Page 7 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“Have the priestesses prepare for the ceremony and make sure Elrida is able to travel.”

Sumac nodded, pushing herself away from the table.

The room quieted.

Tharan leaned in close, whispering in my ear, “Finally. I’ve been thinking about you since we parted ways this morning.”

I pushed a stray hair behind my ear. “I thought we were going to be professional while in public.”

Hooking his hand under my chair, he pulled me close. The sound of wood scraping against wood screeched through the room.

“It’s just us now,” he said, kissing my neck, sending my pulse racing.

2AELIA

After breakfast,I went to find my sister. Baylis had been working with the Alder Palace healers to remember her time with Gideon. So far, they’d been unsuccessful in retrieving any of her memories.

Pushing the door to her room open, I found her and Amolie reading in front of a roaring fire. A plate of baked goods and steaming coffee sat on the table in front of them.

“Aelia!” Shutting her book, my sister crossed the room, embracing me in a hug. I squeezed her tight, treasuring the moment. We’d both been through so much in the past five years. Where do you even begin to heal with that kind of distance between two people?

“How are you feeling?” I examined her thoroughly; sure I’d find some mark from Gideon I’d missed. My eyes raked over her slender frame, and I gently turned her palms up, anticipating the discovery of some missed brand or healing bruise. What was her dress hiding? Surely there must be something. There can’t benothing, because if Gideon was good to her… actually good to her when he couldn’t muster a morsel of affection for me—then all my self-doubt would be true. I am the unlovable one. I am theproblem, and all those degrading things he said about me were true.

“I’m fine.” She waved me off with a little chuckle, but I didn’t trust it. How could she be fine when I knew what Gideon did to women? When I experienced first-hand the cruelty lingering under his handsome facade? I bit the inside of my lip to keep from saying something. I wanted Baylis to trust me enough to confide in me. We were starting from scratch.

“Never better, actually.” She brushed her hands on her skirt nervously. “Just enjoying a morning with Amolie.”

I wanted to dip into her mind to see if she was hiding anything in there, but that could set off alarms I wasn’t ready to face. I needed her to trust me enough to let me in.

“Yes, won’t you join us?” Amolie said, motioning for me to sit next to her on the little leather sofa.

“We have a meeting with the king. I just came to check on Baylis before heading up.”

“Can I come?” Baylis asked, her delicate face bright with hope.

I didn’t want to tell her that she was still being watched closely. As much as I loved my sister, there was no telling what kind of tracking spell Erissa and Gideon put on her. I couldn’t risk the safety of an entire kingdom for her comfort. So, I dined with her in the evenings and made sure she had company at all times. I waited so long to find my sister, and now that I had her back, it was bittersweet. I wanted to ask her a million questions about Gideon, but I was afraid of the answers. Why had he been good to her but not me? A sour taste filled my mouth.

I swallowed my resentment.

“Sorry, not today. Official business. We can go riding later.”

“Fine,” she huffed, returning to her book.

Once a safe distance away, Amolie said, “You’re going to have to go into her mind and see if you can find any helpful memories.”

I bit the inside of my cheek again.

“I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to ever dig into someone’s mind ever again unless I have to. And I definitely don’t want to have to go into my own sister’s. The guilt I carry for all those years of mercenary work weighs heavily on me.”

“I know, Aelia, but I’m not getting anywhere with her. The healers say she screams in her sleep.” Amolie scanned the corridor for prying eyes. “Either she’s hiding something, or it’s buried so deep inside her mind we may never find it.”

“I know. I want to believe her. I want to believe my sister is just a victim of circumstance, but I know Gideon and Erissa. Either they kept her in the dark of their plans…” My words caught in my throat.

“Or shewastheir plan?” Amolie said.

I sighed. “Right. I don’t want to dig around in her mind yet. I’m not prepared for what I might find.” Even just thinking about it made my skin prickle with disgust.

“We may not have a choice, Aelia.”

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