The Wandering Tale of Grigori Verlaf

Chapter Eighteen: Broken

Chapter Eighteen: Broken

                I stood at the door to Rinny’s room, a place I had never been allowed to visit before, and reread the words on the paper in my hand, my heart twisting painfully in my chest with every word.

Dear Mama,

I am safe. I am not in danger. I leave of my own free will. Do not worry; do not look for me. I do not want to be found. I am happy now, happier than I have been in a long time. Please don’t try to take this from me. Please let me go. Don’t send Grigori to find me. It will only hurt him more, far more than necessary.

Love always,

Erinia

                Though I’d read the brief letter half a dozen times, it didn’t hurt any less this time. I tried to control the emotions that ran like fire through my veins.

                “You’ll go after her.”

                There was no question in Drolla’s tone.

                “Of course,” I said, opening my eyes to stare at the window where she’d stood so long ago, to see me off.

                “You should have a healer look at you first,” he said. “The iron poison will inhibit your magic.”

                I turned to look at him, a dead smile on my face, and I shook my head. The hum had already begun to build, the one that would lead me straight to Rinny.

                “I’ll be fine,” I said.

                Drolla studied me for a long moment, his eyes observing everything and revealing nothing. At last, he nodded, giving me his permission, and stepped aside.

                I let the letter fall from my hand, not caring when it landed on the floor, and I left the room, giving myself over to the hum in my chest.

                I would find her, and I would bring her back, or die trying.

                The hum in my chest had built to unbearable proportions over the two weeks I’d been tracking Rinny. I had hardly been able to make my stop for the few hours I struggled to sleep like I knew I needed to, and I only ate when I remembered to—which was rarer than one might expect.

                I found myself standing outside a small cottage, surrounded by trees, and the hum in my chest shuddered to a stop.

                “Who brought you here, Rinny?” I whispered aloud.

                I stared at the cottage, taking in every detail several times before I managed to summon the courage to knock on the door. My heart stopped when Shay Aspenia answered, a smile on his face that quickly vanished when he realized who I was.

                “Grigori Verlaf,” he said, his voice cold and uninviting. “What are you doing here?”

                I stepped up, ready to shove him out of my way and tear the building apart around him in search of Rinny when her soft voice reached my ears.

                “Let him in, Shay,” she said, and those three words told me more than I would ever have wanted to know. The way her tone softened when she said his name, the way he stepped aside as she commanded him to, the look he sent in the direction her voice had come from.