Page 120 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“Coffee and some sugary confections if you have them,” Amolie said.

“Some bacon, too, please,” I added. The woman nodded and left the room. I leaned back in the plush armchair, listening to the crackling fire and reveling in its heat.

Amolie took a seat in the one across from me.

“So? What happened?”

I sighed.

“Well, we saw our mother.”

“And?” She leaned forward, elbows on her knees.

“And she said I’d have to choose between Tharan and Caiden.”

“Well, it seems to me like you already made your choice.”

“But what if that choice was wrong?” I had been wrong before. What if I was wrong again? What if I was doomed to pick bad men? What if I pushed the good ones away? My heart couldn’t take much more of this. I loved Tharan, except… what if we could never be together? What if I was wasting my time loving someone only to have the world rip them from my hands again?

Amolie moved closer and placed a reassuring hand on mine.

“For once, I don’t think you are. I think you should trust your gut.”

I nodded.

“You’re right. I’m being foolish, and she could be playing games with me.”

“Trust your intuition, Aelia,” Amolie said.

I told her at length about our misadventure, finishing with Conrad’s near miss with death just as a servant entered the room.

“Excuse me, Lady Aelia, but we just received word that your sister has woken and is asking for you.”

With those words, I breathed a little easier. “Wonderful. Prepare a carriage for us.”

The infirmary was housed in one of the old god’s temples, built long before the Trinity came to dominate the continent. Light streamed in through stained-glass windows, painting the room with color. Below the arched windows, beds lined the ancient shrine. Baylis was located at the far end. Healers rushed from patient to patient, checking on them, wearing their signature blue-and-white coats that buttoned to their chin. The Healers Guild of the Free Cities accepted all skilled practitioners into their ranks. Elves, sylph, witches, and all manner of magus mixed together freely.

A sense of relief flooded over me, seeing more sailors had survived. Even Conrad was awake and flirting with the healers.

Amolie and I pulled up chairs beside Baylis’s bed. She still looked so fragile, with her skin-tinged blue and shadows beneath her eyes. She couldn’t be a conniving backstabber. That wasn’t in her nature. Even as I thought the words, something in the back of my mind told me not to trust her. She had seen so much already. If she wanted to, she could destroy me. It’s something I would have done to get the information I needed.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“As well as can be expected.” She held up her hand with the two missing fingers wrapped in a bandage.

“Makes you look fierce.” I mustered the best smile I could. “You’ll have to think of a good story for it.”

“Because a giant sea serpent destroyed the ship I was on isn’t good enough?”

I chuckled, pulling her in for a hug. “I guess that is a pretty good story.”

“Not too tight,” she gasped. The briny, earthy smell of the Bay still lingered on her skin.

“I can’t help it. I thought I’d lost you again.”

“You should know by now… Springborns are hard to kill.”

A lump formed in my throat, and I nodded into my sister’s long, blonde hair.

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