Page 75 of Ravenrose

Watching me.

The instant our eyes meet, hers narrow. And then she turns away, quite deliberately, shifting until her back faces me, her attention fixed upon the open field and the woods beyond.

A coincidence, I tell myself. It has to be.

Milk, honey, and milk thistle root. I shake my head sharply for even considering the possibility.

Another beat passes and I remain where I am, studying her tense shoulders as I try to make sense of everything rattling around inside my head.

The voices of my men drift across the village, pulling me back to reality.

Whatever happened to that child, I can figure it out later.

For now, I need someone to fetch more goat’s milk for the baby’s tonic.

Chapter 35

ROWAN

Ayer disappeared inside Nadia’s cabin nearly ten minutes ago. I sit very still. Watching… waiting… needing to know.

A few more agonizingly long minutes pass before Ayer finally steps back outside.

The expression on his face is hard to read, but if I had to wager a guess, I’d say he looks stunned. He hesitates just outside the cabin, then his eyes find mine.

I can’t help but glare back at him before turning, giving him my back.

Asshole.

When I feel his gaze slip off me, I peek back over my shoulder.

Ayer takes a step, flagging down Wyatt, who’s just passing by Nadia’s cottage on his way to tend to his horse.

“More milk is needed for the tonic,” I hear Ayer say in a low voice, careful to keep the conversation just between the two of them—and me, of course.

“More milk?” Wyatt asks incredulously, looking in surprise over Ayer’s shoulder at the little cottage. “You mean the baby, she’s not⁠—?”

Ayer just shakes his head, and the surprise on Wyatt’s face sends a shock of relief through my body, and suddenly, I can breathe again.

It worked.

The warmth that flickers in my chest at the news chases away the bone-aching chill that’s settled within me from the night out in the rain. My head swims and my throat burns a little hotter just then, as if to remind me: of course it worked.

I wasn’t certain if it would. I didn’t know if the rune’s magic would prevent mine from healing someone, but I think I’ve worked out how the rune only creates a barrier. Its magic only keeps mine in. But healing… healing isn’t an outward projection of magic, but rather a pull into myself.

A small smile tugs at my lips.

It worked. I did it! I actually did it.

Ayer’s eyes slide back to mine, and I straighten my shoulders from where I sit on the ground and slowly lift my chin to take on his gaze.

He just stares at me. His face unreadable.

Good, let him wonder. Let him question it. I took a risk healing Josi, which is why I tried to cover my tracks with the tonic. Ayer put that rune on me. He thinks it impenetrable. I’m near certain he’ll underestimate my ability to work my way around it.

I can almost hear the questions circling in his head. The tonic couldn’t possibly? Did she do something? Was it just a coincidence?

I hold his gaze for another long moment before I give him a look conveying only boredom, before turning back to the woods again.