Eversong (The Kindred Book 1) Read online

  Armir remained in place as she walked to a nearby chair and grabbed the back. She wasn’t sure if she liked that he didn’t make a comment about how weak she was. Or her lack of dress.

  “I will make sure they are found. Did you see an approximate location?” he asked.

  “Track those of the Coven. Our warriors will be able to find this group of women.”

  Armir’s eyes widened as his brows rose. “Women?”

  She didn’t hide her smile. “That surprises you?”

  “If they do not have magic, aye,” he replied.

  Malene closed her eyes and tried to recall some of the images that included the women. Though she remembered them easily, it was putting them into focus that took the most time.

  She concentrated, tuning out everything else. Little by little, one of the images began to sharpen. While she couldn’t see faces because of the hoods pulled forward, she was able to pick out a few distinctions.

  “There are a couple of men in the group,” she said. “They also favor a symbol. An Ouroboros. They’re heavily armed, and they look as if they know how to fight.”

  “Warriors then,” Armir said.

  Her eyes opened to him. “It looks that way.”

  “If they had magic, the Varroki would know of them.”

  “We don’t know everyone in the world with magic. They could have been overlooked somehow.”

  The downturn of Armir’s lips displayed his displeasure. “While that may be true, my lady, I put my faith in the Varroki.”

  “So you believe this group to be without magic.”

  He gave a single nod. “I do.”

  “Fighting the Coven.”

  A muscle bulged in his jaw. “Aye.”

  “Then they are allies we not only want to have, but we may need, as well.”

  “As you wish.”

  When he didn’t go, she raised a brow. “Is there something else?”

  “You’re not alone in this.”

  His words caused her to frown. “I know that.”

  “Do you?” he asked softly. “I heard the pain in your voice when you called out for me.”

  She couldn’t hold his gaze, nor did she want him to continue down that path. “I’m an outsider, Armir. While my palm signals me as the chosen leader of the Varroki, I know there are those who believe I will fail. They’re waiting for exactly that to happen so I can be replaced by a Varroki raised in the Blackglade.”

  “I’m not one of them.”

  Her gaze jerked to him. She searched his face, trying to decipher if his words were true or not.

  He walked to stand before her and held her gaze. “I am not one of them,” he repeated. “I’m the one who sought you out. I’m the one who convinced you to take your place here. I’m the one who stands beside you through all of this. If you cannot trust me, then you cannot trust anyone.”

  Somehow, as incredulous as it was, she had hurt his feelings. And she hated that. Armir was right, he’d been with her from the beginning, lending her his strength and wisdom whenever she needed it.

  “I do trust you,” she said.

  His green eyes seemed to burn from within. “Then tell me what’s truly troubling you.”

  “I’m scared. Terrified, actually.”

  “Of?”

  “Of facing the Coven. Of making the wrong choice. Of not knowing how to control the magic within me. Of having to watch you and the others die.”

  His lips curved slightly. “I don’t die easily. As for the rest, if you weren’t frightened, I’d be worried. I’ve faith in you, my lady.”

  And, somehow, that relieved the growing anxiety inside her.

  For now.

  Chapter 15

  Leoma huddled behind a tree against the chill in the night. Braith’s traps were all set and waiting for the witches. She couldn’t help but smile since he was the bait. It was something he’d accepted with enthusiasm, as if he were looking forward to encountering others from the Coven.

  She put her hand on the hilt of her sword at her hip. If Braith’s sword were magically forged as hers was, she might feel better about the trap, but all he had was her dagger.

  The two of them against...she had no idea how many would be coming, but it wouldn’t be just one witch. The desperation in Brigitta’s voice could have been partly due to the fact that she’d failed to bring Braith in the first time.

  But Leoma suspected it might have to do with the Coven needing Braith in a timely manner. The question was, what for? What could they need him to get that they couldn’t?

  Then it hit her. The Coven couldn’t use magic to obtain whatever it was they were after. It was also obviously something that not just any man, woman, or child could acquire. It had to be Braith. But why?

  When they’d spoken of it earlier, he didn’t seem to have any inclination what the item could be. If it were something of great importance, surely Braith would remember it.

  What disturbed Leoma the most was that the Coven was after whatever it was to begin with. As if it weren’t enough that the Coven wreaked havoc around England and even Scotland, now this unknown had to be added into the mix.

  Her attention moved to the stallion when he raised his head and stared off into the darkness. Leoma followed the animal’s gaze, but she didn’t hear or see anything.

  Tense moments slowly went by as she waited for an attack. The longer it went on without the Coven showing themselves, the more worried she became.

  Why weren’t they attacking? Why did they wait?

  After a little while, the horse went back to grazing. Yet that didn’t calm Leoma’s fears. In fact, it raised them. With Braith in the cave, she had no way of alerting him to her worries. Then again, he was skilled in battle. He would be aware of everything, just as she was.

  As she waited in the dark, her thoughts inevitably turned to making love to Braith. They hadn’t discussed it since it happened, but then again, she wasn’t sure what to say.

  It had been an incredible experience that she certainly wanted to repeat. She was uncertain how to proceed, though. Luckily, they had the Coven coming for them, which put off any conversation for the moment.

  Leoma had been happy about that fact at the time, but the more she thought about it, the more she wished they had spoken. Now, it hung between them like a giant wall.

  As soon as she began to recall how good it felt to be in Braith’s arms, how he had brought her pleasure so easily, she turned her mind to other things. If she allowed herself to remain on that path, she might very well go into the cave and have her way with him again.

  She looked for Asa’s owl. The bird should have gotten to the abbey and returned by now.

  It was just something else for her to worry about.

  “What are we waiting on?” Walter asked.

  Eleanor looked from the vine hidden beneath the leaves to the cave. She almost hadn’t used her magic to detect any snares as they approached Braith, but since Brigitta had underestimated the lord already, Eleanor wasn’t going to, as well.

  It was a good thing she had used her magic. Four traps were set for anyone who walked toward the cave. While none of them would kill her, it would certainly hinder her. What did the lord then intend to do once she was impaled upon one of the spikes?

  She waved Walter to follow as she backed up. “He’s expecting us.”

  Walter snorted. “So? He’s one man.”

  “One man who fought—and apparently won—against Brigitta.”

  “The witch did say he had a Hunter with him.”

  Eleanor jerked her chin to the cave. “If there were a Hunter with him, they would have already attacked. Braith is alone.”

  “You’re sure?”

  She turned her gaze to him and glowered. Even in the darkness where he couldn’t see her clearly, he knew enough to be afraid. “Do not question me.”

  “My love, I’m simply curious as to how you know the Hunter isn’t here,” he hurried to say.

  Eleanor turned
on her heel and made her way toward the Witch’s Grove. “Because Hunters do not stand down when they know a witch is coming. They are ruled by the need to assault us at every turn.”

  “Could this Hunter be different?” Walter asked, breathing heavily and loudly as he attempted to keep up with her long strides.

  “The Hunter isn’t there.”

  “All right.” He huffed and jogged to catch up to her. “What do you propose we do then?”

  Eleanor strode into the Witch’s Grove, feeling at home as soon as she was within its dark wickedness. “Either Brigitta lied about inflicting Braith with magic, or the Hunter healed him.”

  “That shouldn’t be possible.”

  She halted and turned to face her rotund husband who was now sweating profusely. “It is if there is a witch helping them.”

  “Ah. I see.”

  Eleanor looked back in the direction they had come. “Braith wouldn’t have been able to set those traps if he had magic in his veins.”

  “Could the Hunter have set them before she left him behind?”

  “That is a possibility,” she conceded. “But why leave Braith here.”

  Walter shrugged, still huffing. “Perhaps she went to get more Hunters.”

  “Leaving the lord behind, knowing we were coming is too stupid a move on the Hunter’s part. My guess is that Braith refused to go with her, and she knew she would be outnumbered. Killing a single witch is one thing, but more?”

  “Then why did Braith remain behind?”

  Eleanor wanted to throttle Walter, but he brought up a valid point. “Why indeed?”

  Did the earl believe he could take on more witches? Or perhaps he didn’t yet believe what he had seen with his own eyes.

  If that were the case, then he was going to be so very easy to capture. And once in their grasp, he would do whatever they asked of him.

  First, they had to have Braith in hand. That should’ve been the easy part. She had wanted the earl taken at his keep, but Brigitta encountered a problem with Josef. Every time Brigitta thought she had Josef under her control, he always managed to come out of it.

  Eleanor suspected that the lad had a witch somewhere in his family tree. He had just enough magic in him to push through the web of lies Brigitta weaved. It was by Eleanor’s command that Brigitta killed Josef because Eleanor had known Braith would follow Brigitta to exact his brand of justice.

  Away from the keep and all the servants, it should’ve been easy to capture Braith.

  Instead, a Hunter had shown up, and Brigitta was killed. If that weren’t enough to go after the Hunter, the girl’s interference in their mission was.

  The whispers of the Gira grew louder. Eleanor silenced them with a look. There were few things a Gira was frightened of, but a member of the Coven’s council was one of them.

  “We need to throw Braith off our trail,” Eleanor said. “He expected us tonight, and while he might not have known who was coming, he knew we would be here.”

  Walter wiped the sweat from his bald head. “We can get through those traps.”

  She raised a brow as she looked at him.

  “You,” he corrected. “You can get through those measly traps. He’s right there. You’re so close to getting what you’ve been after for years.”

  “Brigitta underestimated the earl, not once, but twice. I’m not going to do the same. Right now, the board is set for him to win. I’m going to rearrange the pieces so the game falls in my favor.”

  Walter chuckled. “I do love how your mind works, my love. What’s your plan?”

  “I’m still working that out,” Eleanor said and made her way to the center of the Grove to rest.

  Leoma watched the rising of the sun, unsure how she felt about the witches not attacking. She quietly moved from her hiding place and checked the area in case witches were lying in wait.

  When she circled back around to the cave, she found Braith standing near one of the traps, staring at the ground.

  “What is it?” she asked as she walked up.

  He pointed. “Someone was here last night.”

  Leoma squatted down and looked at the two sets of tracks. “A woman and a man.”

  “The man is large by how deep his imprint on the soil is.”

  “Aye. They turned and went toward the Witch’s Grove.”

  Braith scratched his whiskered cheek. “Why didn’t they strike?”

  “I have no idea, but I don’t like it. I also don’t like that they’re so close.”

  “Or that we don’t know how many there are.”

  Leoma stood and met his gaze. “We should go. The traps were a good plan, but they somehow saw them. They’ll do us no good now.”

  “I agree. I’ll not leave them to hurt some unsuspecting fool, though.”

  She glanced at the spikes. “I’ll get your horse ready and clean out the cave.”

  “It won’t take me long to cut the vines that would trigger the traps.”

  They separated to carry out their tasks. She was finishing saddling the stallion when Braith returned. He mounted and held out his hand.

  Leoma’s heart quickened at the thought of riding with him. She took his hand and swung up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

  “Where to?” he asked.

  “Southwest. I know a place where we might be able to stay and get word to the abbey.”

  He turned the horse to the left and nudged it into a cantor. Leoma glanced behind her, hoping they were making the right decision. She hated leaving witches behind, but that came second to keeping Braith out of their hands.

  “Are you sure you cannot think of why the Coven would want you?” she asked.

  Braith shook his head and maneuvered the horse through the dense trees and rolling terrain. “Nay.”

  “Perhaps something for the king?”

  “I only ever handed the king enemies I was sent to bring him. Dead or alive, I handed them over to the king’s men.”

  Leoma held on tighter as the stallion slipped on an incline before gaining his footing. “No items or anything.”

  “Only people.”

  “And the Coven wouldn’t need you to get someone out, would they?”

  He turned his head and gave a bark of laughter. “I’d have to have the king with me to get anyone out of prison.”

  “If only we knew what the Coven wants you for.”

  “I can ask them,” he teased.

  She lightly punched him in the arm. “I’d rather you didn’t.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  Chapter 16

  Braith had been in charge of many things, but watching over a woman the likes of Leoma was a first. She had grown quiet several leagues back. It wasn’t long after that her head rested on his back and her arms around him went slack.

  The fact that she knew he would look out for her while she slept made him grin.

  In many ways, she was nearly his equal. Not once did that call into question her femininity. In fact, to him, it made her even more beautiful.

  “Whoa,” he whispered to the stallion, pulling back on the reins.

  The sight of the village ahead made him wary. Of course, the witches following them did nothing to calm his nerves. If he and Leoma were going to come out of this alive—and remain out of the Coven’s reach—they needed to be smart.

  While Braith was well versed in battle and how men thought, the witches were another matter entirely. There were rules on the battlefield that the Coven disregarded. Which meant that Braith needed to forget most everything he knew.

  He recalled the way Leoma had first attacked him. Her actions had not only been quick, but no movement was wasted. She used every part of her body to attack and defend. All his years of training with sword and shield would need to be disregarded. He would have to quickly relearn how to think when it came to fighting witches.

  Leoma took a deep breath and lifted her head. He immediately missed her against him, but he was looking forward
to actually holding her as they slept. Not that either of them had mentioned their encounter.

  “Where are we?” she asked sleepily before yawning.

  He bit back a yawn of his own after not getting sleep the night before and very little the night before that. “I’ve already skirted around another village.”

  She leaned to the side and looked around him. “We could use provisions. And information.”

  “On?”

  “Anything out of the ordinary occurring around the village. There’s always talk in a tavern.”

  Braith looked over his shoulder at her. “You want to find a witch despite the fact that we have some chasing us.”

  “Nay,” she said with a grin. “I want to see if a witch has been around here. If so, we leave. But with information that can then be given to Edra. If not, then we can linger for a short while.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea either way. We need to keep distance between the Coven and us.”

  She looped her arm with his and slid from the horse. “They’re all around us. They’re everywhere. We’ll only be able to run for so long.”

  “Then why did we leave the forest?” he asked, irritation filling him.

  Leoma pulled up the hood of her cloak and winked at him. “Because we would’ve been overwhelmed.”

  “And we won’t be here?”

  “Oh, we’ll definitely be here,” she said as she began to walk backward.

  Braith was praying for patience. “You’re making no sense.”

  “We’re going to the village separately. We’ll meet at the tavern. Get us some food.”

  “And what will you be doing?”

  “Getting a message to Edra and the other Hunters,” she replied with a grin before turning and sauntering away.

  Braith looked to the sky. If she had only stated that to begin with, he wouldn’t have gotten riled. Then again, he supposed that’s exactly what she wanted.

  His gaze lowered to find her heading toward one of the two rivers the village was built around. He turned the stallion in the other direction to take the path leading into the small community.