Shadow Weaver (Back on Wattpad 2020!)

Chapter 29

"The lady says I'm not strong enough to leave yet," he whispers. "But I'm strong enough, Mirra. I promise. I ate two whole breakfasts."

I smile while scrambling for a way to stop the little bud of hope in his heart being crushed, before it has barely formed.

"You look stronger," I say. "Ma and Pa will be so proud of you. I'm proud of you."

His bottom lip trembles. "I want to go home."

"We both do. I want to go home too."

"But I think the lady is right."

My eyes narrow. What has the Duchess told him? My mind strays for a moment, wondering how she got him out of the fort, how many helped her and how trustworthy they are.

"Right about what?"

"She says if we leave now, people will see my eyes and try to capture me again. She says I can stay here until they don't glitter. Her guards will protect us."

I look towards the open doorway. The Duchess waits outside, hugging her silver fur cape around narrow shoulders.

"What's wrong?" Kel asks. "She is your friend, isn't she?"

"She's asked me to do something for her."

"That's why she's helping us?"

I nod. I want Kel to believe he is safe and free, so he will regain his strength. But one day it will be Tug that comes to take him home, not me. And I cannot let him wholeheartedly trust the Duchess. Enough to believe she will take care of him until he returns to our parents, yes, but not enough to let her deceive him if I fail to discover the Prince's assassin.

"She has a little boy who's in danger. She wants me to go to a city far from here and discover who wishes him harm."

"Will it be dangerous?"

"It will not be easy. But coming after you in Blackfoot Forest when I had been injured was not easy. Finding you in the fort and getting you out of the tower was not easy."

A flicker of determination ignites in his sombre gaze. "If anyone can do it, you can."

"Yes," I say, squeezing his fingers.

"But will she force you to go? Did she buy you?"

"Nobody can own us. We are free and there is always a choice." He lets go of my hand and cups the lodestone necklace I gave him before he was sold in the Pit.

"I know you're coming back for me. I know now. I promise I won't doubt you again."

Pressure crushes my head. I pretend to arrange his covers, unable to meet his dazzling gaze in case he sees my own doubts. "You're my north," I say, pushing the words through the slim hole of my swollen windpipe.

"How long can you stay?" he asks.

"If I accept, I must leave straight away."

His chest shudders as he releases an anguished sigh. He rests his head back against the stone. When he opens his eyes, tears spill down his cheeks. "I'll be OK," he says.

I cup his face in my hands and kiss the salty trails. "I don't want to leave you."

"When you come back, I'll look different, and we can go home."

I throw my arms around him and squeeze until I'm breathless. I tell him how brave and strong he is and how much I love him, and then through his hiccups and sobs he tells me to go.

Tug waits out of sight at the edge of the track. I am surprised he has not dismounted to talk with Elise. He does not speak as I mount my mare. We turn back along the overgrown path towards the fort.

I ride behind him, never more uncertain of his motives. Protecting Duchess Elise has always been a priority. But so has staying away from her. Does he chaperone me to the Red City to make sure I do the Duchess's bidding? Or is it a way to both protect her and escape her at the same time? Yet if he was running away, he would not have suggested delivering my findings to her in person, or returning to Lyndonia to take charge of Kel.

Jakut believes finding me was the will of the Carucan Gods. He showed his devoted faith and trust through the spiritual cleansing, and I was their answer. But what does Tug believe in? It is not coin. Nor superstition. Nor unrequited love.

Reaching the pier to the drawbridge, I draw my horse to a stop. Beyond the portcullis lies the front courtyard where in minutes soldiers, the Duke and the Prince will gather, and it will be days before I might find myself alone with Tug again. Tug halts and brings his stallion round to face me.

"If I die," I say, "before I find out who ordered the attack on the Prince's escort, I want your word you'll take Kel back to our parents."

He straightens in his saddle. His gaze shifts to the distant forest. He breathes deeply. Sunshine falls on the shadows of his tattoos, outshining their darkness so he appears more man than beast.

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