Page 36 of Godsbane
“Spectacular. Let’s get going, then.”
My eyes roll as far back in my head as humanly possible at the thought.
Inevitable. That’s what Cal said we were. Just like death, hunger, or taxes. All things that catch up with you eventually.
“He’s not your enemy.” Henry’s voice startles me back into the moment, his amber eyes now fixed attentively on me.
“He’s Marks’ man. You’re all Marks’ men.”
“We are Cal’s men. And my brother’s position is one of necessity, not of choice. Your paths have been tied together for longer than you know. Yes, he’s stubborn and infuriating at times, but he’s honest and loyal to those who deserve it. He will lay down his life to raise you up and ask nothing in return. But I am not my brother … I will ask the one thing that has never crossed his mind.”
Henry stands and slides the silver flute into his back pocket before turning his fiery gaze back to mine. “Do you deserve it?”
I swallow the thick knot that lodges in my throat. My mind urges me to yell at him. I don’t even know Cal, and yet I have to answer if I deserve his fealty!
But that’s not entirely true, is it?
Cal’s right, we aren’t strangers. I may not deserve the captain’s loyalty but my cause does. We are unlikely allies tethered by a common goal and a fate that neither of us chose.
“A piece of unsolicited advice, Ivy. Acceptance isn’t surrender. Destiny may not be a choice, but happiness is.”
The loud braying of horses wakes me from my dreamless sleep. Early morning light casts the inside of the tent in a warm greenish hue, a delicious smell wafting through the flaps of the tent door. Throwing my boots on quickly, I step out to the sightof Cal cooking something round and white in the small frying pan.
Eggs.
My mouth salivates at the smell, a small moan escaping my lips that causes all three men to stop what they’re doing and stare at me.
“It’s been a while since you’ve gotten that kind of reaction from a woman, huh brother?” Theo winks at me, a devilish smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
My own mimics his when I notice Henry walking up behind him, hand outstretched ready to thwop his brother over the head.
“Hungry, princess?” Cal’s voice pulls my attention just before an audible grunt of pain sounds off to my right, neither of us paying any attention to the physical reprimand his brother just received.
“Starving, actually.” As if that wasn’t painfully obvious to everyone by my involuntary reaction.
Cal divides the small eggs between the four tin plates and begins passing them around the fire. Judging by the size, I’m guessing that someone stumbled across a quail’s nest this morning. I use the tines of my fork to pop the yolk, allowing the thick yellow liquid to run over the perfectly cooked whites. One bite and I’m barely able to keep from moaning again.
“Oh my gods,” I manage to say with a full mouth.
“If she likes your eggs that much, she’s going to lose her mind over your venison stew,” Theo laughs. “It’s truly a work of culinary magic, Ivy.”
I look up from my plate to find Henry staring, a dark brow quirked up in a knowing assessment. He believes there’s a world where I could have Cal’s stew, a world where the four of us share meals over abundant tables instead of sparse campfires. Butdespite what he may think, that world doesn’t exist, at least not in our realm.
There’s an unspoken heaviness that grows with each passing minute, clearly signaling that the time for our traveling parties to split up is fast approaching.
When Theo and Henry clear the plates and begin the process of saddling the horses, I excuse myself to the woods to relieve my aching bladder, giving the men plenty of time to say their goodbyes in private. All traces of our stop in this clearing are gone when I return.
“Well, darling, I believe this is where we part ways.” Theo slings his arm casually across my shoulders, leaning in to mock-whisper in my ear. “Unless you’d rather come with me.”
“I’m afraid Amale beckons,darling,” I mock. “Your Lord General has a date with my particular brand of poison. Wouldn’t want to delay that, would we?”
A viciously handsome smile blooms across Theo’s face as he steps away to face me. “Gods, I like you.”
“Leave her alone, Theo.” Henry walks up to his brother’s side and extends his hand to me. “It really was a pleasure to meet you, Ivy.”
Unlike the last time he extended his hand to me, I take it. “Same to you, Henry. Where do your travels take you?”
There’s a slight hesitation, a quick tense of his jaw, there one second and gone the next, before he replies. “The Emerald Region, actually.”
