Page 84 of A Fate so Cruel

And Rion might have relished standing over him. Just to show Selina he was the more dominate of the two. More qualified to protect her.

The male caught his breath and sat up to glare at him with bloodshot eyes.

“Go.”

The male stumbled to his feet, glanced at Selina once, then disappeared through the trees. The two stood in silence for a long while. He cast her a quick glance, but she was looking at the place where Seán had disappeared.

Rion clenched his jaw. She stepped, gave him an apologetic smile, then followed the male.

He loosed an uneasy breath. Her comrades would always come first. And he couldn’t really fault her for it. He was still mostly a stranger, after all.

Rion pivoted on his heel and followed the scent of the nearby river. He relished the sound of the water. The crisp scent that filled and cleared his lungs.

He found a tree and collapsed near the bank, letting his back rest against the trunk. Water was the only thing that ever seemed to calm the raging storm in his soul.

Rion scattered loose dirt around his body then let his eyes drift shut. It wasn’t long after that he heard her faint footsteps, then scented the wildflowers.

She sat at the edge of the bank without speaking, far enough away that she couldn’t touch him, but close enough that Rion kept an eye on her.

She’d helped him. Saved him hours of agony. Yet she’d been commanded to kill him by her High Lord. Where would that leave them in the end?

Would she try to kill him later? Use him then kill him? Decide to defy his brother and not kill him at all? Was it pity that steadied her hand or something else?

“Thank you,” she finally said. He cracked one eye open to see her wrap her arms around her knees. “I know he can seem harsh, but we’ve been friends since we were younglings.”

Rion perked up at that. “You grew up together?”

She nodded. “He was my first rival of sorts. We didn’t like each other much back then.”

What about now? He wanted to ask. Were they more than comrades?

Silence stretched between them again.

“How are you holding up?” she asked.

“It won’t hinder my ability.” He flexed his hand and winced.

“I meant, how areyou?” she emphasized. He raised a brow. “You know, your well-being?”

“What about it?”

She gave him an incredulous look. “You were just attacked. I thought that maybe—”

“I’ve gotten used to it over the years.”

She turned away. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“That you have to live with that. It’s not . . . well, I certainly wouldn’t want to live that way.”

He ventured to guess that most wouldn’t. “It’s the hand I’ve been dealt.”

“Fate’s a cruel mistress.”

“She can be.”

Selina pushed a strand of hair from her face and clasped her hands over her knees again. “Seán and Niamh intercepted two birds carrying orders south. Both were informing unnamed parties about the governor’s death.” She waited to see if he’d respond before continuing. “Both carried the depiction of a flying crow in the corner. We’ve seen the mark a few other times before.”

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