The Curse (Belador #3)(95)

A roar went up among the Beladors, but Evalle had already turned toward the castle.

She found no joy in the cheering, which was nothing more than the cry of victory over an enemy defeated.

The horror in their faces would live in the back of her mind. She’d thought nothing could be worse than being an outcast.

Now the Beladors would see her as something much worse.

A monster.

She lumbered across the soft grass toward the castle, forcing her beast back into her body. By the time she reached the steps, she had her head down to keep the glare of even the minimal light from blinding her.

Lanna stood on the top landing with a robe in one hand and sunglasses in the other, which she stuck under Evalle’s nose. “Brina said give this to you.”

Brina had to be the reason that troll goo no longer covered Evalle. Sliding the glasses onto her face, Evalle pulled on the dark blue velvet robe trimmed in gold.

“Evalle,” Brina called from the doorway.

“Yes.” Evalle could barely get the word out past her raw throat. She met Brina’s gaze, surprised to see admiration in her warrior queen’s eyes.

“I am as proud of you as any warrior I’ve ever had.”

Tears threatened again, but Evalle swallowed them back. “Thank you.”

Tzader ran up the steps beside her. “How badly are you hurt, Evalle?”

“Not bad,” she lied, feeling the trickle of warm blood running down her chest.

He put his hand on her shoulder. “You saved a lot of lives, but to protect Brina is …” He looked away. “We’ll talk later.”

Evalle nodded and accepted Tzader’s hug, flinching at the pain in her ribs.

Tzader turned on Brina, demanding, “How could you stop me from going to her?”

Evalle held up her hand. “I asked Brina to keep all of you back. If I couldn’t kill that troll, then you would have died trying to help me. You’re too important to the Beladors to sacrifice yourself, and you’re the one who taught me duty comes first.”

He scowled at her.

Quinn showed up next, just as ragged and bleeding around the edges as Tzader. He shook his head, saying to Evalle, “I don’t know who took more bloody years off my life today, you or Lanna. You two are turning me into an old man.”

Lanna hugged Quinn. “You are unharmed, Cousin?”

“I’m fine.”

Tzader said to Brina, “I know Evalle’s hurt worse than she’s admitting. I could feel it when we linked and I smell the blood. She needs to heal.”

Before Brina said anything, Evalle took a gamble and said to Brina, “I’ve learned how to heal myself. I can do it once I go home.”

Brina looked over at Tzader, who said nothing, which made it appear as though he knew about her ability to heal when he didn’t. Evalle would tell him and Quinn about it as soon as she got a chance, but for now Brina seemed to take his silence as approval that Evalle’s healing did not involve shifting into her beast. She told Evalle, “I’ll be sendin’ you back to Atlanta as soon as you are ready.”

Quinn added, “You can take Lanna with you, Evalle.”

“That’s fine.” Then Evalle realized she couldn’t go. She told Brina, “I can’t leave until I talk to Macha. I haven’t brought her an Alterant yet, and she gave me a deadline to do so by the time she finished meeting with Dakkar.”

Brina held up her finger and looked off into the distance, her eyes unfocused. “She’s on her way.”

The air brightened and crackled with the introduction of power, then Macha appeared next to Brina. The goddess took one look at the group on the castle landing and said, “What’s going on?”

Brina quickly explained what had transpired.

As Macha stared out over the field, her face morphed from appearing imposed upon to deeply concerned. Her hair floated and moved, changing from a deep auburn color to golden-streaked until the locks settled down when her gaze returned to Evalle. “Have you brought me Tristan?”

“No, Goddess.”

“Any other Alterants?”

“No.”

Tzader cleared his throat as though to speak, but Macha turned one raised eyebrow on him, and that silenced everyone. Then she said to Evalle, “Is it true you shifted into your beast?”

Evalle considered trying to explain, but that had been a yes-or-no question, intended for her to acknowledge what she’d done, because Brina must have told Macha telepathically when she called for the goddess. “Yes, I did.”

“Your deadline has arrived for delivering Tristan to me.”

“I understand. That’s why I waited to see you.” And accept whatever penalty Macha imposed. She’d given Evalle and other Alterants a golden opportunity, only to be disappointed.

Macha surveyed the carnage once more, then glanced back at Evalle. “I understand I have you to thank for defeating a demonic Svart troll.”

Not sure how to reply to that, Evalle just kept quiet.

“Had that troll harmed Brina, bringing me all the Alterants in the world would not have made up for it. I will allow you more time to complete your task.”

Relief was too simple a word for what Evalle felt. The deep breath she took sent pain streaking through her chest from where her ribs had been broken. She hissed and gritted her teeth.