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I moved my hands to her shoulders, angling her body so her eyes met mine.
“Your father loves you and wants you back at home. That’s why I’m here. I promised Halmir that I’d find you and send you back.”
She still hesitated, and I shook her lightly. “You have a healing seed, Miranda. I know it’s not activated yet, but you must be able to sense that I’m telling the truth. Your father is waiting in Tarin for you.”
Her eyes lit up, all her confusion falling away. “He is? And he sent you to bring me home?” She threw her arms around me again, nearly knocking me over.
“Well, well, well,” a silky voice said, as Grey strode toward us, the crowd parting before him. “This is an unexpected visit.”
“Is it?” I asked, putting my arm around Miranda’s shoulders and pulling her close to my side.
His smile widened. “Maybe not entirely.”
All the way here I had worried, but now that I was here, confidence settled over my shoulders like a cloak. I had forgotten that the healing power worked both ways. I could sense sincerity or deception on Grey as easily as he could on me. I had felt the lie behind his opening words, and it lent credibility to Nik’s certainty. Grey wasn’t surprised by my arrival. He had been hoping I would come.
“We’ve never had a recruit travel so far on their own,” he said lightly, his eyes dwelling on me.
My arm tightened around Miranda, drawing his eyes to her, and for the first time I saw a hint of displeasure creep onto his face.
“I’m not a recruit,” I said, not wanting to overplay the situation. “But I’m willing to stay on one condition.”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “And what is that?”
“You let Miranda go free.”
“Let her go?” He spread his arms wide. “No one is held here against their will.”
A murmur of agreement ran through the crowd. I frowned as I examined his face. His words felt like the truth, but I couldn’t shake an air of deception that I sensed hanging around him like a shroud.
“Is that true, Miranda?” I asked, turning to the younger girl for confirmation.
“There didn’t seem any point leaving when I had nowhere to go.” Her eyes shone as she looked up at me. “But now that I know Father is waiting for me, of course I want to go home with you.”
“With me,” I repeated the words softly.
It had never occurred to me that Grey might let me collect Miranda and walk straight out again. If he really did intend to let her go, should I accept? Miranda was my personal focus for this mission, but I still wanted to help the rest of the kingdom if I could. But if he was going to let us both go, what reason could I give for staying? I had already said I wasn’t here to join him.
I looked straight at him, taking a gamble.
“Excellent. In that case we can leave immediately.”
Grey tensed slightly at the words, his movement reassuring me. He spread his arms wide, however, keeping a friendly expression on his face.
“Come, come, there’s no need to hurry away. You must have had a long journey here, and you’ll be needing more supplies, surely?”
I hiked my pack higher on my shoulder, pretending to feel its light weight, as I acted out the process of wavering.
“You’d just give us supplies freely?” I asked.
“Well, everything in life is a negotiation, isn’t it?” He grinned. “But I think you’ll find I can be reasonable.”
My hand moved to my middle, pressing against the place he had plunged his dagger. It was an intentional movement, but I hoped he would take it as an instinctive response.
“Ah yes, you must accept my most sincere apologies for that,” he said. “I was under attack and acting out of a most foolish anger. I can assure you that I’m not usually so impulsive.”
I raised an eyebrow, but I couldn’t deny the challenge in his eyes. They were calling on me to acknowledge the truth of his words, and this time I could sense nothing but sincerity from him. He truly did regret stabbing me.
I remembered my words to Nik at the time. Grey had always known I could heal myself—it had been a petty moment of revenge. Now he was claiming the impulsive moment was uncharacteristic, and I could well believe he usually behaved in a much more calculated manner.
