Page 99 of Harbinger

That sounds like my little brother.

I hesitate, but only for a second. “And Isidore? She didn’t try to stop you.”

“No.” His smile makes my heart ache. “I think she was glad to see me go.”

“I don’t believe that.” I won’t. “Did you tell her how you feel?”

“There was no point. She could barely look at me after that night.”

“But if you told her …” I have to believe it might make a difference, if only because I can’t stand the idea of anyone breaking his heart.

“You’re such a hopeless romantic,” he says, laughing when I splutter in protest.

I want to argue, but the words dry up. Instead, I reach out and squeeze his hand. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” He squeezes back. “And that’s why I’m not letting you rot in this place.”

I pull away and frown. “What are you talking about?”

He glances back at the house, dropping his voice to a whisper. “I didn’t come here to be a conscript. I only went to the Bellatorum to see if someone knew how I could find you. Enlisting was the only way inside Vennaro. I just couldn’t leave you behind. I need to get you away from all this.” His eyes brighten. “We can leave. Have that adventure we always talked about. Just the two of us.”

The adventure he always talked about. Is that why he’s here?

“I can’t. My family …” I shake my head.

But he keeps pushing. “Your family is safe with the troops there.”

“And if I disappear, Bishop will pull them out.” I can’t risk what might happen if he does. Bishop has more pressing needs than worrying about my family’s safety.

Kieren shakes his head. “They reopened the outpost near the eastern border. The one by the Cinderwald.”

I blink, trying to process this. The outpost near the ancient forest was abandoned long before I was born. Now we use its land for fields to grow corn, the soil still richer there from the ash that fell when Ravenell’s volcano erupted. “We need those fields.”

“Broderic only agreed after Bishop promised we could keep using them,” Kieren reassures me. “And he said the troops will help with the spring planting.”

A permanent outpost. I can’t decide if I’m relieved or horrified. Damalis is peaceful. Or it was until the murder last week. Maybe it’s for the best.

But there’s something that still doesn’t make sense. “When did Bishop arrange this?”

“During his visit last week,” Kieren says. “His inspection took forever. I thought the two of them were going to kill each other, but somehow, everyone survived.”

Bishop wasn’t in Wintour. He lied to me. Why not tell me he was going to my home region? Why say he was in the royal city the whole time?

Kieren studies me. “Do you trust him?”

I might have said yes before. Now? Why didn’t he tell me? “I want to.”

“That means you don’t,” he says, like he’s reading my mind. He still knows me better than anyone else.

I hesitate, trying to put words to the chaos in my head. “He isn’t …” I’m not sure what to say, because Bishop lied. Not just about going to Wintour. He told me Hadrian is his uncle—after not telling me about him at all. He’s researching forbidden books.

“He’s dangerous,” Kieren says in a low voice, glancing back at the house like Bishop might be able to hear us.

I know that. But he also drank two bottles of wine with me last night and admitted why his estate is run-down. Told me he doesn’t want to go to war. He might have rejected me, but he also opened up. A little. “He’s … complicated.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous.” His hands grip me more tightly, like he’s resisting the urge to shake some sense into me. “When news reached us about the murder, I thought he was going to burn the entire region down.”

Cold dashes through me. Bishop didn’t tell me any of this, even when I asked about his trip. “He was there after the murder?”