Chapter 14
Bree took a deep breath and walked down the hallway towards the common room. She had woken late this morning to find herself alone in the bed. Her palms were sweaty and her stomach churned. James was not angry with her but she hadn’t seen anyone else in his family. What if they hated her? What if Avery hated her?
For one horrible moment she thought she might throw up. Losing Avery’s love would be as bad as if she lost Kaden’s. She realized that she had begun to think of Avery almost as her mother, and she cursed her stupidity.
She had nearly killed Avery’s child. The Red was kind, but her kindness would not extend to someone who had put her own child in danger. If she was lucky, the worse they would do is kick her out of their home. A snippet of her dream came back to her and she shuddered. James would not let them hurt her; she was almost positive of it.
Anticipating they would banish her from their home, she had slipped to the guest room and grabbed her bag. It was still packed with all of her things, and she hesitated before taking the sword as well. They might insist she leave the sword behind, it belonged to them after all, and she would not fight them on it but she sent a silent prayer to the gods that they would allow her to keep it.
She realized she had stopped walking and was standing trembling in the middle of the hallway. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and muttered softly to herself, “Courage Bree. Courage.”
“Bree?”
Her eyes popped open and she stared at Evan.
He smiled tentatively at her. “Hi.”
“Hi Evan.” She wanted to hug the young boy but crossed her arms nervously over her chest instead.
He stared at the bag and sword in her hand but didn’t comment on them. “Thank you for saving my life.” He said simply.
“Evan, I didn’t save your life. If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t have – “
He shook his head. “I decided to follow you Bree. It’s not your fault.”
Before she could protest again he stepped forward and gave her an awkward hug. “Thank you.”
“Oh Evan. I’m so glad you’re okay.” She hugged him fiercely and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed brightly and backed away, looking down at the floor.
“Dad is looking for you. He’s in the common room.”
“Aye. I will go see him now.” She smiled sweetly at him. “Take care of yourself Evan.”
He frowned. “I will. I’ll see you later okay?”
She smiled and squeezed his arm again before making her way to the common room. She dropped her bag on the floor and leaned her sword against the wall, before knocking on the closed door and entering the room. Tristan was standing next to the fireplace, and Sophia, Nicky and James were clustered together against the far wall. The only one missing was Avery and Bree’s heart dropped into her stomach.
“How do you feel Bree?” Tristan asked.
“Good.” She gave James a brief, nervous look. He was staring solemnly at her, and she could feel her legs beginning to shake. Even Nicky, usually so happy and quick to joke, had a serious look on his face and she gripped the back of the armchair in front of her for support.
“We need to talk about what happened.” Tristan folded his arms across his chest. “What you did was very dangerous Bree.”
“I know.” She made herself look him in the eye. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
The door opened behind her and Avery swept into the room. “Sorry, Leta needed me to – “
She stopped and stared first at Bree, and then at her husband and children. “Gods,” she grumbled, “are you trying to frighten her to death?”
She crossed to Bree and smiled kindly at her. “How are you feeling my sweet Bree? Did James heal you completely last night?”
When Bree only stared at her, her mouth trembling and tears shining in her eyes, Avery frowned at the others. “What did you say to her?”
She gathered the small blonde against her and stroked her back as Bree choked back a sob.
“Don’t cry my love.” Avery gave the others another disappointed look. “We agreed we would be gentle with her.”
“We’ve barely started.” Tristan gave the others a sheepish look. “I swear we haven’t – “
“Why don’t you hate me?” Bree whispered.
“Hate you? Why would I hate you?” Avery stared at her in confusion.
“Because I nearly killed Evan.” Bree said miserably.
“No, you tried to save him and I will always be grateful to you.” Avery said firmly. “Now, let’s have our talk in the kitchen. I imagine you haven’t eaten yet?”