Page 16 of A Fate so Cruel

Saoirse didn’t respond. She didn’t put him down either. Her emerald eyes searched through the trees and paused when they stood on the outskirts of a clearing, right before a dirt path that led to a single story cabin.

Candles flickered in the main window.

Flat square stepping stones carved a path surrounded by low-growing plants that Rion couldn’t identify in the dark. His sister’s heart rate spiked again and she retreated a step, looking back where they’d come. She chewed her lip and returned her gaze to the cabin, as if she wasn’t sure whether to move forward or go back.

The door swung open and a large, silhouetted figure stood in the doorway.

“Saoirse?” A male’s voice called.

A noise escaped his sister that bordered on the edge of hysteria. He wondered if she’d break down right here, but despite her trembling lips, Saoirse held herself together.

The male stepped down from his porch and onto the path. Rion still couldn’t see his face.

“Gods, what happened?”

His sister didn’t move. She’d frozen in place, still glancing between the male and the city they’d left behind. She stepped back again, clutching Rion close.

The male stopped advancing, seemed to look them over. His voice softened. “You’re safe here. You know that.” He stepped to the side and extended one arm as an invitation. “Whatever you’ve done. You’re safe.”

Her shoulders fell, then she stepped forward. Rion shrank away from the male as his sister entered the cabin, still holding him tight. The male peered into the darkness beyond, scanning the wood line before he joined them.

He pulled a folded blanket from the cabinet and spread it over a short sofa before gesturing for her to sit. She did. Hissister seemed to relax, but Rion kept his eyes on the male as he moved toward the kitchen and filled three mugs with steaming water before retrieving a jar of tea. The male returned moments later, placing the three mugs on the table between them.

The male settled into the chair across from them and an uneasy silence filled the space. It was dark, save for the candles and embers that glowed in the fire place. Too warm. Rion was too warm here. Too nervous with this new male after everything that had happened. He wanted to leave.

The male surveyed them, scented the blood that covered their bodies.

“You’re hurt.” Saoirse didn’t respond. The silence was nearly palpable. “You know better than to let a wound like that go untreated.” Again, silence.

The male sat back, studying Saoirse as if he was trying to piece together a puzzle. His sister’s breathing changed. She slowed it, eased her heart rate down, too. “I shouldn’t be here,” she finally said.

“Yet here you are.”

“I’ll leave in the morning. I just need a night, then I’ll go.”

“Where to?”

She cupped her face with one hand. “I don’t know yet. North, maybe. Across the sea.”

He raised a brow. “With him?” The male eyed Rion now, and Rion refused to turn away or back down. He thought he saw the male’s lips twitch into a smile. Saoirse only nodded. The male leaned forward again, all trace of humor gone. “Saoirse, tell me what’s going on.”

She stared at the fire again and her lips wobbled before parting to take another breath. “Father is . . . gone.” The male went unnaturally still. Saoirse was shaking now. “I—I didn’t think. I just . . . reacted.” She buried her face in her hands again.

“You killed him?”

Rion flinched at the words. Saoirse didn’t look up. Didn’t confirm or deny.

More silence.

The fire cracked and Rion jumped.

The male uttered a single word that sounded more like a command than a question. “Why?”

Saoirse shook her head. “I can’t tell you. You won’t understand.”

His jaw worked. “If my High Lord is dead, then I need to be in the city. I heard the alarms, but I didn’t think—”

“You’ll find out when you get there. We’ll be gone before you come back. I promise.”

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