a deep breath and walked a little deeper into the forest. Stopping when she got to a stand of conical vetin trees, she dropped down to sit against one of the thick trunks.
The grass and leaf-covered ground was soft and cushioned her. The tree at her back felt solid. She put her hands over her face and simply breathed, letting the chitter of small animals and the feel of the slightly moist breeze ground her.
That had been a disaster. Doubts began to crowd her mind. She’d thought she could be around people safely as long as she had someone near to teach her control of the magic. It hadn’t been a priority for them. She hadn’t pressed them on it. Maybe she should have, but she wasn’t certain that it would have made a difference to what happened. She would have felt pressured. She doubted she would have learned enough to stop that slip.
She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Resting her chin on her knee, she closed her eyes and tried to think about what she should do next. She wanted to stop Laed and Kynar, but that wouldn’t happen if she was a danger to everyone who was with her. That was all too likely if she couldn’t somehow get control of the magic. Alternatively, she couldn’t simply let Laed and Kynar continue to hurt others and she was certain that they would.
Either way someone could get hurt. At least Linc, Colm and their men had been warned. Laed and Kynar’s potential victims wouldn’t have that advantage. On top of that, the men could take care of themselves. Laed and Kynar would go after the weakest targets they could find. The only question was would she be welcome to stay with them any longer?
Chapter Two
Colm followed the muddled scent through the streets. No way to mistake that strange smell. He hadn’t been able to grab her before she dashed out of the inn. He’d been stunned when Linc had flown backward. Then before they could go find her, one of the patrons at the inn’s bar, filled with courage and too much alcohol, had decided that since a woman could throw one of them, they were obviously weak. The resulting bar fight had lost them their rooms for the night.
He growled. Frustrated and irritated, he searched for any sign of her. In spite of her panic, he didn’t think she’d go too far. She wasn’t trying to leave. The woman was smart. She’d slip out at night if she wanted to go. No, fear of what she’d done and what happened had ruled her thoughts. It had been a long time since he’d lost control, but he remembered how it felt.
She’d told them that the magic scared her and that it was growing. He hadn’t realized that it was that bad. Part of that was their fault for not taking the matter more seriously. Still, he wasn’t taking all the blame. She should have pressed them for more attention instead of keeping them at a distance as she’d done since she’d found them.
She was healing emotionally. She’d been fragile when she’d met them outside a gatehouse not too long ago. Every time they’d approach, she’d step back. The fear in her eyes was obvious. It wasn’t simply because they were Ardin, as the two men who’d hurt her had been. Slowly, she’d stopped retreating from them, but more than fear held her back. There was a caution in her eyes he was sure had nothing to do with physical fear.
He looked over at his bond brother. Linc had noticed that she’d grown accustomed to the other men with them and didn’t seem to be so cautious around them. When he’d pointed it out, Colm hadn’t put much credence to it. If he’d gone through what she had, he wasn’t sure he’d be here, much less chance putting himself under the control of anyone ever again. Her reaction to them hadn’t changed much. With them, there was always a distance and deliberate avoidance of spending any time with them.
On top of that, there was the way Vin, their chatar, looked at her. Speculation simmered in the wise man’s eyes. Colm knew that Vin had known she’d be waiting for them. The seer knew more of her than they did, but he hadn’t told them much about her. Vin had pushed to keep her with them, even when it would keep her in