A Savior's Worth (Book #3)

Chapter Thirty-Four

Henry leaned against a tree next to Angus as he waited for the others to finish up so they could continue. He hugged himself tighter, the wind's chill creeping up on him.

He thought about Ivy again.

Part of him eagerly wanted to return to the capital already and speak to her about what had occurred with the necklace. Another part of him was incredibly relieved he was far away from that eventual confrontation. He had to move on from this at some point, he understood that. That, however, was evidently not going to happen anytime soon. His mind kept replaying the scenario in his head, and how the marble exploded and killed that deranged woman.

Elouise and Noemi were the first to reappear beyond the trees, holding hands and laughing with each other. Henry smiled at them as they approached, and Noemi explained what'd been so humorous. When Iris returned, Noemi rushed over to tell her next, leaving Henry alone with Elouise.

This was his chance. Who would be better to discuss this with than his best friend?

Despite everything, Elouise was in wonderful spirits as she came and stood beside him. "Is there something on your mind?" she asked sweetly. "You seem distracted."

"I could say the same about you," he teased, his eyes flickering toward Eldon who was walking up behind Cora.

Elouise's cheeks reddened, and she averted her gaze, mumbling incoherently. Henry couldn't resist laughing a bit, though he quickly stopped and cleared his throat.

"There's something I've been wanting to talk about," he admitted. "You were the only one not there when it occurred, and I think you should know."

Elouise looked up at him again, her brows twitching together. "What is it, Henry? What's wrong?"

"The necklace," he told her, reaching up and letting his fingers graze where it once was. He then explained everything, and he didn't miss the way she fidgeted.

Henry squinted curiously at her. "Do you... do you have any idea what happened? How it happened?"

"I, I..." she shook her head. "No, I, I don't." She then pursed her lips and looked down at her hands, and Henry's heart dropped into his stomach. She knew something, and he was afraid to ask what exactly it was.

As if reading his mind, she said to him, "It is not my place to tell you anything."

"Could you make an exception this one time?" Unfortunately, he received silence in response. He ran his fingers through his coarse hair and huffed. "El, if it concerns Ivy, I should know. She is my family and my responsibility."

"She is not a child, Henry," Elouise argued, taking him by surprise. "When we return, I will ask her to speak with you, but it will be her decision whether she wants you to know the whole truth or not."

Henry threw up his hands. "So, you've known, this entire time, haven't you?"

"Perhaps."

"Then give me an explanation, Elouise. Tell me..." Henry trailed off and took a deep breath, calming himself down. On the second attempt, he lowered his voice. "At least assure me that my cousin is not involved with the same type of magic that Inferum cantivat uses."

"No," Elouise gasped. She whirled her body toward him, her expression hardening. "You never need to worry about that, Henry; or about any of the things she does. This is Ivy we are talking about. Everything she does, she does with good intentions, and I believe whatever she did to that marble was only to protect you."

"It was with magic," Henry emphasized, his throat tightening. "How does she know about magic?"

"Through her mother," Elouise solemnly said. Henry gawked at her. Although, as he thought about his aunt—the strange and isolated woman she'd always been—he couldn't truly be surprised.

"What else do you know?" he questioned, his voice barely above a whisper now.

Elouise visibly tensed. Eldon walked up to them then and told them it was time to resume. Elouise went to follow Eldon. Then she abruptly paused in her step and glanced back at Henry one last time.

"As I said, Ivy does things with good intentions. Without her, you would both be back in Caelum." Elouise didn't wait for him to respond.

Henry remained still, contemplating what she'd meant. He was thrown right back into reality when Iris walked past and playfully shoved him on her way to the front of the horses. She looked at him over his shoulder and chuckled, and he did his best to at least smile.

Henry mounted Angus and led the way down the path to their right. Down another mountain. One left to go. Admittedly, he felt anxious as to what lied beyond. If this secret of Beatrice's was worthwhile and gave his friends the answers they needed, what came next?

He groaned and shook his head. He was exhausted with his mind and its persistent worrying thoughts. This trip was supposed to be the distraction he'd desperately needed. Although it certainly had distracted him from his self-deprecating ponders, it'd only brought him new troubles to deal with, such as Ivy and whatever her connection to magic meant.

He knew Elouise was right; Ivy indeed did everything with the best intentions. She would never even harm an insect if she absolutely did not have to. Still, something felt wrong about this.

Why wouldn't Ivy have told him? They used to confide in each other about everything.

Perhaps it would be wiser if Henry pretended that he knew nothing. He wouldn't want to pressure her. Ivy deserved better than that.

Goddesses, he simply missed her. He missed her and her brilliant ability to find the bright side in any situation. She would've had him laughing by now and feeling enthusiastic about their soon-to-be discovery.

"What's bothering you?" Iris asked him, her gaze remaining forward.

Henry clutched Angus' reins harder and shrugged his right shoulder. "We would reach our destination before I was even finished telling you." He'd meant it as a jest—mostly—but Iris found no humor in this. In fact, she appeared saddened by his statement and said no more.

He preferred it that way.