Yes.Nightshade was the only person to answer.You are finished. I, on the other hand, am just beginning.
His voice was the endless depth of a winter that could kill children like Kaylin in the streets of the fief just by existing. She felt it in her bones as her hand fell away from Nightshade. She opened her eyes.
Yvonne was leaning against the wall, her chin tucked toward her chest. Nightshade was standing, his greatsword in hand. Severn was gone; Annarion, Mandoran, and Terrano were elsewhere. She could hear the clash of swords and feel—much more strongly—the evidence of magic and spell; her arms ached, and the back of her neck felt as if it had been rubbed raw.
There was only one Yvonne in the room. This was Helen’s space.
“Did they tell you where they were going?” Kaylin asked, squinting at the ambient light as her eyes adjusted.
Yvonne shook her head. “I would have gone to check, but An’Tellarus madeveryclear that if I were that stupid, she’d just remove my head from my neck to spare me future pain.”
“You saw her?”
“I heard her. I’m surprised everyone didn’t.”
Everyone else heard her, Severn said, his internal voice almost as grim as Nightshade’s.
Well, she’s not going to cut my head off.
“No,” Nightshade said, glancing around the room as if heexpected invisible assassins to materialize from its walls. “She believes Yvonne is her responsibility. But Kaylin, you are not. You are mine.”
“It’s my house—”
“Yes. And it would not be under attack if you had managed to remove me to Castle Nightshade. You will remain here with Yvonne.”
Severn wasn’t as certain.We may need you, he said. She trusted his take on things but waited until Nightshade sprinted to—and through—the door. She approached the door once Nightshade left but felt Yvonne’s hand on her shoulder. She turned back.
“It isn’t safe,” Yvonne said, her voice soft and tremulous.
“I know—and I’m sorry for that. It makes me a terrible host.”
“You should remain here. Mrs. Erickson is in her room, as well. Helen told me.”
“What did Helen tell you?”
“There’s no shame in not being able to fight or to kill. Mrs. Erickson can’t, either. Helen said her first tenant could cook and clean and tidy. And grow flowers in the garden. But she couldn’t use magic. She couldn’t lift a weapon—not to useasa weapon. Helen loved her. The fact that she couldn’t fight and kill like most of the Barrani didn’t make her useless or worthless.”
“I can’t cook, I can barely clean, and my room is a mess,” Kaylin said, gently removing Yvonne’s hand from her shoulder. “But I can fight, and I can kill if it’s necessary. An’Tellarus and Helen are right—you should stay here. If the green has roots in Helen right now, it’s because of you.”
But Yvonne shook her head. “It’s because of Mrs. Erickson. I’m sensitive to the green; I feel its reach when I’m close. It’s strongest in her—andshe’sin her room.” Some hint of the girl Yvonne had once been showed in her eyes and her expression.
Kaylin wanted to ask questions, but that would have to wait. The hem of her dress was moving around her legs as if caught in a strong gale.
“Helen,” Kaylin said, raising and strengthening her voice. “Have the attackers actually entered the house?”
“Yes—but not all of them; the cohort is fighting on the path they created to enter.”
“How many of them are there?”
“In Teela’s opinion, there are at least two war bands.”
“Is Teela fighting on that path?”
“Yes—but An’Tellarus is fighting within my walls.”
Helen should have been able to crush those intruders. That she couldn’t or hadn’t was not a good sign.
“Lord Nightshade has joined that fight. He is here, as An’Tellarus is here. Fallessian has remained here as well.” Helen’s voice stopped.