The Crow King's Wife(67)

“What did you mean back there? When you said you understood why I avoided crowds now?” Zoelyn asked hesitantly. There was a quaver in her voice that she wished hadn’t been there, but the set of his jaw and the dark look on his face had her nervous.

“Zoe-Lyn.” Grim said quietly, breaking her name into two syllables as if he were just hearing it for the first time. His steps slowed and then paused as they passed under a massive oak. With a sigh he leaned back against it and his eyes settled on her with such weight that for a moment she felt the urge to retreat. “You know even when the subject is changed my mind does not release the previous topic if it held my interest. I mull it over silently and turn it around in my mind until I am satisfied that I understand it.”

“Well what have you been pondering then? Surely you aren’t still worrying yourself over who I dreamed about?” She tried to force a lighter tone to her voice, but the effect seemed more nervous than casual to her ears.

“House Delvayon actually.” Grim began and his jaw clenched on the words. He let out a heavy breath and rubbed the back of his neck. His gaze lifted from her to study the darkened sky to the north as he began to speak again. “RenDelvayon’s wife died over ten years ago. He had two sons and a daughter. Ren killed his daughter himself during the barbaric ritual of testing their children’s worth. Kadan as I understand died fighting Rivana as did Kes the supposed adopted daughter of his house. That leaves NephonDelvayon and his Aunt KayDelvayon as the sole surviving members of house Delvayon. Only now you are telling me that Neph is your family.” His voice trailed off for a moment and she swallowed heavily at his words. She hadn’t expected him to be so well informed. His gaze drifted back down to her and he shook his head slowly as if seeing her for the first time. “You know when they called you Undrae I thought they were being cruel. I never once considered they were speaking the truth about you.”

“Grim, I…” Zoelyn began but he held up a hand to stop her before she could say more. Hesitantly she took a step back and his expression seemed to darken further.

“You don’t have to explain why you didn’t tell me. I can fully understand why you didn’t. Honestly I still had doubts until I saw that look of fear blossom on your face. I was testing the water so to speak, just voicing a theory. If you would have laughed and called me a fool I would have let it go, but you look terrified and ready to bolt so I know I’m right. You are truly Undrae, and Zoelyn should be Zyi Delvayon. Shade told me of the last battle in Arovan. He described the magic NephonDelvayon used to kill Nerath. It’s the same sort of magic used to create your kind. Neph was too young for such magic when his mother died. So that leaves only his sister as a possibility, if he truly is your family that is.” Grim said in a flat level voice. He crossed his arms over his chest and let out another heavy breath as if bracing himself.

Silence stretched between them as he studied her and in that moment her ears caught the faint sound of feathers. Zoelyn felt her breath slow further as she slowly turned her gaze to stare up at the large black bird perched in the branches above Grim. The crow’s attention was fixated on the man, as if it too held its breath while it waited to see what would happen next.

The few times she had glimpsed a crow in the past few days she had been unsure if it was truly Seth’s messenger. This time she was certain the crow above her was Seth’s, and if Grim moved against her the demon would appear and Grim would die. That knowledge was both reassuring and terrifying in the same breath. To have a guardian as powerful as Seth was a security she had never known before, but the knowledge that he would kill someone she considered friend as readily as he killed her enemies left her feeling sickened. Grim was angry, that much was obvious, but he was a logical man and once the anger passed he would realize she was the same person he had always known. She was certain of that.

“I can’t let this pass. I hope you realize that.” Grim said at last. He seemed completely unaware of her interest in the crow and she felt a small relief at that. If he had managed to work through who she truly was taking the sight of a crow and deducing that Seth was the Crow king wouldn’t be a difficult matter for him.

“You can’t let what pass?” Zoelyn asked in confusion. She wasn’t sure if he meant her existence, but she couldn’t think of much else he could be talking about. Grim was Glis born and Arovan raised, he knew all of the legends and he had a druid’s hatred for anything that threatened life…like an Undrae.