I opened my mouth, but he was already walking away.
I wanted to sit with my thoughts for a few hours. To come to terms with the fact that King Sabium had been lying to us. All of us. Even worse, his father, his father’s father…all of them were liars, all of them stealing from their people in the worst way. The blood was pounding so loudly in my ears, I almost missed Galon’s next words.
He was standing in front of me, holding out his hand.
“You can think about what Lorian just told you later,” he said. “Time to stretch.”
Galon pinned me to the ground. I struggled, but it was no use.
He glowered down at me, clearly impatient. “You know what to do here.”
I did know. Wiggling one leg out from under us, I shoved my knee against his chest and and pushed.
“Take your hands off me.” A familiar voice cut through the clearing.
I froze. My eyes flooded, my throat tightened, and then I went wild, scratching and clawing for my freedom.
Galon cursed and rolled off me, but I was already sitting up. Across the clearing, Marth held Tibris in a headlock—my brother’s face already swollen and bruised.
“Found him spying on us,” Marth announced.
Was Tibris truly in front of me? Or was I imagining it? I glanced around at the mercenaries. All of them had gone quiet, and all of them were watching my brother closely.
“Let him go, Marth,” I demanded. Marth just looked at Lorian, who was already getting to his feet.
Lorian nodded and Tibris straightened.
My brother looked like he’d aged five years. He wore a rough beard, his clothes dirty and unkempt. He stalked toward me, dropped a small pack at my feet, and positioned his body in front of mine, a long knife held ready in his hand.
“Run, Prisca,” Tibris ordered.
“Friend of yours, wildcat?” Lorian crooned.
“Don’t talk to her,” Tibris snarled. “Pris, go.”
Lorian slowly stood. He moved like a predatory cat, his gaze now solely on my brother.
I unfroze and shot to my own feet, darting in front of Tibris. My brother cursed as Lorian’s gaze dropped to me.
“A lover come to rescue you from our…embrace?”
Was that why he was acting so strangely? “No, you idiot. This is my brother.”
Some of the malice left Lorian’s expression, and I threw my arms around Tibris. My eyes slid closed, and I just basked in the feel of him. Alive.
I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. “They’re not hurting me, Tibris. If anything, they’ve protected me. That one—” I stepped back and pointed to Galon “—fished me out of the river after Mama threw me in.”
I didn’t mention Lorian had abandoned me directly after that. But I squinted my eyes at him so he’d know I hadn’t forgotten that part.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Tibris gave a small bow of his head. “In that case, thank you for keeping my sister alive. But we’re leaving now.”
Lorian went still, and I watched as he pondered my brother, clearly deciding how much of a threat he was to his plan to sneak into the city.
I knew what Lorian did to people who got in his way. I shot him what I hoped was a threatening look. “We need to talk,” I told Tibris. “Come with me.”
Tibris allowed it, and I led him over to the huge boulder by the river. Hopefully the noise of the water would drown out our conversation.
Tibris stared at me for a long moment. I stared back. It was as if we were memorizing each other’s features. And then I was in his arms, tears rolling down my face.
“Mama?”
He tensed, and I felt him shake his head. “I’m sorry.”
I shook with fresh sobs. I’d known. But some tiny part of me had hoped anyway.
“I thought you were dead,” I admitted against his chest. “I told myself you’d make it—that you were smart, prepared. But…”
“I know exactly how you felt,” Tibris said. “I told myself the same. But I didn’t see how you could’ve survived. Mercenaries? Really?”
I laughed. And then I cried some more.
When I had no tears left, Tibris slowly released me. “I have so much to tell you, I barely know where to start, although I know you suspect some of it. Those notes from Vicer weren’t just a way to keep in touch.” He gave me a faint smile.
I rolled my eyes. “I had a feeling that was the case.”
“Vicer always knew you still had your magic.”
My mouth went dry. “He did?”
Tibris sighed. “If there’s one thing Vicer does well, it’s observe. He noted how tense we both were at the ceremonies. How protective I was of you. And how I insisted you learn to fight. You’d get this…hunted look in your eyes whenever anyone talked about the Gifting ceremony. Vicer watched closely over the years, and he figured it out.”