Ever the Brave (A Clash of Kingdoms Novel)(74)

“I worried about that too,” I admit, and she smiles. It’s small, not much to lift her cheeks, but it’s a gift. One that makes it easier to breathe despite the intensity of our escape.



As we ride along the outskirts of the city, a change comes over Britta. Even though we’re gaining distance from the threat at the castle, and no guards have popped up behind us, her shoulders creep up toward her ears, showing her discomfort.

The moment the horses reach the castle healer Hagan’s cottage, Finn and Britta dismount. They both come to my side to assist with Gillian, but Britta holds her arms out expectantly to take the girl.

“Are you all right?” I ask them once I’m on the ground. “We got away. We can breathe for a moment.”

Finn gives the slightest of shrugs.

“Let’s get the horses in the barn,” Britta says, not answering my question. “I don’t want anyone seeing them when the sun comes up.”

I take Gillian from Britta as she leads both our animals into hiding. Once they’re hidden behind closed barn doors, she returns to my side where I wait with Finn outside Hagan’s rear door.

Britta reaches out gingerly to touch Gillian’s forehead. Some of the tension from escaping the castle has left her shoulders, but I can still see the tightness in the way she holds herself.

“I can heal her.” Spoken so lightly, it takes me a moment to register Britta’s whisper. I almost miss the questioning cadence.

“Is that what you want?”

Her fingers brush the crust of blood at Gillian’s hairline. It’s nearly the same color as the handmaid’s deep brown hair.

“Are you worried she won’t make it? Or are you afraid Hagan isn’t trustworthy?”

“Neither.” Britta lowers her hand. “I—I just want to make everything right. She’s this way because I . . .” Her voice cracks, and she stops talking.

Her vulnerability nearly undoes me. I want to take this strong girl into my arms and comfort her. After everything she’s done for me, I want to be the support she needs.

“Britta, this isn’t your fault.” If anything, it’s mine.

“It’s kind of you to say so.” She glances up through the fan of her pale lashes. That same something I felt before snags beneath my breastbone. The urge to press my lips to her forehead comes like when I kissed her in the castle.

Only this time I don’t act on it. First, because Finn’s standing nearby, his face vacant where it isn’t bruised. He needs food and rest. Second, because a glance at the surrounding farmland deters me. It’s still dark, but dawn will be coming up on the horizon soon. Though we have these precious moments to breathe and regroup, we’re still running for our lives. We will be until we find Omar. The smartest thing for us to do would be to spend as little time as possible dropping Gillian off, and then getting on our way.

“Come on.” I clear my throat. “Come meet Hagan.”

A frown tightens Britta’s mouth and stays in place even after the healer has opened the door.

Hagan the healer casts a fearful look at the road. “Hurry. Hurry inside.”

He twists the lock behind us. “Men have sieged the city and have locked it down. If they catch up to you, they’ll kill you.”

Of course Jamis’s men have taken Brentyn. I shake my head. I should’ve already anticipated his move on the city. If Hagan lived in town, rather than on the outskirts, we might’ve ridden right into Jamis’s hands.

Finn goes to sit by the fireplace while I follow Hagan to a room with an empty bed. I lower Gillian onto the mattress, making sure her head rests on the pillow. “No one saw us come this way. And when we go, we’ll leave through the woods behind your property.” The non-direct route out of the valley is for his benefit as much as it is for ours. If I can, I would keep Hagan from danger.

I tell him the harrowing details of what happened at the castle. While I talk, he touches Gillian’s neck, checking for a pulse, and then moves on to her arms and legs to check for broken bones. His examination is thorough, despite how his countenance turns ashen as my story progresses.

“She’ll be sore and tired for a few days, but I’ve a salve for her wounds and a tincture for the pain.” Hagan lifts a couple of small jars from a wooden chest of drawers. “I also have Beannach water if you’re all right with me using Channeler magic to heal her.”

“Of course I am.”

He nods his approval.

“I need to leave Gillian in your care,” I explain, telling Hagan that Britta, Finn, and I are going to go after Captain Omar. While I’m discussing the details, I notice Britta’s fists are white balls of tension. Her eyes cut to Hagan and back to me in a way that tells me she wants privacy.

When Hagan steps out of the room to grab the Beannach water, Britta eliminates the distance between us and rises on her toes, bringing her lips near my cheek. “I could just heal her. I could fix her and we could be on our way.”

She grips my arms. It’s such a surprising maneuver, aligning our bodies in this way that I don’t think to lower myself and make it easier for her to whisper in my ear. I’m frozen by the proximity of her body.

I give myself a mental slap. Now’s certainly not the time. “D-do you think that’s best?”

“I don’t know.”