town and I’m going to be the kind of Crone that brings people together instead of tearing them apart.” She leveled her glare at Finn. “You better know what side you’re on when it comes time, Finn. Choose wisely! Because I’ll remember this, and I might be quick to forgive, but Row holds a grudge.”

Sarai helped Raya to her feet and the duo stormed out the door, slamming it so hard the entire building shook.

23

CONOR

Rowan leaned back in the plush chair in the sitting room. Her green eyes narrowed in concentration on the chessboard in front of her. Fading sunlight streamed through the window, highlighting the red in her curls. She propped her chin in her hand, brow furrowed as she nudged her bishop to a new square.

Conor frowned at the move. It was a beginner’s mistake to go along with the ones she’d been making all game. She was obviously distracted, and it bothered him that she wouldn’t share what was on her mind.

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