Page 80 of These Immortal Truths
Eira scoffs. “And leave me here, alone, with mouths to feed and no way to provide for them.”
“I could travel back and forth.”
“You’re immortal, not a master over time.” She takes a generous scoop of tea leaves and deposits it unceremoniously in the strainer before filling the teapot with boiling water. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with the same amount of time in the day as the rest of us.”
She stares at the teapot, tracing the patterns of dragons imprinted on the china. Ching Shih had one similar. Anna thinks of all she was able to accomplish with the power of a fleet behind her. The answer is as simple as it is difficult. “We need help.”
“Oh? Well, by all means, call in your cavalry. I certainly don’t have one.”
No, Anna doesn’t have an army, but she thinks of the dark eyes and warm smiles that made her days in the swamps of Louisiana just a little bit brighter. “Silas would help.”
Eira sends her a baffled look. “Who?”
Of course—that wasn’t his name. Not truly. “Khiran called him The Shepard.”
The older woman stills, considering her carefully. For a moment, Anna thinks she’ll agree, but she waves the thought away at the last moment. “No, no. There are no loyalties between us—I know himonly by title and not by name. There is no guarantee we can trust him.”
Anna frowns, her brows rising skeptically. “With the children?”
“Withyou.”
Anna remembers the stiffness in Khiran’s shoulders when he first saw Silas in the doorway—remembers Silas’ words to her,It’s you, Miss. You’re the secret.
She hadn’t understood the depths of his meaning, then. She still doesn’t—not truly—but knows that whoever it is that Khiran fears finding her would have done so decades ago if Silas hadn’t kept his word.
“He already knows about me. We can trust him.”
Eira’s lips purse, thoughtful. “You know him?”
“I’ve worked with him,” Anna answers, hope as bright as the embers burning in the fireplace. She knows this will work—canfeelit. “I consider him a friend.”
Gnarled fingers drum against an empty teacup, once, twice, before Eira pours the tea. The steam curls over the rim, the scent of jasmine softly filling the room. “Don’t get your hopes too high, Child. I have no means of finding him.”
Anna’s smile stutters. “But, you found me.”
A small scoff. It sounds as old and ancient as she is, like the rustle of old books no one’s taken time to care for. “I could find you anywhere, you silly girl. You lived under this roof for years. This house is my heart.” She looks to the timbered ceiling, a glimmer of appreciation in her gaze. “And it recognizes you as easily as I do.”
Throat tight, Anna ducks her head. There’s a warmth in her chest, kindled by Eira’s words, but the disappointment douses it before it can spread.
Eira sighs. “You know, there’s one person among us that has gained quite the reputation for avoiding the others. I suspect he’d be just as skilled at finding one of them, were you to ask.”
Anna looks up, catches the pointed hint in Eira’s raised brows, and scowls in understanding.
The same person she needs is the last one she wants to see.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
He can feel her call—feel the nerves buzzing under her skin like a hive in the heat. The relief he feels is physical, but it only takes her a handful of words for it to twist into heartbreak.
THEMEADOW
SUMMER1921
That night she stares unseeingly into the darkness, twisting the ring on her finger until the first morning light teases the horizon. Decision made, she rises from her bed, steps around the sleeping bodies sprawled across the floor, and walks into the meadow. Feet bare, the dry summer grass whispers against her ankles and tickles her calves.
She doesn’t know what she’s doing.
In all the centuries they’ve shared, she has never once called on him—never stopped long enough to wonder if shecould. Khiran’s ring is cool on her finger, the fine etchings just catching the early light.
