Ember nodded; her heart had climbed into her throat, making it impossible to speak.
She was vaguely aware of Gordon perched beside her, watching with fascination as she pulled the clay jar from the bag, opened it, and scooped out a mixture that looked like yellow clay but made her fingertips tingle.
“Do it now.” Barrow removed the tattered cloth and bright red blood seeped down his skin. He drew a sharp breath when she began to spread the salve over the gashes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Don’t be. It has to penetrate the wound, so you mustn’t worry about hurting me.” He was propped on his elbows, watching as she scooped more salve from the jar.
Her fingers moved over his abdomen, running across hard muscle between the claw marks. Her pulse jumped wildly each time she touched him, especially when her hand brushed over the depression close to his hip where his skin disappeared beneath the fabric of his trousers.
Suddenly his hand was over hers, pulling it away.
“That’s enough.” His voice was rough, and he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Thank you.”
He stood up and bound the wound with the remnants of his shirt and tabard.
Without looking at Ember, he said to Gordon, “And now it’s time to get you home.”
He wrapped the boy’s hand in the linen bandages once more.
“I have to take him to the village,” he said, finally returning her puzzled gaze. “Ride to Tearmunn and tell them to send a cleric to meet me. They’ll want to question him further.”
“I could ride with you,” she protested.
“The villagers can’t see you like this.” His eyes traveled over her garb. “It will raise suspicion.”
“But—” She gave Gordon a pointed glance.
“He won’t say anything,” Barrow assured her, taking Toshach’s reins from her hand. He lifted Gordon onto Toshach’s back and then swung into the saddle behind the boy. “I’ll speak to you again soon. Tomorrow we’ll begin your training in earnest.”
Without bidding her farewell, Barrow nudged Toshach into a trot.
As they rode away, she heard Gordon’s excited voice. “Can I be a knight too?”
Ember mounted Caber and turned the stallion toward Tearmunn, cursing Barrow’s orders under her breath. With bitterness lingering on her tongue, she glanced at the pile of seaweed and foam. A glint of silver caught her eye. Her dagger. She jumped down to retrieve the weapon.
Hadn’t she been quick in thought and deed, coming to Barrow’s aid when he needed her most? Ember thought as she cleaned the blade of debris. She couldn’t help but feel that he’d been eager to get away from her. That he’d been repulsed by her touch.
Ember sheathed her dagger, mounted, and put her heels to Caber’s sides. As the horse leapt into a gallop, she swore she would yet prove her worthiness not just to Barrow but to all of Conatus.
ELEVEN
DUSK CHASED THE TWO riders as they rode through the gates of Tearmunn. Eira rested her fingertips against the window, watching as the horses passed beneath her.
“We made the right decision,” she murmured. “We should never bend to the will of the nobles.”
Cian crossed the room and peered over her sister’s shoulder. “Is that Barrow?”
“And one of the clerics,” Eira said. “Barrow took Lady Morrow out riding today. And word came from the village that they saved a child from a water horse. A cleric went to interrogate the boy after Ember returned to the keep.”
“A kelpie in Loch Duich?” Cian frowned. “That’s troubling. And must have been quite the surprise for Ember on her first day out.”
“She looks no worse for it.” Eira smiled. “I spoke with her in the barracks this afternoon. I daresay she seems happier. The girl holds much promise.”
“That’s not surprising. How happy were we after our first fight? I remember thinking I was like a daughter of the Morrigan. Immortal and invincible.” Cian turned away, moving to a table covered in scrolls. “Have you looked through these?”
Eira didn’t take her eyes off the courtyard. “Yes.”
“What do you make of the reports?” Cian looked at her sister, but Eira continued to gaze out the window. “Eira?”
“It’s as we suspected,” Eira said. “Something is amiss in our realm. Reports from the German principalities are particularly disturbing. Why the sudden rise in incidents?”
Cian picked up a scroll, carefully unrolling it. “We should send an advance patrol to the Black Forest. Perhaps they’ll uncover some answers.”
Eira was smiling when she faced her sister. “Make sure she goes with them.”
“The lady Morrow?” Cian frowned. “She hasn’t even received her weapon yet. We can’t send her into the field.”
“She must go,” Eira told her.
“Why?” Cian asked.
Eira crossed the space between them, taking her sister’s hands. “That girl is the key to our future. If she has the skill I believe she does, she’ll preserve our legacy among the Guard. If we don’t ensure it, the abbot will do his best to keep women from serving as knights.”
Cian sighed. “But she could fail . . . or worse. We don’t know what’s causing these disturbances. We can’t send her blind against her foes.”
“You saw how quickly she dealt with the revenant,” Eira said. “Bearing no training, she excelled in the trial. She possesses strength of body and spirit and a quick mind. The sooner we put her in the field, the better.”
Before Cian could protest further, Eira raised her hand.
“I’ll speak to Lukasz tonight,” Eira told Cian. “If he disagrees with me, I’ll let it go.”
Cian gritted her teeth but forced herself to nod. Lukasz respected Eira—she’d been the one to bring him from the eastern kingdoms to join their ranks at Tearmunn. No matter what his doubts, he would defer to Eira’s preference.
“I won’t be at dinner,” Eira said. “I want to scout the villages of the glen until dawn. If this darkness is indeed stirring locally, it will only show itself at night.”
Cian gripped Eira’s hands tight. “Alone? Again?”
“If the darkness is spreading in the east, it will soon reach our shores,” Eira said. “I won’t be caught unawares. At the first sign that a new evil festers here, we must move against it.”