The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,18
severe. "I had a feeling you were going to be trouble."
Eva's opened her mouth in protest.
Fiona held up a hand to forestall it. "Don't bother. I know it's not your intention to draw attention, but it seems you share more in common with the Battle Queen than the fact you came to us through unusual means. She too, draws notice when all she wants to do is go unremarked. I don't fault you for it, but it will make for a very interesting ride for those of us caught in your vicinity."
Eva studied the other woman with a slight frown. There hadn't been judgment or accusation in her words. It was more like she was stating the facts as she saw them. It left Eva uncertain as to how she should respond. In the end, she chose to keep her mouth shut. Silence had never hurt anyone and was an often-underutilized tool.
Eva drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them for a little warmth.
The fact of the matter was, Eva was a small thread in the Trateri's overarching tapestry. She could easily be snipped from it if she became more trouble than she was worth.
The gravity of what she'd done was beginning to sink in, leaving her with the feeling she was wavering on the edge of an abyss. The tumble down would be hard and brutal.
The winged horse's presence held the potential to shatter the tentative alliance Fallon had made with some of the mythologicals. Throw in the men dressed in the same manner as his warriors and the entire situation could have consequences that reverberated for years to come.
It wasn't a stretch to think the Trateri might decide to heap the blame for this entire mess on Eva—the outsider with few ties.
She hid her trembling hands beneath her, not wanting anyone to see her fear.
It'd been a long time since she’d felt this powerless over her fate. Not since leaving her village.
Hardwick reached over and clasped her shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze. The expression on his face didn't shift from his normal dourness.
The gesture might be small but Eva took comfort from it, drawing strength from the simple kindness.
Her fate was not yet decided. As hard as it was to trust when her trust had been shattered before, the Trateri had given her no reason to believe they would cast her to the wolves for an incident that wasn't her fault.
"Ollie, do you have any salve on you?" she asked.
The salve was a concoction made by one of the healers to treat wounds. It worked on both humans and animals. Ollie usually carried some on him since he was the one most warriors approached when their mounts were wounded and needed treatment.
"I do. Are you hurt?" he asked, his expression sympathetic.
"Not me. Him." Eva tilted her head at the mythological.
His pain surged against her in waves. She winced as a phantom pain touched her throat. Her wrist throbbed in sympathy seconds later.
Hardwick slanted her a look but didn't comment as Ollie stared uncertainly up at the mythological.
"Will he let us get close enough to treat him?" Ollie asked.
Eva lifted her head and stared at the mythological. "Only one way to find out."
"Perhaps it would be wise to leave him alone until the Hawkvale and Battle Queen arrive," Fiona suggested.
Eva's expression was troubled as she glanced over at the warrior. "Will they kill him?"
Fiona raised an eyebrow. "Your opinion of us doesn't seem very high."
Eva shrugged. "Don't take it personally. I find most people prefer the easy choice, no matter who gets hurt in the end."
"You'll have to forgive Eva," Ollie said, shooting a quelling look Eva's way. "She isn't very good with humans. It's a limitation we're working on."
Hardwick made a sound of amusement. In this, he and Eva were disturbingly similar.
"I can't say what the Hawkvale and Battle Queen will do, but I doubt they will harm him," Fiona said with an easy smile. "She has a soft spot for the creatures since they helped her when she was in the Badlands."
Eva hoped Fiona was right. Her experience with Shea had been brief, but the Battle Queen had seemed honorable, to the point others would consider madness.
"Then it won't matter if I treat his wounds," Eva concluded, rising.
She couldn't control what decision was made, but this was one thing she could do.
Fiona regarded her with an amused glint in her eyes and gestured to the mythological as if saying ‘after you’.