Everly~
My leg shook nervously as I took a seat at the table, afraid to look my father in the eye and ashamed of the evil act I had committed.
It wasn't until he finally left the table that I worked up the courage to speak to my brother who was inhaling his food like it was his last meal.
"I killed a rabbit today." I muttered, my leg still bouncing beneath the table.
"Didn't even see you take your bow." Aiden mumbled with a mouth full of food.
"I uh... didn't use my bow." I admitted carefully.
"You're telling me you chased one down and got it with your knife?" Aiden scoffed, lifting his gaze from his plate long enough to give me a skeptical look.
I held his gaze and shook my head.
"I didn't use my knife either."
My response elicited a big booming laugh from Aiden who shook his head and shoveled another bite into his mouth.
"So you expect me to believe that you killed a rabbit with your bare hands?"
Please understand what I'm trying to tell you.
"No Aiden. I didn't kill it with my hands." My tone was direct and even.
He was still chuckling to himself when he finally put the pieces together. "Then how did you manage to..."
With his eyes wide, he lifted his head and locked onto my gaze as tears filled my eyes.
"How did you kill it Ev?" He asked harshly.
The only response my body could produce was a small chin quiver as I tried not to fall apart in front of him.
"Answer me Everly. How did you kill it?"
The sound of Aiden's chair scraping against the wood floor made me jump, forcing a tear to roll down my cheek as he approached me. Taking hold of my shoulders, Aiden lowered his stance and asked me again.
"How did you kill it Ev?" There was so much fear in his voice, fear that I had to validate.
"Don't make me say it." I whimpered in his arms.
His face paled and he dropped his hands as he studied me.
"But you can't...healers can't..." Aiden was shaking his head, refusing to believe that I had killed a rabbit with my gifts. That I had used dark magic and murdered an innocent animal.
"I don't know what I am, Aiden."
Hot tears ran tracks down my cheeks, causing Aiden to rush forward and wrap his arms around me. He pulled me against his chest and stroked my hair in a soothing motion while I sobbed quietly.
"Shhhh. It's okay."
"No it's not. I'm dangerous. I shouldn't be here in the village."
Putting space between us, Aiden wrenched me away from his body and stared at me as if I'd lost my mind.
"Don't say things like that. Do you know how much this village needs you? How much this family needs you? How much I need you?" He hugged me again, squeezing me harder that time.
"You don't tell a soul about this, do you hear me?"
I nodded in his hands as he held the sides of my face.
A knock at the door stole my focus as Aiden dropped his hands from my face and I aggressively wiped away my tears.
"It's just Liam."
"Why is he here?"
Aiden gave me a knowing grin as he rushed Liam inside, careful to avoid my father who had gone out the back door for more firewood.
"Found a small Thoracian horde moving about ten miles outside the village." Liam said breathlessly without any type of greeting.
"How many?" Aiden asked as the two men looked at a map together.
"Enough for us to handle." Liam said with an arrogant smile. "Oh hey Ev."
Liam gave me a quick side hug as I tried my best to hide the splotchy red patches on my face from crying. Of course I knew the us that Liam was referring to and I didn't approve. Aiden and Liam had enlisted as part of the rebel forces seeking to rid Praet of the Thoracian soldiers that caused so much destruction to our land and people. What they did was honorable, but it was a fool's errand. Most Thoracian soldiers had been immersed in combat since infancy and had a plethora of immortal allies. Not to mention our own King allowed them to move across our lands in exchange for gold and privilege.
"Please be careful." I begged.
"We're always careful." Aiden said with a confident grin.
"I mean it. I've seen what a Thoracian wraith can do..." Images of my mother flashed through my mind along with the Thoracian commander who had taken her life.
With a softened tone, Aiden wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close.
"I know, Ev. I promise we'll be careful. Strike from a distance." His grin wasn't nearly as reassuring as he'd intended it to be and only made my stomach twist into knots.
Liam folded up the map and stuck it in the front of his coat as he cautiously looked around for my father. "Tell Malcolm we're tracking some elk and we'll be back in a day or two."
My head recoiled in confusion and disbelief at Liam's words.
"Now? You're leaving now?"
"The longer we wait the closer they move to the village. Only the God's know what brought them so close."
I exchanged a quick worried glance with my brother, sending up a silent prayer that I wasn't the reason for the sudden proximity to the immortal barbarians.
"We won't be gone long." Aiden reassured me, kissing the top of my head as he quickly grabbed his warm clothes and battle bag that was pre-packed and nestled beneath his bed.
Kisha walked in as Liam and Aiden were heading toward the door.
"Where are you two headed?"
"Elk. Liam's been tracking some elk." Aiden answered quickly.
Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Kisha sat down next to the fire with a book in hand.
"Always killing something." She muttered.
You have no idea how right you are, Kisha.
