Page 30 of Fortress of Ambrose
“And you’re so sure about these people because?”
“Because I’ve lived with them. They are caring people. But very protective because theyhave to be.”
“And if you’re wrong?”
“I’m not wrong, Jordan. Not about this.ThisI know.” He has toprovehe is not for the Order anymore. He has toprovethat he will do whatever he can to helpeveryone. “This is what loving me means.”
Jordan stares at me so intently it makes the leaves outside stop rustling. It quiets the chirps of birds and brightens the light streaming through the barn’s windows. This isn’t how I wanted this to go, for him to have to recut his wounds to prove he’s worth taking a chance on. I have a fistful of my clothes when Jordan steps toward me. The air between us buzzes, and my gaze falls to the spot below his chest, where his shirt hangs oddly because of the rotting flesh. His gaze follows mine.
“You’re asking me to bare my soul to people I hardly know. I’ve seen horrid things in houses like these, Quell.”
“Jordan, I’m right about this. I would not risk this.”
“Your magic?”
“Yourlife. I will do everything I can to change Willam’s mind, but you have to beall in.” Without touching me, his hand follows the curve of my cheekbone, as if there is an invisible barrier between us. His distant hand trails down the slope of my jaw. I close my eyes, imagining the warmth of his touch. Longing for the way it feels. When I open my eyes, he has crossed the barn and settled on a wooden bench beside a heap of hay.
“Can I at least get a pillow?”
I enter theback of the house through a mudroom with bare shelves and squeaky-clean floors. Willam has to understand holding the world together means Jordan’s life is the priority. Inside, four are gathered around Knox.Rein, who had a hugely swollen belly last I saw, hands a bundle wrapped in blankets to her, and the tiniest little face emerges from its folds. The twins, who have grown so much in the last few months, sit on the carpet, fishing out various rocks to show Knox. Kedd watches from the doorframe with a grin. Willam gestures for me to join them, offering me a drink.
“It’s good to see you back.” His sloped posture and sideways smile have returned.
“It’s good to be back. This is the most home I’ve had anywhere. I only wish—” My chin hits my chest.When they offered me a place among them, I insisted on leaving to find my mother.And she’s gone.I turned my back on them. But I had to. “I needed answers. And I got them.”
“There’s some peace in that, I know,” he says.
The words that come to mind send a quake through my chest.
“Where are the others?” I ask, realizing there’s no noise coming from other rooms or the kitchen, where they would typically be finishing lunch. Knox and Willam cared for over a dozen at least in the safe house we were in before.
“Gone.”
“I don’t understand.”
“We were dwindling every day at one point, waking up to more cold beds. I’m not sure where they’re going or why. I just hope they’re safe. It does not sound kind out there.” There’s a heaviness in Willam’s voice that sounds a lot like grief.
With so much uncertainty in the world and no organized brotherhood, some probably see an opportunity to strike out on their own and see what the big, scary world outside is all about.
“You did the best you could for them while you had them.”
“Where is he?”
Jordan.“In the barn.”
“He has to go by curfew.”
“I need to talk to you about him.”
“Knox!” Dimara dashes toward her. I haven’t seen her since she learnedof Yagrin’s betrayal and that the safe house was being relocated because of it. She had been furious with me, yelling across the dinner table.
“You’re back,” she says to me. “Who said she could come back?”
Kedd, still hovering in the doorway, folds his meaty arms and shrugs. The twins shrug as well.
“Knox brought her home,” Rein says, fixing her blouse. “Please don’t upset things.”
“I’mthe one at risk of upsetting things?”
