He nodded and retreated back the way they had come.
The cave echoed with emptiness. The battle to see Navar deposed took so many lives. As Kera made her way to Signe’s small niche, she could sense the deep mourning of those who remained.
At an arched doorway painted a cheerful lilac, Kera swept back the heavy partition and ducked in, literally dragging Reece with her. Signe jumped up from her sewing, her only means of survival in a place no person would willingly live. Her lion’s mane of red hair framed her surprised face. “Kera. Where have you been?”
Not waiting for permission, Kera unloaded Reece onto Signe’s bed and stepped back, rolling the tension out of her shoulders.
Signe’s gaze went from Kera to the man now sprawled on her bed, and she pulled her friend closer to the partition separating her quarters from the rest of the cave’s inhabitants. “Who is that?”
“Reece. A friend of Lani’s from the human realm. He’s been attacked by millispits. I did what I could, but he needs more.”
Signe reared back, and though she fought it, she ended up peeking over at Reece. “Why bring him to me?”
“You’ve dealt with his type of injury. Besides, he is the reason Lani was out there that night. He meant something to her. I figured—”
“She was meeting him?” Anger edged her words and hardened her delicate face.
“He didn’t actually say, but look at him.”
Though at present he wasn’t at his best, Kera could see why Lani had risked so much to see him. He was pleasant-natured and handsome enough and strong to a stubborn degree. He shouldn’t be alive, yet here he was. It wasn’t so far-fetched to believe he might have offered a way out of Teag for Lani. A better life, one free of fear.
“There is nothing for him here.” Signe crossed her arms over her chest and said loud enough for Reece to hear, “I cannot help him.”
Reece struggled to sit, a pathetic show at best. “I’m not so bad off. You can take me home.”
Kera frowned and pointed at him. “Stay put.”
She pulled Signe back into the passageway. The strangeness of her clothes and the squeak of her rubber- soled running shoes drew strange looks from the people hovering near Signe’s small niche. They’d seen Kera moving through the narrow passages with a stranger who could barely walk, and though bitterness tinged the haggard planes of their faces, their curiosity pulled them closer.
Kera ignored them all, her focus on Signe and the shock of her words. “What do you mean you cannot help him? Do you know what I went through to get him this far?”
“Who did you bring?” a man asked.
The distrust in his voice confirmed what Halim had told her. She had only known love and adoration from these people, but by the way they glared at her, they were far from adoring.
A woman clutched Kera’s arm, drawing her attention. The sunken eyes hiding in her face reflected the fear and uncertainty that had permeated their lives since Navar’s death. “You promised to save us, but it’s worse than before. Now what do we do?”
Kera glanced from one misery-filled face to the next. “I—”
“Go about your business.” Signe swept her arm out and pushed the woman away. “All of you, go. This has nothing to do with you.”
“What is going on here?”
Signe pulled Kera through the crowd, an unyielding edge sharpened her jawline. “I won’t help him because he is the reason for Lani’s death. How could you save him?”
Kera followed, confused by the change in her friend. “Place the blame where it rightfully goes. Navar was the reason for Lani’s death.”
“Navar was the hand that dealt the blow, but she wouldn’t have been out there if it were not for…” she nodded back toward the cubby she called home, “…
“His name is Ree—”
“I have no need to know his name.” Her lips twisted with hate.
Kera refused to believe Navar’s actions had changed Signe’s sweet, gentle nature. Her friend was mourning and she had chosen Reece to pour her misery onto.
“Don’t do this,” Kera said, but Signe refused to acknowledge her. Kera wouldn’t let her friend off so easily. She spun in front of her, stopping their impromptu stroll. “You know he’s not to blame.”
“It is pointless to help him. He is cursed.”
“How do you know that?”
Signe pushed away, refusing to make eye contact, and Kera groaned. “You cursed him?” How had Signe found the means to buy a curse?
“I cursed everyone who had anything to do with Lani’s death.”
“Then you cursed me.” The rash action of her friend was completely out of character.
“No.” Signe’s red hair bounced against her freckled cheeks as she shook her head.
“Yes,” Kera insisted. “I was there and did nothing.”
Signe shook her head harder. “You could never have stood up against Navar. Not then.”
“And neither could the man lying helplessly in your bed foresee the future, yet you are willing to punish him.”
Signe frowned and bit her bottom lip.
“Reverse the curse. If not for him, then for me,” Kera begged, gripping Signe’s work-roughened hands.
Signe glanced down the passageway, her heart clearly at war with her head. After a moment, her grip tightened. “There isn’t a curse. Only the one I say every night before I sleep. And like me, it has no real power.”
Signe stepped free and wound her way through the underground marketplace. As Kera followed, the cold of the caves struck her. The deep recesses of the caves had always been lit by families; now there were more dark nooks than lit ones. She rubbed down the chill on her arms and wondered if living in such a stark, cold place had infected Signe’s heart. If so, why had she never seen it before? She refused to believe her friend had changed so much in such a short time. “Signe, stop. Stop!”
They came to a sudden halt in front of a stall that sold a variety of tinctures and rubs. “Has your kindness all but evaporated?”
“You ask much of me,” Signe said.
“He doesn’t deserve to die. Nor to suffer. Not like this.” The perpetual frown that marred Signe’s forehead deepened. Kera leaned forward, placing a hand on her friend’s arm. “Are you safe? I heard talk of a war, but there is none that I could see.”
“Rumors, mostly. When Navar was killed, so was the protective spell that kept the Lost King’s disappearance a secret from the nations surrounding Teag. We suddenly became ripe for invasion.”
The council had ruled for years, and even though Kera’s father had been one of them, he never approved of the cloaking spell, believing a strong defense lay in seeking another ruler and forming lasting treaties. Her father had actually been pleased when Navar stepped forward. He had trusted the warlord. How wrong he had been. Yet her father was a good man.
“Does my father still bring you what you need?”
Signe’s nod was slight, and the crease between her eyebrows eased a bit. “If not for him, I fear what would have happened to us. But he is not you.”
“My father can do more for you than I can, and we both know it. I’ll be back once Reece is fully recovered and take him home.”
“What do you mean?” Her friend’s body grew rigid. “You’re leaving?”
Kera pulled away. “I have to.”
“Stay.” The desperate plea in Signe’s voice wasn’t hard to miss.
“I can’t. What Lani did, it’s causing the barrier to disintegrate in far too many places. Real monsters have entered the human realm. I have to do something before they cause any more damage. And God knows what else has crossed—”
