The Drowned Woods (64)

“The diviner,” said Ifanna. “The one he’s been hunting for years. If I told you where to find her, you could bring her in yourself. Earn a promotion and the prince’s gratitude.”

The commander rose, his chair squeaking across the floor. Eagerness churned with suspicion in his eyes. He seemed to be trying to tamp it down, but he didn’t hide his emotions well. “You know where she is?”

“Yes,” said Ifanna, in barely a whisper. “I do.”

And then the strangest thing happened—the world went still. Mer exhaled and the sound was too loud in the sudden, ringing silence.

Ifanna glanced over her shoulder. “Well, this is a change. You’re never in this dream.”

Mer stepped closer, eyeing the commander. He was still as a carving, his face frozen in eternal greed. Her own emotions felt like a storm in her chest. “Is this real?”

“I don’t think so,” said Ifanna. “Not unless the Wellspring could send me back in time.”

Mer gestured at the office. “This happened. This is where you told the soldiers where to find me.”

“Yes,” said Ifanna.

“This is why you sold me out,” said Mer.

Ifanna sat down on the desk. She looked more wearied than Mer had ever seen her. “The guards seized one of the cartwright’s shipments. It wasn’t gold or silver—but people being brought into the city.” She lifted her gaze to the wall, her eyes distant. “There were near thirty of them. The guards took them, claimed they had come into the kingdom to spy. It was a lie, of course. They needed prisoners to work jobs that no one else would. Quarries, hard labor. Among those seized was a man—a forger. He was the best, which is why we bribed him away from the southern cities. To lose him… would have meant losing a great advantage over the other guilds. There was no time to appeal to my mothers for help. So I offered the commander the one thing I knew he could not refuse.” Her chin dropped, and it looked as though she had suddenly aged two years in as many minutes.

“Me,” said Mer. All of the anger drained out of her, replaced by her own exhaustion. “That’s why you told the guard where I’d be.”

“Yes,” said Ifanna. A muscle twitched in her cheek. “I hoped you would escape. I knew you could kill them, if you had to. I’m sorry you had to run. I’m sorry you felt betrayed. But my mothers were right. If I am going to lead the guild, I have to be seen doing what is best for everyone… not just for one person. So I sold one life for thirty. You were the only thing valuable enough to trade.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” said Mer.

“Because it didn’t matter,” said Ifanna, the words tumbling out in a rush. “I chose them over you. And I knew I’d have to do it again and again if I wanted to lead the guild.” She met Mer’s eyes. “I couldn’t make that choice a second time. It broke my heart to do it once. So I let you run. And I told anyone in the guild if they ever sold knowledge of you to the prince, I’d drown them myself.”

All those years, Mer had wondered what drove Ifanna to betray her. She had thought perhaps it had been Ifanna’s mothers who’d coaxed her into it or mayhap the gold reward had been too tempting. But the truth was Ifanna had chosen the guild. She had chosen her life as a thief rather than the one she could have had with Mer.

It was a hard truth to hear, but Mer hadn’t realized how much she needed to hear it.

Mer remembered the stolen kisses, the interlaced fingers, the feeling of belonging to something and someone. She’d walled away those yearnings with bitterness, and now that some of that bitterness was gone, all the loss came rushing back. There was so much tangled affection and sorrow between them, Mer knew it would probably be years before she managed to sort it all out. “If you had told me…”

“There was no time,” said Ifanna. “And even if I had—would you truly have taken the chance of being recaptured in exchange for thirty strangers?”

Mer did not know. She touched Ifanna’s cheek. Her thumb rested at the corner of the thief’s mouth, over a small freckle. “You’re wrong,” she said quietly. “I wasn’t the only thing valuable enough to trade.” She exhaled softly. “You could have offered yourself.”

Ifanna jerked as if Mer had burned her. Before Ifanna could reply, Mer pressed her fingers to Ifanna’s mouth, sent a pulse of power into the thief’s lungs, and pulled the magicked water free.

Mer jerked out of the dream. They were back in the grove again. Ifanna rolled onto her side, retching and sputtering. Coughs racked her whole body, but Mer couldn’t linger to take care of her. There were two others still drowning. She rose and hastened to Gryf. The man was slumped against a tree, his arms slack at his sides. His cheeks were rough with stubble as she touched the corner of his mouth and nose. She had never been so close to him before and it felt both intimate and awkward to reach her power into his lungs and bring up the water. She hoped this time she could do so without seeing what he did. Perhaps if she drew her hand away at the last moment—

And then she was in a house.

It was small, with a dirt floor and mended curtains waving in an afternoon breeze. It reminded Mer of her childhood home: warm and loved, without the trappings of wealth. The table and chairs looked worn and well used and there was a rocking chair in the corner.