Aderah
Aderah sat back at the table, as she had done before Jamie returned. She seemed to have claimed this spot since they arrived.
She had left once Jamie's stomach wound had been closed. Grace had been trapped in her thoughts, even after Aderah had tried to reassure her that he would be fine and that she didn't need to worry.
She had been able to heal him in a matter of minutes. He got lucky; no organs were injured. It would leave a scar, for sure, but at least he'd have another story to tell.
She considered going outside but decided against it. She didn't want to take any chances after what had happened to Jamie. Instead, she stood up and entered the room Tanner had disappeared into after getting the supplies. He stood by a little window with his back to her. Before approaching him, she took a glance around. The room was a tiny kitchen with another table next to some shelves, two chairs, and a small fireplace—not much, but it was more than she used to have. It took her two steps to cross the room and stand next to him.
She had no idea what she wanted there, but she was fascinated by him.
"Thank you. For your help earlier, I mean," she began. "I'm sure Jamie appreciates it as well."
He gave her a sidelong glance but didn't say anything.
"I don't know what happened between you, and I don't want you to tell me, but I'm sure you'll work it out." Even though he didn't face her, she gave him a reassuring smile.
Still, he paid little attention to her.
If he didn't want to talk, that was fine, but she wasn't ready to leave yet. Especially considering he was likely to join them.
"I'm Aderah," she tried, offering her hand.
He merely looked at it for a second before turning away. "Tanner."
Was that all he had to say? She sighed and rolled her eyes. Fine. She was still curious about him, but he didn't seem keen on answering her questions.
Just as she turned around to leave him alone, he sighed. "I apologize. I don't intend to be rude, but witnessing how one of the only friends I've ever had almost died at my front door after I nearly broke his nose threw me off a little."
He was looking at her now. His dark eyes were filled with concern. He was deeply worried about Jamie...
Seeing Tanner like this made her wonder even more about what had happened back then. What exactly had he done? He obviously cared about them, so why would he have left?
She would have liked to ask him about everything but didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable.
"How did you meet them?" Tanner unexpectedly asked then.
She was glad that he was carrying on the conversation.
"They passed through my village. Grace had been poisoned, and no one else would help." She shrugged it off, not wanting to make a big deal of it.
"You saved Grace's life?" He looked astonished, as though he couldn't believe Grace could have gotten herself into a position where she needed to be saved.
"Yes," she replied. "It was just a few days ago." She chose to leave out that part of Grace's blood.
He nodded, but she could see something bothered him. "Who poisoned her?" he asked.
"That doesn't need to concern you." Grace had appeared in the doorway. "If you suddenly have a strong interest in our lives, ask me about it," she told him with a blank expression.
Surprise flashed over his features once more. "Did Jamie finally convince you to hate me?"
"I don't hate you. I simply don't appreciate you two talking about me when I'm sitting in the other room."
As she looked at him, her expression was frigid. Aderah realized then that Grace had never intended to tell him everything. She didn't want him to know about the bounty hunters, which meant she still didn't trust him completely... Aderah hadn't known about them either until Grace told her on the way to this village, but she hadn't asked before.
"I didn't ask you to trust me, okay? I merely need to know some details about why you're here, and I'd like to be aware of people that might be hunting for us," Tanner replied.
It was understandable. When Grace told her about the bounty hunters, Aderah questioned whether she truly wanted to accompany them any further. It would be risky. Everyone around Grace had a target on their back. But that was a risk she was willing to take. The only question was just whether Tanner was as well. She couldn't blame him if he wasn't.
"We'll go through the specifics as soon as Jamie is up. We should discuss everything together," Grace responded. "He's still weak. We'd need to stay here for a few days, if you don't mind. He needs to rest. We can't travel like this."
Tanner nodded in agreement. "Of course. You are welcome to remain here as long as necessary." He paused. "I just can't guarantee to come with you until you tell me everything, so don't make any plans involving me for the time being."
He waited for her reply.
She seemed to accept his terms. "Alright," she answered. After a second, she added with a blank expression, "Thank you."
Tanner smiled slightly at her. "You're welcome."
She turned away at that and went back to Jamie's room, leaving Aderah alone with Tanner again.
"I'm just going to assume you don't know what she's up to either, do you?" he questioned.
"No, not really. And I believe I'm not allowed to tell you the few things I do know..."
He shook his head. "Given our history, I can't blame her for mistrusting me. I would, too."
She was curious about that subject again now that he had brought it up. She wanted to hear his side of the story. Perhaps it was all a misunderstanding...
"What happened between you?" she brought herself to ask.
"I thought she'd told you by now," he said, surprised. "To let you know not to trust me either..."
"She did tell me. I had asked her about it. I merely want to hear both sides of the story."
"Why?"
Because she was far too curious for her own good.
"I want to understand. I can't believe anyone would betray their friends like that without a reason," she said truthfully. "Even if it doesn't appear to be a valid one, I believe there was something you didn't tell them."
He paused for a moment, considering her words.
"I appreciate your efforts, but I won't be able to tell you until I know whether or not I'll be joining you. If I don't, there's no point in revealing the truth to a stranger I'll never see again." His gaze swept up and down her body before settling on her face. "I'm not saying you will, but I can't be certain that you won't tell them. I'd rather they didn't know, even if they would understand then."
She knew what he meant, as complicated as it sounded. Of course, he wouldn't tell her a secret he'd been keeping for years for a reason after only knowing her for one day.
"I guess I can't blame you for that..." she muttered.
When he didn't respond, she walked toward the door. As she reached the threshold, she turned around and looked at him challengingly. "But, if you do come along..."
He sighed, a small grin on his lips. „Then I might tell you."
She smirked. "That's good enough."
With that, she left him standing in the kitchen and made her way over to Jamie and Grace.
Grace had grabbed a chair from the dining table and was now sitting with her back to the door. Jamie was still in bed next to her. The sheets were covered with his dried blood. The stains would most certainly remain, no matter how hard they tried to clean them, but at least Jamie was still alive. While he looked up at the ceiling, his chest was rising and falling steadily. His mouth was moving, but Aderah couldn't make out what he was saying. They were whispering about something.
Aderah decided it was best to make her presence known before joining them, so she knocked on the doorframe. She took two steps further into the room as their heads turned towards her.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, looking at Jamie.
"Aside from the fact that someone nearly murdered me and stabbed a hole in my stomach, fantastic," he said raspily while giving her a grateful smile. "I guess I should thank you for patching me up again, so...thank you."
She returned his smile. "You're welcome." Then she added, turning to Grace, "Can I speak with you for a minute?"
Grace merely nodded and stood.
Aderah led the way to a quiet place near the entryway where the others couldn't hear them. "Did Jamie tell you what happened? Is someone after us?" She started surprisingly calm.
Grace exhaled slowly. "Yes."
Aderah waited for her to continue, but she didn't, so she asked, "What happened? Who did this to him?"
Grace remained silent for a few seconds, contemplating what she could say to Aderah. She apparently came to the conclusion that Aderah was trustworthy enough. "Over the previous few years, I've had the misfortune of meeting Alvaros' king's ambassador. Vayne Creed." She looked Aderah in the eyes as she continued. "There are no gods to whom you may pray that you'll never meet him. He somehow manages to trick even them."
Aderah felt a shiver run down her spine. The gods had never helped her before. She had long since given up on praying.
"However, Creed is more than just the king's ambassador. He is also the king's personal assassin."
Aderah was too stunned to reply to that. Why would Alvaros' king send his assassin after them? What could any of them have possibly done to provoke him? "Did Ciden do anything to upset him?" she asked.
Grace seemed unsure of what to say. "Something like that..."
"And you too?"
"Sort of..."
That wasn't very enlightening.
"Are you going to tell me?" Aderah pushed.
Grace had the same unsure expression as before, as if she wasn't sure how much she could share with her. She finally turned away from Aderah and took a deep breath. "How much do you know about Alvaros' royal family?"
"Not much," Aderah admitted.
"How much is 'not much'?"
Aderah looked down at the ground. She hadn't received much education as a child, and the people in her village avoided mentioning any of the five kingdoms' rulers. "I know that the old king passed away some time ago, and his son took his position."
"Is that it?" Grace asked, returning her attention to her. She wasn't passing judgment on Aderah, but was simply taken by surprise.
Aderah nodded, embarrassed.
"What about the second son? Did you know the king had two?"
Aderah had an idea where Grace was headed but hoped she was wrong. "No...?"
Grace then stated, "The king had three children: two sons and one daughter. Dyon, who's now the king; Nieva, the young princess, who has been kept hidden from the public eye for the most part; and Ciden... the second heir to Alvaros' throne."
Aderah's mouth fell open. So her suspicions were true—she had traveled with the prince of one of the most powerful kingdoms and even argued with him at one point. "Why didn't you tell me this before?" she insisted. "I was so rude to him on the first day."
"Don't worry about that now. He will not cry himself to sleep because you have insulted him. You also shouldn't be sorry now that you know who he is. Princes, kings, and queens—they are not all that different from us. Too many people already treat them like gods," Grace grumbled. "Don't you start with that too."
Aderah assumed she hadn't had good experiences with the rulers either.
Grace cleared her throat. "To return to your topic, Ciden did nothing to upset his brother other than being born, so I believe his mother is to blame for that. But I suppose he's already taken his anger out on her."
Aderah blinked, surprised. "What do you mean? Did he kill his mother?"
"I'm not sure. It was said that the queen died of a disease, but I wouldn't rule out Dyon being the cause."
That made Aderah even more curious than before. "You mentioned that you have met his ambassador before, but you speak of the King as if you know him too..."
Grace blinked. "I don't. I've only heard some things about him. And none of them were particularly good."
"And what about Ciden? Doesn't he know anything about that?"
"I didn't ask. His family is a rather sensitive topic for him..."
Aderah understood that. She didn't like talking about her family either.
"So that's it—the king sent his assassin after Ciden because he was born and because you did... what exactly?"
Grace shook her head and sighed. "So many questions... I'm sorry, but I can't tell you everything. All you need to know is that Ciden and I are being hunted by someone. You and Jamie have nothing to do with it, but nonetheless, you might end up being collateral damage." Aderah had never seen her so solemn as she was now. "I'm not going to lie to you—you're not safe with us. I might be able to protect you, but I can't guarantee anything. You have to understand that I cannot promise your safety."
Aderah wasn't sure if Grace wanted her to leave or if she was merely warning her about the possibility of being slaughtered in the dead of night. But neither mattered to Aderah. She had been aware of the dangers of accompanying them before. She wouldn't change her decision just because another, maybe worse, threat appeared. She could handle it. "I won't change my mind," she assured Grace. "I've decided to join you, and I won't leave unless you ask me to. Despite knowing about the bounty hunters, I made that decision. I'm not concerned about my safety anymore."
"Perhaps not, but I am. I don't want to be responsible for any harm he may cause you."
"You wouldn't be. It's my choice." Aderah would not give in as long as Grace didn't tell her to. "I'd like to stay with you." She attempted to seem fierce, but she probably resembled a stubborn child.
Grace finally nodded slowly, her gaze fixed on the wall behind Aderah. "Fine. So come with us. Just remember my warning when Creed holds a dagger to your throat."
Aderah swallowed, a shudder running down her spine as she imagined being attacked in the middle of the night out there. She would remember. "As I already said, I am aware of the risks. I'm not worried about who or what could be waiting out there."
It was true; she wasn't terrified; she simply preferred to stay out of trouble, even though she would have to put up with it since it appeared to be unavoidable.
"All right then—dig your own grave," Grace mumbled, ready to return to Jamie when Aderah interrupted her. "Why won't you tell Tanner about the bounty hunters?"
"Because that is none of his concern."
"I thought you wanted him to help you..."
"I don't necessarily want his help. But he offered, so—"
"He said he'd help you if you told him everything."
Grace motioned towards the kitchen with her hand. "I won't tell him everything for a reason. Besides, this isn't really any of your business either."
Aderah doubted then that Tanner's betrayal was the only reason for her major trust issues. She held up her hands in defeat. "You're right—it isn't. I'll stay out of it."
"Good."
So that was it. Grace turned around and disappeared into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.