Of Thorn and Thread (Daughters of Eville #4) - Chanda Hahn Page 0,5

the room, and shifted.

“Gross,” she fumed, wiping the blood from around her mouth.

Mother Eville ignored her and studied the sliver. “It’s a thorn. With it removed, we should be able to withdraw the poison and heal him.” She tossed the tip into a ceramic bowl.

The door to the workroom slammed open as Rhea rushed inside, a mortar and pestle cupped in her hands.

“I ground up the linseed and bezoar as Aura instructed.” Rhea set the bowl down on the table.

With deft fingers, Mother took boiling water from the kettle on the stove and poured it over the crushed linseed. She quickly stirred it together into a hot paste. “Hand me that linen.”

Rhea took the clean linen from the shelf and watched as Mother spread the poultice across the linen. After testing the temperature against her own skin, she packed it against the man’s wounds. “The bezoar should work against the poison while the linseed will draw out the infection.”

“You haven’t lost your touch,” Lorn said.

“I had an excellent teacher,” she said and glanced away. She looked across the room and our eyes met. “You did well, Aura.”

“Is there nothing else you can do?” I asked helplessly, staring at the man who hadn’t moved or opened his eyes since they brought him to the house.

Mother shook her head. “No, and I won’t until I know who he is and why he was in our woods.” She glanced toward the fireplace and our crystal protection wards. None of them had gone off, but he was also found beyond our ward boundaries. “What did you learn, Aura?” She moved to the basin and scrubbed her hands clean of the blood.

I swallowed. “Not much. His pain was palpable and distracting. I wasn’t able to get anything else from him.”

“Pity.” She turned to Lorn. “What do you think?”

Lorn’s silver eyes carefully looked over the man’s clothing. “He looks to be from the northern kingdom of Rya, but they haven’t traveled this far south since the last gathering of kings when you ceremoniously made a fool of them. The journey is treacherous and not for the faint of heart. He must be a man of great determination to make it this far while wounded.”

Mother dried her hands on a tea towel and frowned. “It’s as I thought. The mirror has shown me nothing but fog over Rya for the last few weeks. This means there’s trouble brewing.” From the hidden pocket within the folds of her skirt, she pulled a dagger and placed it under the sleeping man’s throat, scraping dangerously close to his Adam’s apple. “Make no mistake, if he is here to harm us, I will kill him.”

Lorn placed a gentle hand on my mother’s wrist, pulling the dagger away from his neck. “Lorelai, it won’t come to that.” He carefully took the blade from her and placed it out of reach on the windowsill. “Because I will kill him before he touches any of you.”

Her hand shook, and she nodded. Turning to us, she pointed up the stairs toward our rooms. “You, all of you, go to your rooms and stay there. Lorn and I will watch over him until he wakes, and we can question him thoroughly.”

“But what if you need us?” Maeve argued.

“We won’t,” she said firmly.

None of us budged. We stood in place, all defying her. Until Honor flicked her braid over her shoulder in annoyance and handed Lorn three more daggers she unloaded from hidden pockets in her clothes. She marched up the stairs first and turned to glare at us. “You heard Mother; move!” Honor snapped.

Startled by the command, Maeve ran up the stairs first, pushing against Honor, knocking her into the wall. Rhea followed second. I passed Honor on the steps and she hesitated, staring at the man on the table. She was having second thoughts about leaving.

“Honor,” I said softly. “Let’s give them some privacy.”

She watched Lorn as he placed his hands on Mother’s shoulders and whispered into her ear.

“Oh,” Honor said, realizing for the first time what I had always known. Lorn had feelings for our mother. I was always the first to know everything about everyone. I couldn’t pry into the vault that was my mother’s mind, but I knew Lorn’s feelings. I headed up the stairs and Honor took up the rear, making sure that we were all heading to our floors. Rhea and Maeve stopped on the second floor and headed into their room, while the stairs narrowed and I headed further