Kiera Amell thought her life was set before her. A talented Spirit Healer, she assumed that she would spend her life in the Circle of Magi healing the sick and mentoring apprentinces. That is, until a blood mage betrayed her trust and left her to pa...
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Kiera cradled her stomach, worried. It wasn't like Garrett to disappear like this. She knew he'd been looking for work. But to wake up in the night to an empty bed... She prayed that his demons hadn't come to the surface. She knew how he still struggled with lyrium withdrawal and the temptations that went with it. He was resisting and she wasn't missing any of her potions. She was afraid that he was giving into the temptation. She felt the baby move as if she could feel her mother's worry. "Shh, little one," she whispered, rubbing her belly as if that would soothe her child. "Everything will be okay. Your father will be okay." She glanced out the window. "I hope he's okay."
~~~
"You look tired," Delilah said. "Did you sleep alright?"
"Not really. Did you see Garrett leave last night?"
"No. Why?"
"He was gone when the baby woke me last night."
Delilah had a concerned look on her face. She reached over and took Kiera's hand. "I've known Garrett since we were children. He's not the type to just abandon his responsibilities."
Kiera frowned.
"And I see the way he looks at you. He'd go through the Void and tear apart the Fade for you."
Kiera looked up at Delilah. She had no idea how ironic the words she chose were.
"In other words, he'll come back to you."
~~~
Garrett stumbled out of the seemingly abandoned house, bracing himself with his greatsword and clutching his left side, the white-haired Elf who had insisted on joining him in entering the smugglers' hideout, steadying him.
"Maker's breath," he muttered. He now understood Aidan's warning. There were a lot more smugglers than he'd expected. But he'd succeeded in ending their operations, with the Elf's help. "Kiera is going to kill me." He moved his hand away, the wetness from his blood reflecting in the moonlight.
"And she should," his companion, who had called himself Fenris, said. "That looks deep."
"It is. Damn it." He replaced his hand.
The dagger had found his ribs before he could block it and now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he was feeling the cut. He was glad that there had been no Mages. He didn't know if he would have been able to negate their magic without lyrium.
"Where did you learn that trick of yours? It came in handy," Garrett asked as he sheathed his sword, not realizing the pun until the Elf chuckled.
