Curse Breaker (2)

13

We discussed our plans for most of the morning before he left. So much of their success weighs on the slim chance that Killian and Lei went to see Myers instead of straight back to camp. Because if we somehow manage to make it back before them, our chances of getting Samu out undetected are much more probable. Moving on foot won't be fast enough. And Veymaw has plenty of horses.

I gaze across the crowd. Despite the location, the air is uncharacteristically joyful, rowdy laughter tunneling through the narrow passageways like an echochamber. From what I've gathered, they evacuated their home in those underground tunnels the second they caught wind of Killian's true identity.

And no matter what I think of Trina, as I gaze around at their makeshift beds and limited utensils, I empathise with her. They uprooted their lives because of Killian, even if I know he poses no threat to them, they've had to restart.

"Here." Elex appears at my side, holding a bowl towards me. "You should eat."

"Thanks." It thaws my frozen fingers, warmth spreading throughout my body. Elex winces as he settles beside me, leaning against the cave wall. I watch him from the corner of my eye.

"Are you hurt?"

"Nah, just old."

I raise a brow. "You don't look that much older than me."

"I'm twenty-five."

"And that's old?" I laugh.

He huffs. "Trust me, Freya, when you get to my age you'll start wincing of sore muscles too."

I can't help but laugh, bringing the spoon to my mouth. The soup is bland, lukewarm. "I'll hold you to that."

"I can't wait to be proven right."

My smile falls as I meet Trina's gaze from across the cave. She sits atop a boulder, above the rest. And like me, she observes, doesn't participate. But her eyes pierce the vast space between us with the fury of a raging fire. A chill crawls down my spine. I avert my gaze, unable to hold hers.

"She hates me," I whisper.

Elex glances up at Trina before looking back down at my soup. "Yeah."

"You're not even going to deny it?"

"You're the reason Cas kept her at arms length."

I frown in confusion. "Me?"

"To protect you, remember? He lied to his mother about you for an entire year. If she wasn't his mother, he'd probably have been put to trial for that lie."

Chewing the inside of my cheek, I turn to look at him, realisation settling in my stomach. I knew he lied to the deserters about my existence. He had no more of an idea than I did that the shifters would want me, he didn't even know if the deserters would care who I was. And yet he lied, risked everyone, just in case. My heart swells with emotion. I wrap my arms tighter around my body.

"Yeah, well, she's the one who deserted him as a child. Just because she's his mother, doesn't mean she's a good one. "

He doesn't say anything for a few moments, swirling his spoon around his bowl. "Did Cas say that?"

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out," I say. "Do you disagree?"

He hesitates. "Life as a deserter isn't for the faint hearted. We all made sacrifices for the cause. Trina made hers."

"And Casimir suffered the consequences. That sounds fair," I say dryly.

His jaw clenches. "I never said it was fair."

"But you don't think Trina's to blame."

He shifts uncomfortably, eyes darting to the two men sitting a few metres away. Their laughs overpower our whispers, but I don't disregard Elex's paranoia.

"There are politics to being a deserter that you will never understand," he says eventually. He lowers his head, his voice rough. "I never said I agree with them."

Despite his hard expression, those warm brown eyes seek out mine as he looks up. Right from the day I met him, feeling outcast and out of place in the deserter hideout, there was a kindness to those eyes that eased my anxiety.

Trina's right. The deserters are different from me, I know that now. I always thought it was because of the environment they grew up in, the hiding, the seething hatred, the scheming--it harshened their exteriors. Cas grew up in Veymaw, he came out different.

But as Elex and I stare at one another, I wonder if I'm wrong again. We may have grown up in different worlds, but the warmth in his gaze and kindness in his eyes wraps me in a blanket of protection I feel I need in the lack of Casimir's presence.

Even after our expenditure on the palace, I don't know him that well. But anybody close to Cas is a friend of mine.

And as we go back to our food and I think of what's to come, I can't help but feel a heavy heart that when we leave, we're leaving more than just Trina and the deserters behind.