Page 54 of The Lost Nation

He paused, and the angry white magick was back.“Xana came here of her own free will. She doesn’t wish to return.

I swallowed heavily. That couldn’t be true. “Then she can tell me herself.”

Thad rolled his eyes, but shifted away. After a few nerve-wracking moments he reappeared, with Xana in tow.

“Wren!” Xana threw her arms around me, and a few relieved tears squeezed themselves out of the corners of my eyes. I pulled away, noting how muchhealthiershe looked. She’d gained weight, and was missing the constant lingeringfearthat had always lurked in the tight lines around her eyes. She looked so muchyoungernow; confident and ready to face the world.

“Thad said that you came with him willingly.” I said cautiously.

Xana glanced over her shoulder at him, and something in my heart twinged when I saw the protective look he gave back. Then sheshifted her wings.

Herblack wings.

I don’t know why, but something inside me broke a little bit when I saw that. My stomach flipped and I glanced down, unable to look at either of them.So I wasn't good enough for him, but she was?

I refused to believe it.“I’m supposed to believe that the female who swore off men for eternity wasn’t mated against her will toyou?" I snarled. "Well, the joke’s onyoubecause she can’t have children!”

Xana flinched as if I'd struck her, and blushed down the length of her entire body.She started to shake, and Thad's face was so thunderous a small warble of distress left my lips.

“Apologize.Now.”His voice was nothing but a dangerous growl.

I knew it was a childish, horrific thing to say even as it had come out of my mouth. Fuck, what was wrong with me? “I’m sorry Xana! Truly. It was despicable, and you told me that in confidence. I'm just... I'mjealous,and I'm hurt."

Xana glanced up, her face was screwed up in pain.“You havethreemates, Wren. Just because the relationships you do have aren't perfect doesn't mean you should look to find new ones. And just so you know, Thad doesn’tcare. He doesn’twantchildren, and neither do I. We areperfectfor each other.”

The tone of her voice was nasty, and I deserved every bit of scorn. Awkward silence descended between us, and I glanced at the ground. It was time to tell them what I knew, and then leave.

“Well...I just wanted to warn you. About the attack.”

Thad didn’t look nearly as interested as I thought he should be, though Xana’s eyes widened in alarm.

“Noted.” He grunted.

I huffed, but had nothing further to say to either of them. Xana cast a pleading expression between the two of us. "Sometimes it is easy to forget how young you are," she finally admitted.

I wasn't sure why, but that didn't make me feel any better. Thad gave a long, suffering sigh.

“Wren, you’re smart.Thinkfor a second. Was anyone actuallyhurtin the attack on Aldur?”

I bristled, not in the mood for his games. I shot a glance at Xana, whose eyes were begging me tounderstand.Was there something between the lines they were trying to tell me?

“No,” I admitted gruffly. Benedict admitted that the people of Aldur had been terrified, but strangely enough there hadn’t been any deaths or major injuries. Toanyone.

Humph. Thatwasodd for a demon attack. I turned my gaze to Xana.“Please come back. Benedict feels responsible. He feels like he personally failed you.”

Xana raised her chin in defiance. “Tell him I am happy here with mymate. I will write him a letter if I must. Remind him of Baila, and to respect the choices of others.”

Ouch. Reminding Benedict that his sisterpreferredbeing stuck as a giant fire demon rather than let the witches experiment on her wouldn’t go over well.

“Fine." I agreed. "But I still don’tunderstand.”

Xana softened, her eyes full of pity. I didn't want it. “You don’t have to understand, Wren—just respect my wishes.”

That made me angry, because I felt like my friend was choosing Thad over me.I simply shifted away without saying goodbye. Thad had rejected me, only to steal my best friend and turnheragainst me too.

Later I would come to regret my anger, and how I’d left with such hatred in my heart. It was the last time I ever saw them.

Chapter 24

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