The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,90
to be on her own, than to be a loner clinging to the fringes of their community because that’s all people would give her.
The camp stirred as they walked into it, hostility on some faces, confusion on the rest. Some wore bandages, others had skin that was blistered on their arms and faces.
Eva kept her chin up and her shoulders back. She refused to be cowed. She’d focus on what needed doing. It was the only way to survive.
Jason's expression was reassuring when her gaze caught on him. She pressed her lips together to smother the rough laugh that wanted to escape. Figures her lone pillar of support was a man who until now had only shown dislike to her.
The last speck of hope she carried with her flitted away. Fine. So be it. She had her path. She simply needed to walk it.
Darius stopped in the middle of camp and gestured imperiously. "Speak."
Eva took a deep breath. "What do you want me to say?"
He lifted an eyebrow. "An interesting defense."
"It seems you have already judged me in my absence," Eva said. "Any words I use would be a pointless waste of time."
Darius's smile was cruel as he watched her. "You don't deny you were working with the outsiders to steal the Kyren?"
Eva's mouth dropped open in true amazement. Of all the accusations she expected him to level on her—cowardice, dereliction of duty, abandoning them when their need was great—that was the last thing she expected.
She gestured at Sebastian incredulously. "That Kyren? The one standing right there? Yes, because it makes sense to return him after successfully stealing him." She shook her head, her gaze traveling over those assembled. "Is that what you all truly believe? That I conspired to take something I already had?"
Their lack of faith hurt. Fiona, Hanna, Laurell, women who'd gone out of their way to befriend her. People she’d thought could, maybe just maybe, mean something to her.
If Ollie was here, she knew she'd have a vocal defender, but he wasn't. He'd been hurt. Another failure that could be laid at her feet.
"Perhaps you had a falling-out with your co-conspirators and thought you could come back," someone suggested.
Eva rolled her eyes. That was perhaps the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. Return to the very people she'd betrayed? Did they really think her that stupid?
"They have a confession," Jason warned.
"From who? The people who attacked us?" Eva snapped. "Because they would never lie to the people who were going to end their miserable existences."
"They knew things about you," Darius said, his expression reserved. "About all of us that they shouldn't have. It can only point to a traitor among our ranks."
Eva looked at him. "And because I'm not one of you, it has to be me."
Tiredness dragged at her. It always came down to the same thing. It didn't matter how hard she fought, she doubted she'd ever conquer this obstacle. Truthfully, she didn't even know if she wanted to anymore.
"I would have thought you'd address that weakness by now," she told Darius in a harsh voice. "This wouldn't be the first time one of your own turned on you."
He observed her, his expression grave.
There was a shout of surprise as a dark shape dropped into the midst of those holding Sebastian.
Sharp claws flashed out, cutting the net and scattering the Kyren’s captors. Sebastian screamed, his wings flaring now that they were free.
"Furthermore, I couldn’t have stolen the Kyren from you, simply because he was not yours to begin with," she hissed, emotion making her reckless. "He’s free to do as he wills, whether that means abandoning the battle halfway through, or carrying a herd mistress back to you so she can warn you of the danger to one of your own."
Ajari straightened, moving into the light of the campfire as he lifted his clawed hand to his lips to lick the blood off it.
The men who had held Sebastian captive were alive, but hadn’t escaped unscathed. Claw marks were visible on various parts of their bodies.
"Well said, little caller," Ajari said, his dark eyes coming to rest on Eva. Approval shown in them.
"Believe me or not, I really don't care at this point," Eva told Darius. "But at least send people to check where I left Caden. He, at least, doesn't deserve to be abandoned."
Hanna stepped up beside Darius, her face tense as she glanced over the rest of them. She was silent as they waited for Darius's response.