Page 76 of The Blade in the Ashes
It had taken both Kent and me working together in perfect tandem to defeat the three who had attacked us that night. I’d taken one look at him when the battle was done, while we were both sweating, panting messes, and knew we'd both come to the same realization: we needed help.
Antoni had been the first to volunteer to come with us. We’d met the blacksmith on the outskirts of the town of Eileen. Although he was a decade older than I, with gray streaks in his unevenly cut dark hair, his strength was pretty remarkable. His shoulders were broad, his arms thick from the work of forging weapons. Kent and I agreed that his powers as a Fire Elemental could definitely come in handy.
After Antoni, Patrek had joined our group. He was child-like compared to Antoni, thin and short, but he was an impressively powerful Detonator and I liked the idea of having someone nearby who could blow up our enemies.
Last was Michone, a young woman with hair that hung in beautifully elaborate braids down the expanse of her back. She’d been working in a tavern as a sort of enforcer for anyone who tried to cheat at the card games. I took one look at her brandishing those long swords she kept strapped across her back and took an instant liking to her. Then, I saw her use her abilities as a Healer to stitch up one of the fools who’d gotten bested in a bar fight and invited her to join us. A badass with a healing ability was an easy addition to their team.
The only thing I was missing now was a woman to curl against me at night.
Michone was easy enough on the eyes, but she scared me a little bit, truthfully. She had a quiet kind of intensity that left me on edge. Not that that mattered. If the heated looks she sent Kent across the fire at night were any indication, she had set her sights on my friend. I’d been plenty clear with him on multiple occasions that if he wanted to invite her to his tent, I had no problem playing nursemaid to the twins for the night.
He hadn’t taken me up on that offer yet, but I supposed it was just a matter of time.
“Are we close?” Kent asked, raising a hand to his brow as he squinted into the distance.
The day was thankfully a little warmer than the past few weeks. Spring was on its way slowly but surely.Still, I blew air into my palms to bring some feeling back to the tips of my fingers.
I looked ahead, struggling to remember the path I’d taken the last time I had traveled these roads.
“There.” I pointed to the small dirt path that breaks away to the right of the main road.
Kent nodded, pulling on his reins to direct his horse towards the path. It was still a long way to the house, but I could already see it in the distance. Gods, it felt like an eternity had passed since I'd dropped off Elaijah here.
After our mother died, I’d left Elaijah here under the care of our Uncle Clydric, not realizing the old man was going to kick the bucket too only a few months later. I started preparing to bring my brother to court shortly afterwards, only to start receiving several letters from him in which he insisted he was more than old enough to take care of the land by himself. It had made me nervous to leave him there, but I trusted him.
It seemed I'd made the right decision.
The property did look surprisingly well-maintained. I examined it all as we trotted forward, humming appreciatively. The fence holding the sheep in the pen looked like it had recently been rebuilt. The porch had been cleaned of all the old barrels and crates our Uncle had left discarded. It even looked like the front door had been painted a nice cherry color.
“Is that him?” Kent inclined his head to the left, and I jerked my attention to where he pointed, grinning wide when I spotted the nearby shepherd in the field.
My horse stomped its foot unhappily as I threw myself off him with very little warning, sprinting towards my brother with a boisterous roar.
Wild bleats sounded as the sheep hurried away when I lurched over the fence and tackled Elaijah, wrapping my younger brother in a sweeping hug that lifted the boy from his feet. Elaijah made a garbled sound of shock before gearing up and slamming his fist repeatedly into my gut.
There was a shocking amount of strength in the blow.
“Oof!” I doubled over, pressing a hand to my stomach as I struggled to catch my breath. “Who taught you to punch like that?”
Finding his footing, Elaijah stared down at me, eyes growing wide at first with confusion, then pure joy.
“You did, asshole!” He ripped me back towards him, and I accepted his crushing hug, holding him close before pulling back and looking him over.
“Damn.” I whistled appreciatively, lifting my brows as I noticed the swell of muscles lining his shoulders and arms. Muscles that had definitelynotbeen there the last time I’d seen him.
Not to mention he’d grown half a foot.
Fuck, was he taller than me?
Elaijah rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, a blush creeping into his cheeks.
How did this even happen? It hadn’t beenthatlong since I’d last seen him.
“Did you start lifting your sheep?” I wondered aloud, scratching at the back of my head.
He chuckled, gaze flickering to the beasts. “Well… yeah. Kind of, at least.”
His brow furrowed as his eyes shifted over my shoulder to the ragtag group of misfits waiting for us several yards back. His lips pinched in understanding and he released his breath in a rush, resting his hands on his hips.
