Page 39

Thicket’s brows creased.

Elian cleared his throat, making Thicket start. “Do you need help with that?” he asked, gesturing towards Marcellus’ bound feet.

Marcellus scowled. “Just because my magic is weak doesn’t mean I don’t know how to use it. Vynt.” The hardened dirt shattered outward as a burst of air erupted from around his feet. He stepped from the rubble with unmatched grace.

Elian raised his hands up. “I meant no offense. I was just trying to help.”

Marcellus crossed his arms. “Then why don’t you tell us what you’re doing here. She still has one day left to train.”

Elain looked as though he wanted to say something to ease the hostility in Marcellus’ gaze. He must have thought better of it because he said, “Caspian said he has important news and needs Thicket to return immediately.”

“What news?” Thicket asked, heart thudding. She should have had one day left. She wasn’t ready. She needed more time. If she faced Lavender now, she knew deep in her heart she wouldn’t win.

Elian shook his head. “Caspian wouldn’t tell me. All he said was that it was urgent.”

Thicket’s stomach was a sea of churning nerves, all the possibilities she had shut out while within the sanctuary of the farmhouse rushing back. Was the Council mad at her disappearance? Did they decide to turn her over after all?

“We had better get going then,” Marcellus said. “Pack your things, Princess. I’ll meet you outside when you are done.”

She nodded, but Marcellus had already turned his back on her and had marched up the porch and vanished inside. She sighed. She thought they had been making progress. That maybe just maybe he had been opening up to her. Whatever cracks she had carved from his walls, however, had been patched.

Elian tethered the horse’s reins onto the railing of the front porch. “How have you been?”

Thicket interlaced her fingers and stretched out her aching arms. “Tired, but good. Marcellus had me following a pretty brutal schedule, but as you saw, I think I am starting to improve.”

“You looked like you more than just improved!” He cast his gaze up at the farmhouse. “You’ve been staying here?”

Thicket nodded.

“It’s been nearly a century since I’ve stepped foot in this house, though it looks like it hasn’t changed at all.”

Elian had been a part of the group who escorted Thicket to Vindrya, she remembered. He had been there the day Marcellus’ family died. Had that perhaps added to Marcellus’ hostility?

“That’s because I spent the last four days cleaning it,” Thicket said. She shuddered, remembering all the bug carcasses. “But now it’s spotless. Come look!” She grabbed Elian’s hand and dragged him inside.

The farmhouse had finally started looking like an actual home again. The floors were scuffed and stained in places and the walls still had chunks of bare, peeling wallpaper. But everything from the living room to the kitchen was spotless. Thicket had even washed all of the linens, folding them neatly back in the closet, and set the furniture back out, after a thorough cleansing, of course. She had tried to get Marcellus to tell her how it had been arranged when he was a kid, but he had stubbornly refused.

He admired all of the spots she pointed out, smiling the entire time. Thicket brought him to the second floor. “And this was my room!” she said, swinging open the bedroom door. “The first night I slept here, there were bugs on the mattress. Bugs.” She turned to see his reaction but paused, noticing his smile had dimmed around the edges. “What’s wrong?”

Elian hesitated, jaw working as though debating how to word it—or whether he should say it at all. “I just… I just don’t understand why you left,” he said finally.

Thicket wrapped one of her curls around her finger, not able to fully meet his eyes. “I was… overwhelmed. I think it finally occurred to me how much responsibility I had and I didn’t feel ready for it.” She wrung her hands nervously. “So… I tried to get my Aneuma back.”

Shock rippled across his features. “You what?”

“Yeah… Let’s say it didn’t turn out very well. Marcellus found me and brought me here. I think he knew I needed to get away and take some space to digest everything. And to prepare.”

“Why didn’t you ask me to go with you? I was right there waiting for you. I could have gone.”

“I didn’t want to drag you into my mess. And, I wanted to do it alone. To prove to myself and to the Council that I was good enough.”

“But you weren’t alone.”

Thicket opened her mouth, trying to find the words to explain she hadn’t chosen Marcellus, he had just shown up. Before she could, a rumble shook the ground, making Thicket tumble into Elian. His back slammed against the wall but he wrapped protective arms around her, steadying her before she could fall.

Marcellus flew from his room. “Princess, are you okay?”

She nodded.