Page 57 of King Elijah (The Zemiran Chronicles 2)

He shook his head again, eyes slightly wider than before.

She’s bloody mad, he thought.

“This sword belonged to my father. I’m not parting with it.”

She sucked in a heavy breath and looked over her shoulder again. “Fine. Here, we can hide it for now.” She reached out toward Aiden, and he hesitantly handed it over. Tegan walked over to the barrel collecting water, and pulled off the top. “They don’t empty the barrels until spring.”

She slid the sword inside and sealed off the top, keeping the little spout open for more water to enter.

Aiden kept his eyes on the barrel, realizing he would have to come back for that sooner rather than later. His hand twitched to take the sword back. It felt like he had to physically tear himself away from it as quickly as possible and keep moving before second-guessing himself.

“Let’s go,” she said. Her jaw was set as she reached out to take his hand. “This way.”

Aiden tried to relax and let himself be led. They approached a tall gate that stood at the base of the mansion he had noticed earlier. He could hear people gathered before he saw them, and after a few more steps, a crowd came into view. They were talking amongst themselves in a gathering upon the grass, and Aiden frowned as he tried to discern what they were doing.

“I cannot tell what is happening,” he said to Tegan, looking down at her.

She didn’t look back at him, but she squeezed his hand, just a little, as she watched the crowd in front of them. When she spoke, her voice was stiff. “It looks like they’re doing some kind of ritual,” she said.

Black smoke rose in a column from the center of the group, reaching high above their heads. Standing at the outer fringe of the crowd, a woman turned to cough and caught sight of them in the process. When the woman’s eyes landed on Tegan, she smiled and waved at them.

He looked back at Tegan to get a read on the situation. How worried should he be that a citizen had just spotted them? Tegan kept her face forward, though. She waved back at the woman, a ghost of a smile on her face before she dropped her head to stare at the grass.

“Do you know them?” Aiden asked. It felt like he was still missing an essential piece of the puzzle.

With her eyes locked on the ground, she said, “If I had let you keep that sword, you would already have been shot on sight,” she said. “It’s better this way.”

Finally, she tilted her chin to look up at him. Though her face was dry, her eyes were bloodshot, and her skin was flushed. Aiden could see the wall of emotion held just underneath it, clear as day.It clicked in his mind what her strategy truly was at that moment.

“Oh,” he said as Tegan brought her dagger to his throat. Their eyes met.

“I really am sorry, Aiden,” she said. “I didn’t want this for you.” Now there were fat, heavy tears rolling down her cheeks. The sight of those tears brought him that same sensation of pain from earlier that morning.

“Tegan!” Aiden heard a man call out as he ran to the gate. He had barely even noticed him until it was too late. He was too focused on the woman with a blade at his throat. Everything about it felt wrong. “Tegan?” the man called again when she didn’t answer.

Aiden continued to look at her, and she at him. The moment seemed to pause between them.

“Kieran is waiting for you, Tegan,” the man said, and Aiden’s heart sank.

The man signaled to the guards, who quickly opened the gate. He then walked toward the pair with a sword out to his side.

“He doesn’t have any weapons on him,” she said, stepping further back until the man could take hold of Aiden’s elbow. He didn’t even try to pull away as the man grabbed him. Aiden felt completely numb. His body moved slowly as it was pulled, clumsy like a wooden doll. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Tegan’s face.

She closed her eyes for just a second, taking a deep breath, and when she looked at him again, her expression was made of stone. “See? I told you,” she said, the sadness in her voice covered by steel. “You should have gone home.”

Tegan closed her eyes again, and the man ushered them both inside.

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