"So you keep him guessing and looking in the wrong places. Hoping he won't connect the attacks that take place mostly in the central part of the kingdom with one of a hundred band of brigands operating in the no-man’s-land of the border," Phelan mused.
It was a decent plan. It wouldn't protect them forever, though. Tresk was arrogant and short-sighted, but he wasn't stupid. And it still didn't answer one thing.
"What does that have to do with the payroll caravan that had no money?"
"Sometimes the payroll caravans are a cover for orders to troops they want to keep secret," Arun explained.
"Like orders to escort one of those relocation efforts? Particularly the ones that are going to disappear?"
Arun nodded.
"So, what did you find in the caravan? Is there a target we need to protect?"
"No, actually." Arun glanced at his sister for a moment, talking more to her than to Phelan. "I finally decoded it this morning. They're postponing any relocations because of maneuvers along the southern border. I was hoping it meant we had some breathing room but now..."
The confirmation of Tresk's plans along the boundary with Galwei made Phelan grit his teeth. He wanted to grab a horse and ride to his brother's side. But he had a mission here.
And an unexpected tie he wasn't ready to break. His eyes automatically sought out Selena, and he tamped down on the automatic urge to reach for her through the bond. Instead, he focused on gathering the information he'd need to understand what was going on.
"Do you think someone here is telling them those attacks aren't random, then? And that it's this group who is responsible? Selling you out for some reason?"
Phelan knew that wasn't really the answer, but he wanted to see if they'd tell him the truth.
Selena's mouth pinched into a thin line but she shook head. "Whoever is capable of that spell was trained by Hafgan. They wouldn't have been accidentally caught up in the relocations. They had to have been planted."
The twins exchanged another long look before Arun continued.
"Our last rescue was more than six months ago. Everyone's been here at least that long."
"Except me, you mean," Phelan said, giving voice to unspoken tension in the room. "But you know it wasn't me. I was with Selena when the message spell was sent. I didn't do this. I would never work with Hafgan."
Fierce and angry, he let his grip on the bond slip and Selena's confusion whispered through it. He saw her eyes widen in surprise when some of his vehemence rebounded between them.
She looked torn for a moment before speaking. "I don't think you are involved."
Arun's eyebrows drew together in surprise and Selena shrugged.
"They've had someone here for months undetected by us. One with the means to communicate. They didn't need to send a second spy. And none of that explains why Tresk left us alone so far."
"Because he focused on the border between Marnak and Galwei," Phelan explained. "I'm not sure what they have planned, but whatever it is, most of Tresk's forces are being staged in the southern part of the kingdom. And they're not letting any unauthorized traffic through. I'm sure they have unpleasant plans for you, eventually, but at the moment, you're an afterthought."
It had been obvious what was happening when Phelan had ridden through Marnak in his search for the spring. When he'd tried to send word back through to his brothers after he'd first set up the meeting with the twins and his messenger had been unable to sneak across the border.
Arun and Selena took a moment to absorb what he said. They seemed to communicate easily without words and Phelan idly wondered if they had a magical bond by virtue simply of being twins. It would explain how Arun had found them in the clearing so quickly.
"So, what do we do?" Selena asked Arun.
"We have to keep it to ourselves. Until we know who and why. And what. In the meantime, the three of us will need to keep an eye on the spring. We'll rotate watches at night."
"It has to be just the three of us," Selena said with resignation. "At least until we know who else we can trust."
Arun rubbed his chin, staring at Phelan with doubt and skepticism. "Can we trust him?"
Phelan wanted to point out that he was in the room.
But he bit his tongue and waited. The answer was important to his mission. And maybe, something in him wanted to hear Selena believe in him.
"If I'm wrong and he's part of it, he already knows what we know. If he's not, the extra eyes can only help."
Phelan fought to keep from letting his disappointment show on his face. Had he really expected Selena’s unconditional trust when he was keeping secrets from her? And when he still had so many questions about the past both twins avoided talking about?
Because the part of the conversation he'd overheard made it clear their fear of Tresk and Hafgan was deeply personal. And Selena's ability to feel the sorcery as it happened made it clear she was hiding a knowledge that was forbidden in most kingdoms on the continent.
They were willing to share secrets about their operation because he was useful and because he'd already guessed most of it.
Despite the bond and the need, though, Selena wasn't ready to share private details of their past. Or the secrets the twins kept just between them. Regret squeezed his heart but Phelan forced it aside. He couldn't expect her to share her life with him, when he had no intention of sharing his.
-8-
THE next morning started with breakfast as usual. No one knew a spy hid in their midst. No one knew Phelan had spent a good chunk of the night before guarding the spring. Or that it had been necessary because of the traitorous sorcery that had been performed there.
No one knew of the life-changing bond tugging him toward Selena.
As the day progressed, though, it became harder and harder for Phelan to remember why it was important to keep that secret.
He'd known from Caerwyn's grumblings what to expect.
The need. The draw. The urge to seek Selena out and never let her out of his sight.
But Selena thwarted him by being one step ahead of him throughout the day. He sat down next to her at breakfast only to have her pick up her plate, announce she'd finished and was heading out with Omal to trade with some of the local farmers.
The rest of the day followed the same pattern. He'd catch sight of her. Or follow the connection's draw. Only for her to casually saunter off on a task that took her far from him.
She was so smooth and casual, no else noticed how much she avoided him. He couldn't even poke her pride by suggesting she was afraid of him because that would make others wonder why. That kind of scrutiny was the last thing they needed.
Refusing to mope around like a kicked puppy, Phelan focused his attention on trying to find the traitor in their midst and actively refused to acknowledge the need constantly tugging at him.
Instead, he spent most of the day looking for any signs that might lead him to the person responsible. His best clue was the dark scent that had lingered in the clearing.
Unfortunately, the odor wasn't readily noticeable, even to his talented nose. It was subtle and lay buried deep beneath the layers of scent most people carried around them like a shield. Trying to sniff out a sorcerer among the dozens of people living and working in the outpost was not a simple task. The building and grounds were a constant buzz of activity. Patrols coming and going, checking to see if the army or the nobles' movements were encroaching any closer on them. Others going out to trade or hunt or forage. Some working in the garden. Some working in the dining hall. All while most of them took some time to train on the practice ground.
No one stayed still, and there was no way Phelan could linger long without looking suspicious.
The only people he had any excuse to get that close to were the ones training on the practice grounds. But, even then, he could only spend a few hours without calling attention to himself. He considered flirting and seduction, but that had lost its appeal al
most from the moment he'd met Selena. Now, just thinking about it jolted a wave of nausea through him that he couldn't get past, even if he wanted to.
The day dragged on with a never-ending chain of frustrations. His inability to find a single lead to Hafgan's minion. The pull of the moon-bond demanding he get closer struggling against his instinct to respect Selena's need to keep her distance. The constant battle to maintain the death grip he kept on their connection. The urge to open up and share everything with her was like nothing he'd ever experienced.
By the time he pulled out his lute after dinner, every breath was a fight just to maintain his equilibrium.
He considered going to her in Hound form an hour or so before he was supposed to relieve her watch. Just to spend time with her. But he wasn't confident she wouldn't recognize him somehow, now that they shared a connection.
Still, he found himself heading for the spring well before the appointed time.
He met Selena on the path as she patrolled a perimeter around the clearing.
She didn't startle when he appeared, like she'd been expecting him. Her lips curled in a half-smile and amusement underscored her voice when she drawled, "You're early."
"I was lonely," he said with a shrug. He meant to tease. To flirt. But the words came out a little too raw, a little too honest, to pass off as a joke.
"I was figuring on one more circuit. You might as well join me."
Her bland tone and indifferent expression appeared unconcerned, but her fingers curled and uncurled at her side, and she stared at the tree behind him when she spoke. He wanted so badly to untie the knot blocking their connection. To allow himself to feel what she was feeling. To let her feel the relief and need and joy that flowed through him.
But he didn't dare. He was certain that if he gave into that need, he'd never stop giving into it.
They walked in silence at first, settling into a steady pace. A few minutes later, they were walking close enough that their fingers brushed against each other's with every step. Even that slight touch was enough to ease the tension that had slowly constricted around him throughout the day.
Next to him, Selena rolled her shoulders, the lines of strain easing and her body loosening more the farther they walked together.
Without thinking it through, Phelan took her hand in his, and a surprisingly strong shiver of pleasure rippled along his spine.
Selena's breath caught in a soft gasp, but she made no protest. Instead, her fingers curled around his, welcoming his touch.
They continued without a word until they were halfway back to where they'd started. Finally, she asked, "This is the bond, right? Is it always going to be like this?"
He didn't have to ask what she meant. She was asking about the craving, the unbearable urge to be close. And the way that closeness was a relief and a comfort like nothing else in the world.
"I only know what my brother told me. He said the need gets worse, the more you deny it. The more you avoid it. Spending time together eases the ache. Touching..." His finger stroked along the outside of her palm. "Touching eases it more."
Selena nodded, quiet and thoughtful.
"Sometimes I feel things from you. But other times I can't." Selena made it a statement, but he knew she expected an answer, all the same.
"Yeah. I've been trying to keep the connection narrowed. Sometimes it's not easy, though. Sometimes things slip through." It galled him to admit his failure, but there was no point in lying.
"How? How do you control it?"
"Can you feel the connection? The place that sort of feels like it is buzzing between us?"
Selena nodded with fierce concentration.
"Imagine that spot growing smaller, as small as you can make it."
The whisper of static he'd been fighting quieted until it was barely a ripple. Contrarily, it annoyed him that it was gone. It made it easier to fight with his side closed, but he missed the attachment all the same.
"Good," she murmured with relief. Then her eyes focused on Phelan and she pinched her lips with determination. "Right. That helps. We can't let anyone know about the bond. I can't... If anyone finds out, it will be used against me. Us. Especially if there is a spy."
He knew she meant Tresk and Hafgan would use the bond as a weakness to be exploited. But he couldn't admit that without admitting to eavesdropping earlier.
Instead, he feigned ignorance to see if she'd give him any more details. "Why? By who?"
They'd circled through the trees and ended up back at the beginning of the circuit and she tugged her hand free of his. Stiff and evasive, Selena stepped away from him, and Phelan fought the urge to follow her and keep the closeness.
"It doesn't matter. It's better for both of us if we keep this—" Selena waved a vague hand between them, "a secret. I don't want anyone to know."
Before he could ask another question, she backed away. "I think my shift is over. Good night, Finn."
Hearing his alias on her lips after the quiet, intimate moments they'd just spent together punched the air out him.
She was right. Keeping it a secret was best. Keeping their time together to a minimum was necessary.
Neither one of them could afford to get attached.
He was here to make sure Hafgan didn't get his hands on the wellspring. One way or another. He hoped he wouldn't need to use the explosives hidden in his pack. Destroying the spring felt like the height of sacrilege. But he'd rather see it demolished than allow its power to fall into the hands of the sorcerer.
And when his task was complete, he'd be moving on. Heading for the next skirmish in the secret, silent war to stop Hafgan and Tresk permanently.
Phelan had no intention of sticking around to make the bond permanent. So he had no right to indulge himself in the comfort and pleasure of the connection now.
Turning his back on her retreating form, he kept his eyes on the glimpses of the spring peeking through the foliage.
As soon as the echo of her footsteps faded into the soft sounds of the forest, he called the Hound and focused on his purpose.
*****
Even at the best of times, dark dreams and paranoid tension allowed her only nights of restless sleep. A week of late night patrolling hadn't helped that. Neither had the return of old nightmares, caused by reminders that Tresk and Hafgan were still out there. And no doubt still had plans for her.
Exhausted and irritable already, forcing herself to get through each day like nothing had changed was a disheartening, never-ending chore. Though she'd never admit it to anyone, the brief, stolen moments she shared with Finn in the darkness of the clearing were the only bright spot in her day. If she had first watch, he'd come down early to walk that last circuit with her. If he was first, he stayed up and patrolled with her for a while before calling it a night. Whenever possible, they maneuvered it so Arun always had the last, early morning shift.
They talked about quiet things. He told her about pranks and adventures with his brothers. For the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to think of the past and remembered some happy moments with her brother, even when things were most difficult. Sharing those with Finn made them real again. Made her smile about the past when she once thought that would never be possible.
He held her hand every night while they walked. And, if Selena were honest, she'd admit she reached for his fingers as often as he reached for hers.
Those few moments of blissful peace in the dark only added to the weight of worry Selena carried during the day. Because it was easy to forget the mirage of serenity and trust wasn't real.
At least until a cold, sharp reminder reared its head and struck at the illusion of trust and contentment the bond had drawn around them.
Like yesterday's raid.
A local band of brigands had been encroaching on them, extorting and terrorizing one of the nearby farming communities they traded with regularly. Arun had led a group to run them out of the area, making
a nice profit in the process.
Selena had been surreptitiously healing Chel's sprained wrist when she heard Finn ask about his cut of the take. She'd kept her face averted as she focused on her task. Though her healing gift was an open secret among the outpost residents, she still preferred to keep the ability private.
The sprain was a simple fix and didn't require her full concentration. Lately, that meant her attention automatically sought out Finn.
But as she listened, her ears burned with irritation as she shamelessly eavesdropped on the conversation.
After everything, Finn had taken his ten percent.
His greed shouldn't have surprised her. He'd made it clear from the beginning why he was here. Yet her heart twisted at the reminder that he wasn't staying for her. Unlike Mora, who chose to stay for Arun instead of searching for her family, Finn was here for the money first. He wasn't staying because of Selena.
Not that she wanted him to.
It was only the ludicrous, aggravating bond and its way of wrapping her up in thoughts of Finn. The way the ache and the need grew heavier throughout the day, making it harder and harder to stick to her resolve to stay away from him as much as possible where people might see. The way it made her grumpy, irritable, and ready to snap by late afternoon most days
And this afternoon, with the memory of Finn counting his cut still ringing in her head, she felt it more than most.
So when Lilah's messenger arrived with the sunset, Selena was in no mood for more problems. Every shred of control she had left was focused on keeping her sword sheathed and not taking her frustration out on the messenger. The news he carried wasn't any more his fault than blaming rain on the sky. But her temper had been stretched to the max, and it was all she could do to hang on to the frayed ends of it.
While the rest of the compound went about their evening routines, she and Arun and Nis sat on one of the benches in the garden and listened to the serious-faced youth recite his message. The news sank into her heart like molten lead, leaving her feeling hollowed out and devastated.
By Blood Betrayed (The Lost Shrines Book 3) Page 9
