Page 30 of No Greater Sorrow

He pushed away the half-baked plan that had reared up in his mind. It wasn’t something he could ask of his wife. She’d carried enough of his burdens already.

After a brief silence, he said, “I was selfish. I had Aleja back, but I knew our peace wouldn’t last. At that moment, she was happy.Iwas happy. If I could have commanded time to stand still, I would have.”

“Andwhat, now you’re going to die? What will that do to her?” Violet snapped with a force that made Nicolas sit back in his chair.

“I’m going to fix things. I’ve dealt with worse situations before.”

“Swear it to me. That means something to your kind, doesn’t it?”

“I swear,” he told her.

Violet fell back and dragged one of the pillows over her face. Her voice was muffled when she spoke. “Okay. Let’s scry. But I swear to… whatever the hell it is you Otherlanders believe in that I will make it my mission to destroy the Hiding Place if you break Aleja’s heart.”

“Understood,” he said, with a grim smile she couldn’t see.

* * *

“Why hasn’tthe Messenger come after us yet?” Aleja threw her hands up. “She saw what I did to her soldier.”

Bonnie watched as Aleja paced from one end of the tent to the other with Garm weaving between her feet, happy to make himself an ever-moving tripping hazard.

“Ask Taddeas about it. Orla too. She’s good at… Oh, what do the humans call it nowadays?Psychology,” Bonnie said. She still wore her rye and wheat crown, but her dress had been swapped for a long tunic and leggings that clung to her wide hips.

“I don’t think Orla likes me very much,” Aleja said.

“You’ll grow on her. Orla is extremely careful about who she puts her trust in. It’s what kept her alive long enough to become a Dark Saint, and what made her such a great commander on the battlefield. I just wish Merit had returned by now.”

Merit. The final Dark Saint, whom Aleja had never met.

“I feel helpless. I wish I could do more,” Bonnie went on, ignoring Aleja’s frustrated sigh.

“What are you talking about? You’ve grown enough food to feed an army twice this size in just forty-eight hours. Besides, none of this is going to matter if I led the Messenger straight to our doorstep.”

“The Messengerknowswhere we are. She would have attacked us if she wanted to. Besides, you were quick on your feet. Telling them Val was dead was the best thing you could have done,” Bonnie replied, repeating a point Nicolas had already tried to impress on her.

“Won’t she want revenge?”

“You don’t remember the Messenger, Aleja. I doubt that her son matters to her as much as his research.”

“But what about that thing?” Aleja pointed to the small orb on the table. Even though they’d left the Third’s realm, it still glowed.

“For all we know, it was their flashlight and they’re having a good laugh at the Lady of Wrath right now. Calm down, Al. Eat some cheese.”

Aleja had never heard such a sensible idea, so she complied. The bright orange cheese was hard, salty, and ridiculously perfect. Garm seemed to think so too; he barely managed to look up when the tent flap opened, and Nicolas slipped in.

“Good news, Violet has agreed to scry. By the Second, your breath stinks, Garm. What have you been feeding my hellhound?” Nicolas said. The gravitas of his first statement was somewhat dulled when Nicolas flipped Garm into the crook of his forearm and gave the dog a belly scratch.

Aleja sucked in a breath. “Good. What’s next?”

“Violet wants to start now, and I’ve agreed. We’re short on time. Your next Trial is only days away.”

“What about the Messenger?” Aleja asked.

“Taddeas reports no sign of her.”

“I’ll fetch Orla,” Bonnie said. Aleja bit the tip of her tongue to keep from protesting. It was silly,human, to cringe at the thought of sharing a space with a woman she barely knew yet had been somewhat cold to her.

But she knows you all too well, said Aleja’s inner voice.

---