Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“I love you.” Three simple words, and yet they shift my entire world on its axis. I hold her gaze. “I appreciate the offer and the support, but I meant what I said last night. Whatever answers my home realm offers, it ultimately doesn’t matter.”
“Maybe it doesn’t matter now, but that might change. You’re too paladin not to feel guilty if your personal questions override your cause. I’m just preemptively telling you that there’s nothing to be guilty about. No matter where you land on it.”
It’s tempting to brush off the statement again, but she’s right. “Thank you for preemptively absolving me of my guilt.” I grin.
“Oh, don’t play with me like that. You seem the type to adore your guilt. You find it highly motivating. It’s okay. It’s part of what makes you so lovable.” She pokes at her soup. “But don’t think you can distract me with all the love talk, even though I will never get tired of hearing those three words on your lips. You are seeing a healer today. End of story.”
I like how concerned she is about me. I don’t want her to worry, but it warms me all the same. It’s far too tempting to tease her over it, but I resist the urge. Barely. “Agreed. It’s been some time since I’ve traveled up this way, but if Cato is still in Kanghri, ze can finish patching me up.”
She gives me a long look as if I’m trying to trick her. “No arguments?”
“I’m a smart man, Evelyn, despite recent evidence to the contrary. Arguing for the sake of arguing is silly in this situation. We need me at full health to face our next steps.”
“Uh-huh.” She shakes her head. “Hurry up and eat, and let’s get moving.”
It’s not quite as quick as all that. Before we leave, we take the extra effort to ensure the safe house is exactly as we found it. I find a rack of wood tucked against the back of the building. There isn’t much in the way of trees on First Sister, so they have to haul the wood in with the other supplies. More indication of care and planning going into keeping this place ready for unexpected travelers. I bring some in to replenish the stack by the fire. It’s time that we could spend traveling, but it feels important to do this.
I find Evelyn sitting on the bed, holding the book again. “Do you want to write an entry of your own?”
“No.” She sets the book back in the drawer and replaces the false bottom. “This is for people going home. We’re going to be the ones helping those people. It’s better that there’s no evidence of us here.”
She’s right. That doesn’t mean I like the bittersweet look on her face. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” She rises and brushes off her pants. “I’m not going to pretend that I won’t miss things about my realm. But ultimately, it’s like yours—in my past. Threshold. You. This rebellion, or whatever the fuck it is. That’s my future.”
I do her the courtesy of not commenting on the bruised look in her green eyes when she speaks. This, at least, I understand. We’ve both lost quite a bit to get to this point. Having a direction to head, a place to dig in and fight … it doesn’t make that loss go away.
Instead, I hold out my hand. “Let’s go.”
“Lead on, Captain.”
It takes longer than I would like to hike to Kanghri. After some debate, we decided not to take the most direct route. The location of the safe house isn’t exactly hard to find if someone is searching for it, but there’s no reason to advertise its presence—or that it’s in active use. Most of First Sister is deserted cliffside, with the majority of the population of Three Sisters residing on Second Sister. The sole exception is Kanghri, but it exists only because Mairi essentially overflowed its banks and needed somewhere to shove all the people who couldn’t afford to live on Second Sister. As a result, Kanghri is filled with tradespeople, rather than what passes for nobility in this part of Threshold.
Personally, I prefer Kanghri to Mairi for that very reason. It’s less pretentious for the sake of appearances. A waste of time and resources in my opinion.
We follow the coast to the south and then west toward the strait that runs between First and Second Sister. The sun is just starting its descent as we reach the edges of town. I reach out and grab Evelyn’s elbow. “Stay close to me.”
She raises her brows. “Is this place more dangerous than the ones we’ve been to so far?”
“In some ways.” For all that I prefer Kanghri to Mairi, I am not oblivious to its faults. Most of the tradespeople who work in Mairi live in this town, but there are a number of less than reputable businesses that run here as well. Each community in Threshold is technically self-governed, but the local authority in Kanghri is mostly for show. The true power runs behind the scenes and prefers to deal in the shadows. As Cŵn Annwn, it was not my domain to worry about local crime lords, but it still makes my skin prickle to walk down the streets of Kanghri. Today is no exception.