A Dawn of Onyx (The Sacred Stones, #1)(3)

“Mhm, right. I just think you have a little crush, that’s all.”

Leigh rolled her pale blue eyes as she turned around our tiny kitchen, gathering cutlery and mugs. Our house was small and rickety, but I loved it with my whole heart. It smelled like Ryder’s tobacco, the vanilla we used for baking, and fragrant white lilies. Leigh’s sketches hung on almost every wall. Every time I walked in our front door, a smile tugged at my lips. Perched on a little hill overlooking most of Abbington and with three well-insulated, cozy rooms, it was one of the nicer houses in our village. My stepfather, Powell, had built it for my mother and me before my siblings were born. The kitchen was my favorite place to sit, the wooden table put together by Powell and Ryder, one summer back when we were all young and Mother was healthier.

It was uncanny, the warm memories tied to the bones of our home, in such contrast to those that swam in my head, in my stomach, when I thought of Powell’s stern face and clenched jaw. The scars on my back from his belt.

I shuddered.

Leigh squeezed in beside me, jarring me from cobwebbed memories and handing over a handful of roots and herbs for Mother’s medication.

“Here. We don’t have any rosemary left.”

I peered down at her blonde head and a warmth bloomed in me—she was always radiant, even with the misery of wartime that surrounded us. Joyful, funny, bold.

“What?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

“Nothing,” I said, biting back a smile. She was just starting to see herself as a grown-up and no longer tolerated being treated like a kid. Loving stares of adoration from her older sister were clearly not allowed. She liked it even less when I tried to protect her.

I swallowed hard, throwing the herbs into the bubbling pot over our hearth.

Recently, rumors had been swirling in the taverns, schools, and markets. The men were all gone now—Ryder and Halden had likely given their lives—and we were still losing to the wicked kingdom in the north.

The women would have to be next.

It wasn’t that we couldn’t do what the men could. I had heard the Onyx Kingdom’s army was filled with strong, ruthless women who fought alongside the men. I just couldn’t do it. Couldn’t take someone’s life for my kingdom, couldn’t fight for my own. The thought of leaving Abbington at all raised the hair on the back of my neck.

But it was Leigh I worried about. She was too fearless.

Her youth made her think she was invincible, and her hunger for attention made her loud, risky, and brave to the point of recklessness. The thought of her golden curls bouncing onto the front lines made my stomach twist.

If that wasn’t bad enough, both of us being carted off to fight against Onyx meant Mother would be left alone. Too old and frail to fight, she might avoid the draft but wouldn’t be able to take care of herself. With all three of her children gone, she wouldn’t last a week.

How was I supposed to protect either of them then?

“You couldn’t be more wrong about Jace,” Leigh said, pointing a fork at me with faux assuredness. “I’ve never had a crush in my life. Especially not on him.”

“Fine,” I said, searching through a cupboard for carrots. I wondered if Leigh had purposely distracted me—if she could tell I was worrying. I usually was, so it would have been a fair guess.

“Honestly,” she continued, plopping down at our kitchen table and folding her feet underneath her. “I don’t care what you think. Look at your taste! You’re in love with Halden Brownfield.” Leigh made a disgusted face.

My pulse raised at his name, remembering the date, and my anxiety from this morning. I shook my head at Leigh’s accusation.

“I am not in love with him. I like him. As a person. We’re just friends, actually.”

“Mhm, right,” she said, mocking my earlier sentiments about her and Jace.

I popped the carrots in a separate pot for dinner, beside mother’s medication. Multitasking had become one of my strong suits since Ryder left. I opened the window above the hearth, letting some of the heat from both pots billow outside. The cool, evening breeze washed over my sticky face.

“What’s wrong with Halden anyway?” I asked, curiosity getting to me.

“Nothing, really. He was just boring. And fussy. And he wasn’t silly at all.”

“Stop saying ‘was,’” I said, with more bite than intended. “He’s all right. They both are.”

Not a lie. Just that same bright side thinking that could occasionally border on denial. Leigh stood to set the table, gathering mismatched mugs for our cider.

“And Halden is silly and interesting... and fussy,” I conceded. “I’ll give you that one. He’s a little tightly wound.” Leigh smiled, knowing she’d gotten me.

I considered my sister. She had grown up so much in so little time that I wasn’t sure what information I was protecting her from anymore.

“Fine,” I said, stirring the two pots simultaneously. “We were seeing each other.”

Leigh raised her brows suggestively.

“But truthfully, there was no ‘in love’ to speak of. By the Stones.”

“Why not? Because you knew he would have to leave?”

My gaze landed on the hearth, watching the meager flames flicker as I thought about her question in earnest.