Page 75 of A Haven of Brimstone and Darkness

“I’m glad you’re okay,” I whisper. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him that knowing he’s still alive and unharmed is a balm on my aching soul.

“I am,” he says with a nod. “But I worry for Mistress Maeryn.” His lips quiver slightly before he sinks his teeth into the bottom one halting it for a breath.

“She’ll be fine,” I assure him, bringing the small rabbit's body around where it rests in my palm and against my forearm. “I just need to free her from the spell.”

“I will do that.” This time Danai doesn’t give me a chance to refuse her. She slips between Niall and me, disrupting the reunion as she plucks Maeryn’s body from my arm.

With a snarl, I reach for her, but it’s Niall’s cry of disbelief that stops me. A rock formation on the wall across from the ocean window and table there moves inward and to the side.Kalix and Theos appear, their arms laden with twin trunks. Blankets, bottles of various liquids, plants, and an assortment of other things are visible from the open tops.

“Bring those over here,” Makeda orders as Theos and Kalix move past us toward where Ruen lies on the bed, groaning in pain as Makeda puts the bowl down.

“All will be well.” Danai interrupts my focus and returns my attention to her as she cradles Maeryn’s body against her own. Niall chooses that moment to hurry forth, bringing the bowl of water he’s holding over to Makeda and the Darkhavens.

My head pounding, I take a step away from Danai and look down at Maeryn. “What do you need from me to break the spell?” I demand.

“I will make the sacrifice,” Danai replies. “All I need for you to do is rest now.”

Chapter 36

Kiera

It matters not which side prevails, neither conqueror nor the conquered return from a war unscathed.I read that somewhere in the books Ophelia had forced Regis and I to study during our initial training years. At the time, I didn’t know what it meant, but now as I stare at Maeryn and Ruen’s sleeping faces, I think I’m beginning to.

Maeryn wanted to be safe. She wanted to avoid the conflict, and though a part of me resented her a bit for the fact that she so easily shut her eyes and turned away, another part of me envied her for the choice as well. Envy and desire go hand in hand, and all I have ever wanted was the freedom to make my own choices.

After the initial flurry of activity that had brought us back from the Hunt and then delivered us to Makeda’s chambers rather than the assembly hall, the Darkhavens and I had been moved back to our own rooms. Because Maeryn’s room is still empty—not that I’d want to place her back there—we’d elected to put both of them in Ruen’s. The bed is big enough anyway, and with them together, there’s always someone available to watch over them day or night.

A low groan emits from Maeryn’s throat, causing me to sit up in the chair I’d dragged closer to the side of the bed. The oneeye not covered by gauze and a wrap tied to the back of her head flutters open. Blinking away the bleariness from her good eye, she turns her head. She stops when her gaze lands on me and I lean forward, reaching for the hand resting on the top of the sheet she’s tucked under.

“Morning.” I keep my voice light even as I close my hand around her cold fingers. “How are you feeling?”

She blinks again and when she opens her mouth to respond, she begins hacking. I release her quickly and reach for the pitcher of water on the nightstand, tipping it into a glass there. Propping myself on the bed near her head, I help her lean up as I place the lip of the glass to her mouth and urge her to take a few sips. After she’s managed to drain a good quarter of the liquid, I set it down and let her take a deep breath.

“What happened?” she finally manages to get out.

“You were spelled by the Gods to take on the form of a rabbit and then set loose in a hunting ground for the second rite of the Spring Equinox,” I say as I slip off the bed and take my seat in the chair once more. I keep my voice quiet, eyes flicking over to where Ruen still rests and taking in the return of color in his face. Makeda had assured us that once he’d been given sufficient sleep after her potions had been administered that he would wake without any negative side effects from the poison from Soza and Maral’s arrow.

“I…” Maeryn’s eyes find the ceiling and stay there. “I thought it was a dream. A horrible … terrible dream.”

I can’t say that I blame her for thinking her situation a nightmare. “It wasn’t,” I assure her. “When we discovered you missing, I went searching for you, and …someonetold me what had happened.” I hesitate to use Makeda’s name, unsure of whether or not Maeryn is involved beyond saving now. The chances are high that she’ll find out eventually, but to be safe, I keep the Goddess’ name to myself.

Maeryn doesn’t talk for a long time, the silence in the room growing thick with unease. I let it happen, comfortable in the quiet that expands and takes over the air despite the fact that it’s choking the life from my lungs. Once pain becomes the normal state of being, it no longer hurts as much. It no longer wields as much power over you.

After a while, Maeryn reaches up and touches the gauze covering her left eye. “I-I want to see,” she stutters.

It would be easy to lie to her, easy to tell her that she has yet to heal from her wounds—those that transferred over from her spelled body—but there’s no point. She will find out eventually. So, I lean forward and help her back into a sitting position and then, I untie the knot holding the gauze and wrapping from her skull.

The material sags forward, draping into her lap as Maeryn reaches up and cups a hand over the extra gauze that is secured to her eye. Leaving her, I stride across the room to the dresser, picking up the object there before returning to her side.

“Here,” I hold out the hand mirror, carved from wood and melded with a bronze filigree around the reflective surface.

She takes it from me with trembling fingers, and then, with a sharp intake of breath, she lets the gauze drop completely and lifts the mirror to her face. Tears well up in both of her eyes—the beautiful green one and the milky-colored one with a still healing red slash through her skin. They spill over her lashes and cascade down her cheeks.

“I-I…” Her hand and the mirror shake until she drops it. Instead of landing on her lap, it hits the edge of the mattress and goes tumbling to the floor with a crack as the delicate mirror breaks, forming a fissure straight down the middle of it.

Glancing at Ruen’s face, I mentally sigh in relief when he remains sleeping. Whatever tonic Makeda had given him before we’d moved him back here is working its Divinity—or magic.I bend down and pick up the mirror before setting it on the nightstand.

Maeryn continues to cry, her shoulders shaking with the force of her sobs despite the fact that her tears remain silent. I lean close and take her hands in mine. “It’s going to be okay,” I tell her.

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