Page 28 of Fated Unkindness
“Thank you, Beth, for your hospitality. If you don’t mind, I'd like to retire for the night. I had quite the journey, and if we are leaving early tomorrow, I'd like to get all the rest I can.” I tell her with a smile. I’d like toretirethis bullshit polite act.
“Oh, sweet boy, of course. I will have your clothes all washed up and ready for you in the morning. You can sleep in the first room on the right. I’ve already made up the bed for you.”
“Ma—No.” Ambriel nearly shouts at her mother—a sadness etched into every line of her face.
“Nonsense, Ambriel. I won’t hear another word. The room has not been used in years. There is no reason Cano cannot sleep in it for one night.”
“No. He can sleep in my room. I don’t want anyone in Ric’s space. Please.” She begs.
“Bri, enough.” Her mother snaps, the first harsh tone I’ve heard from her since my arrival.
“I don’t mind where I sleep. If it makes Ambriel happy, I will sleep in her bed.” She didn’t miss the wink I shoot at her behind her mother’s back. “Really, it is no bother. I could sleep on the floor if needed. I’ve slept in less appealing places, believe me.” I smile as Beth turns to me.
“Very well. Ambriel, you will sleep in Ric’s room then. Cano, Bri’s room is the last door on the left. Breakfast will be at first light. This is a farm, and we rise before the sun.” She claps a hand on my shoulder and smiles wide, then walks to her daughter and hugs her tight. Ambriel may put off a spoiled, self-righteous façade, but there is a pain in her eyes when they reach mine over her mother’s shoulder. Something has to do with this Ric person who hasn’t slept in the room they have here for years. I’m glad to be traveling with Ambriel tomorrow because I have questions, and I’m going to get the answers.
Chapter twenty-seven
Morning has come toosoon. After Ma poked her head into Ric’s room to wake me, I stretched out in his bed. His space has long lost his scent, but being near his things brings me back to a time when things were better. Ma won't come all the way into the room for more than a few minutes at a time. She says her heart can't take being surrounded by the memory of him. I understand her thoughts on it, but I personally would rather be surrounded and reminded of him than forget. I pad over to the chest of drawers on the far wall. The brisk morning air brings a pepper of gooseflesh to my skin as I pull open the top drawer. Alaric kept some of his trinkets and blades here. I pull out one of the small pairs of onyx knives and placed it on top of the dresser, along with a much larger onyx dagger with a blood-red ruby placed at the hilt. Though he was only my half-brother, we looked a lot alike. Raven-black hairwith gold-flecked brown eyes, like Topaz, much like our mother. Pa was just as much his father as he was mine, in all ways but blood.
Ma and Pa never really talked about who Ric’s actual father was. He said that he was a previous love who died. Pa stepped in when Ric was just a babe. I was born just two years later. Ric and I were best friends, living as we did. We didn’t have much choice. Not really. Rural farming life will do that, but when the kingdom fell, Ma and Pa already had this land and home prepared for us. Ma and Pa didn’t talk about times before the kingdom fell much, though I knew they were heavy participants in the war. I didn’t ask too many questions, but often found Ma looking through an old chest of memories and crying. When Ric decided to join the regime, something broke in Pa. His anger is almost always present, and he doesn’t talk much. He immerses himself in his work on the farm. So much so that his body is riddled with the aches and pains of a hard life lived. Though I was proud of Alaric for choosing honor by enlisting in the regime, I sometimes wish he would have chosen differently. Chosen family.
We received word that he had been killed in an explosion in the tunnels of Demetrey four years ago. He was only a part of the Ravendene Regime one year before he was killed on duty. There is a quick knock at the door, and it starts to creak open, pulling me from my memories. I know who is there before he gets a chance to open the door a few inches. I run to it and place my hand up to stop it from opening any further.
“Um, no. You are not welcome here. What do you want?” I spit like venom.
“Your mother sent me up to tell you breakfast is ready,” Cano says through gritted teeth. The thoughts coming through him arevile and repulsive. It’s been so long since I’ve had a stranger in the house that I can read so vividly. When I’m out in public places, I do everything I can to block out the thoughts and emotions of others because it can be so overwhelming. At home, I normally don’t need to because Ma and Pa have such strong mental shields up. They have been practicing them pretty much my whole life, and my mother even longer, because her mother was also a telepathic empath. There aren’t many of us anymore, so it’s not common for people to need barriers on their minds as they used to. I also have my own elemental gift, which neither of my parents expected because there are no known elementals in our family lines unless Grandma had a secret she never shared, but nonetheless, I have an affinity for air.
Cano tries pushing the door further open, but I use my air magic with just a wave of my hand, and the door slams shut, effectively keeping him out of the room. I hear him laugh on the other side of the door. “Strong, too, huh.” He laughs again and walks away. Something about him feels off. Most of his thoughts when he is around me are about how he wants to defile me in one way or another. He has so many thoughts about my ass and mouth that a disgusted shudder rolls through me. He’s a good-looking man, but I am much more inclined to be attracted to someone who has a beautiful mind with a hint of humor and a dash of sarcasm, not his shallow and angry one. That ship sank the moment he knocked on our front door, and I got a read on his thoughts and emotions.
What he was thinking when he knocked on our front door is precisely why I decided that this was my calling. The people he wants to hunt down, harm… I am meant to help. I felt it deep in my soul. Raelle, whoever she is. As soon as he thought of her, itwas like a thread of awareness was pulled taut. Something I never knew was there before, and now I felt it pulling me to her. I needed to find out what I could from Cano, ditch the prick, and find her. Help her.
I grab the blades from the dresser, strapping the dagger to a holster across my chest under a vest to conceal it, and slide the twin knives into their sheaths, one in each boot. I step back, looking into the long mirror in the corner of the room. I feel a warmth settle in my chest where my brother's weapon lies against my heart. “I feel like I have you with me for protection now, Ric.” I look myself in the eyes with a rueful smile, then turn, leaving the room and the memories of a life once lived.
After dressing for the trip to market, I pad down the narrow corridor and stop at the top of the stairs. I pivot to look back down the hall, with doors on each side and a small window at the very end, and sadness rolls over me. Something tells me it is going to either be a long time before I return, or I won’t ever return to this place. I take a deep breath, and while I feel the sadness, I meet it with determination, and that feels right. This is the path I was meant for.
I adjust the knife at my boot and check the sheathed dagger at my chest to ensure everything is secured, then I walk down the stairs and sit at the table where Cano is already seated. I send a sarcastic grin in his direction with a small shake of my head that tells him my dislike for him is still present, and then Ma sets a plate down in front of each of us.
“If you don’t mind, I would like to say a blessing over both of you before you leave,” she tells us. I look up at her brows pinched, and it's times like this when I wish I could penetrate her mental block. I go to the market nearly every month, and alone at that. She never wants to send me away with a blessing… Something is up.
“How very kind of you. I would love to accept such a gift; thank you,” Cano purrs to her. Such a bootlicker. I almost refused, but her thoughts suddenly burst into my head as she dropped her mental shield to speak to me only.
“Listen carefully, Bri. He is not who he claims. Cano is the son of Soren and Carmine Croix. He pretends he is the leader of Ravendene, but he is not of the Ravendene line. The Ravendene line still lives. I had a vision last night, sweet girl. You will help reunite the kingdom. Seek out the Raven and Moon.”
Ma placed her hand on Cano’s shoulder, her barrier snapping back into place.
“Gods, please deliver this man where he is destined, allow those who seek the darkness to parish around him, and bless him with what he deserves.” She dips her chin and smiles at him, but I know the words she spoke had a double meaning. She then turns and lays her hands on me. She makes eye contact with me while she says the prayer.
“Gods, guide my daughter by the light of the moon and the warmth of the sun. Let her gain wealth on this journey, then return her home so we can bless the lands once more.” Another double edge to her words.
I do something that I have not done in years. It's easier to pass the barrier in her mind when I'm pushing my own thoughts. I reach out with my power to communicate telepathically, and as my consciousness enters hers through a smoky wall, I speak to only her.
“I won’t let you down, Ma. I felt the pull the moment I got a read on Cano. I know what must be done. I love you. Tell Pa.”She pulls me into a tight hug and then pushes me out at arm's length.
“Keep your smart mouth to yourself on your travels. I don't want it to get you into trouble. You’re just like your father.” She laughs with a wide smile, but I see the pain in her eyes saying this goodbye without getting to say the one she wishes.
Cano says his thanks again as we both step out the door. Pa was already in the fields working and didn’t see us off. I know the cause is likely not wanting to face the pain of saying goodbye to another child. His heart is still broken from Ric. It makes me sad to think I won’t see him again for a long time, or ever. Regardless, I know he will be proud of me wherever destiny takes me. He understands that sometimes we are guided by the gods, and even if we push that call away, it has a way of finding us. I managed to avoid speaking to Cano for most of the time we were loading the carriage. Though, I feel his eyes on me the whole time. I am, however, grateful that the only thoughts I get from him are about the need to return to Ravendene and get word to Demetrey, asidefrom the few nefarious ones about me. I shut him out for a while, so I don’t lose my breakfast.
“The ride to the Ravendene capital is a day’s travel. We should arrive just before nightfall,” Cano tells me.
