Page 48 of Stolen Thorn Bride
The elf woman went pale, and her eyes dropped.
“I have done my best,” she said, “and I regret if I have given you cause for disappointment.”
“I’m not disappointed,” Kasia said fiercely. “How could I be disappointed when I never had expectations to begin with? But I’m through with being compared toher.”
Eilis didn’t bother to deny it.
“I’m not Aureann,” Kasia went on, and saw Eilis flinch. “I won’t ever be her, and I’m not going to spend the rest of my life trying. All I’m asking is that you give me a chance. That you stop expecting me to measure up to your memories of someone else.”
To Kasia’s shock, tears sprang up in the elf woman’s eyes. “She was my cousin,” Eilis whispered softly. “And yes. Everyone loved her. When she and Dechlan announced their intention to bond, it was the answer to all our hopes. They’d seemed fated for one another since childhood. So when she died…”
“I’m not asking you not to mourn her,” Kasia said, with what gentleness she could spare given the urgency of her errand. “Mourn what might have been. But as long as you look to me to fill the gap she left behind, I will always disappoint you.”
Eilis took a deep, shuddering breath and squared her shoulders. “What will you do with armor?” she asked, a mask of neutrality settling over her face.
Kasia had no time to invent a lie. No time to disguise her intentions. “I’m going to save Dechlan’s life,” she said.
And to her shock, Eilis didn’t even hesitate. She stripped off the shimmering scales of her own armor and held it out. “Here. Do you have a weapon?”
“I can’t use your weapons yet,” Kasia admitted as she struggled into the scale-armor coat. She and Tiernan had practiced a few times with pushing her magic into a silver-inlaid blade, but it had yet to work. Her power rose more readily to hand than ever before, but she could still do little more than create searing bursts of heat and light—tiny stars forged of pure magic that burned hot before they died. For whatever reason, though, her magic wanted nothing to do with the shaped metal the elves used. “But I’m taking three guards. Just long enough to find Dechlan and tell him…”
“Tell him what?” Eilis asked, face pale and eyes haunted.
What was she going to tell him? That she didn’t blame him? That she no longer cared about the lies that brought her here? How could she convince him not to give up on her? On their future?
Kasia looked Eilis in the eye and admitted the terrifying truth. “That I love him.”
The elf woman stared at her for a moment before stepping forward and throwing her arms around a stunned Kasia.
“Then go,” she said. “Quickly. Please save him.” She pulled back and fixed Kasia with a stern glare. “And do not die,” she said firmly. “Because as much as we need him”—her expression gentled as she reached down to grasp Kasia’s hands in hers—“I believe we might just need you too.”
Her unexpected support buoyed Kasia through adjusting the armor and braiding back her hair. There was no weapon that might help her cause, so once she was dressed, she returned to the bailey to search for her mount.
She found chaos. A loose wolf stood in the center of a crowd, panting and baring his teeth at anyone who came too close. Three elves were attempting to harness him, but he appeared unwilling to be cornered, until he saw her…
“Aral?”
For a moment, she was too happy to question his appearance. She raced forward and threw her arms around his shaggy neck, barely avoiding his slobbery attempts to greet her.
But where had he come from? He’d been sent home only that morning, and Dechlan had been given no chance to send a message after him.
Oh no.
“The wraiths?” she asked one of the elves who approached her cautiously, holding out a harness.
He nodded grimly. “We think the king’s retainer must have run afoul of the swarm after he left this morning.”
Another life lost. It was a grim reminder of what was at stake, but Kasia did not intend to hesitate now. “Saddle,” she demanded, and waited while one was provided. Aral was tired, but she trusted him, and they weren’t going far.
When Fionn appeared at her side, she questioned him with her eyes, not trusting herself to speak.
“We are ready, my lady.”
“Good.”
Not without a flare of nerves, she pulled herself into Aral’s saddle and steadied her hands. He looked back over his shoulder as if wondering whether she really wanted to do this, but she was not going to be talked out of it, even by a wolf.
“Let’s go.”