Thorns of Decision (Dusk Gate Chronicles) (22 page)

Her eyes widened at his question. “You’re never there in our summer, are you?”

“No, Quinn. I’m not even in your world for three-day weekends. In a lot of ways, you’re honestly already less of an outsider in my world than I am in yours.”

“Do you ever get used to it?”

He shook his head. “I haven’t. I don’t know if you will.”

“I don’t know, either.”

“Do you want to go home?”

“Um...” she bit her lip, thinking about it, suddenly remembering just how complicated everything was, that her mother wasn’t speaking to her, and that her situation was different than William’s. While he knew which world he truly belonged in, she was, literally, torn between the two. And she wasn’t ready to deal with
that
all alone the way she’d be forced to if she went home and was surrounded by people who weren’t even talking to her. “Not yet.”

“Okay,” he said, wrapping her in his arms again, her head settling back against his chest.

“How is Eldon?” she asked, changing the subject.

Pulling back from her just enough to make eye contact, he nodded. “He’s okay. The trip wasn’t quite as bad for him as I worried it would be – or at least he says it wasn’t. Some of those burns on his arms are still really painful, though, and there’s still a pretty big risk of him getting another infection. I know he’s happy to be back in one spot where he can relax.”

Another crash of thunder shook the house, and Quinn tightened her grip on the back of his shirt.

“I guess we’re all going to be stuck here in the clinic together tonight,” William said. “You okay to go back out there? We can play choice or something with Linnea – she’s going to come looking for us soon if we stay in here.”

“Yeah, I think I’m okay now,” she said. “You might want to change your shirt though, sorry.”

He met her gaze straight on, a serious kind of look in his eyes. “Hey,” he said, “don’t you be sorry for having feelings around me. You’re allowed, and I’m here, okay, sweetheart?” He ran the back of his fingers down her cheek, stopping when he reached her chin, lifting it up again, this time to bring her lips to his...

“So, Nay, you still think you’re missing out by not being along for all of the ‘Adventures of Will?”

Linnea rolled her eyes as she helped William lift the saddle up and over Skittles’ back. There had been so much rain over the past day and a half that even inside the stable the ground was damp, and the air was cool and wet.

“It isn’t as though I thought you were doing something exciting every minute, you know,” she replied. And it was true; the evening and full day they’d spent inside the Mistle Village clinic with the Jacob and Essie and the Hardridge family hadn’t been exciting at all. It had mostly been two days of being overly polite while being cooped up in a small space with too many people who were practically strangers.

He chuckled. “The exciting moments are usually – thankfully – pretty few and far between.”

“I
know
that,” she said. “You act like it’s the first time I’ve ever left the castle with you. I’m allowed to go on
small
trips like when you need my help with something.” As was almost always the case, she knew the main reason she’d been brought along on this trip was to help tend to the children. Not that she minded; she actually liked to feel as if she was useful and part of things.

“We’re all working here, Nay. These trips aren’t vacations.”

How did Quinn put up with him? She admired her brother, and all of the work he did, but did he have to take everything anybody said so seriously? “I know that too, Will. You’ll note that I didn’t pack my bathing suit. I know you’re off working and not just having fun somewhere when you’re away. I just ... actually like spending time with you. Sometimes it feels like you’re gone so much of the time that I barely get to know you, you know?”

His expression softened; he finished tightening the straps on his side and came to stand next to her. “I miss you all the time, too, Linnea. I’ve never liked having to leave you behind. Of course,” his tone turned teasing, “if you were always traveling with me, you wouldn’t have time to flirt with stable boys.”

Linnea’s eyes narrowed. “Funny, Will. And not fair. I don’t just play all day at home, either.”

That managed to get through to him. “Sorry, Nay. I know that. You do work hard – and you’re a lot of help on trips when you do come, too. I just meant that it’s awfully hard to have a normal life and meet people when you’re never home for it.”

“You seem to have managed it.”

The look in his eyes changed so quickly then that she suddenly wished she hadn’t said anything. “Yeah, Linnea, maybe you can run off and find some guy who’s from another world and whose situation is as complicated as Quinn’s – everyone should try it at least once.”

Her breath caught in her throat at the pain that hid behind her brother’s sarcastic comment. “Sorry, Will. I didn’t mean...”

“I know you didn’t.” He closed his eyes and pressed the tips of his fingers to his forehead.

“Hey,” she said, reaching up for his hand and pulling it back down so she could see his face. “I thought things were going well for you and Quinn.” A little thrill of fear clenched her stomach – she’d seen Quinn’s eyes looking puffy and red the other night. Had something happened and she’d missed it? After her conversation with Quinn the other day, she’d thought things were going really well…

William looked down at her, and she could see the swirling emotions in his eyes. “Things are fine between us, better than fine really, it’s just – there’s always this thing between us, in the back of my mind, probably even more so in hers – how long can this possibly last? What is the future in this? I can’t ask her to stay here with me. The other night she was so upset, missing her home. That little Arianna reminds her of her sister, Annie...”

If it had been Thomas telling her these things, Linnea would have told him he was thinking too far ahead, to give it some time, but it wasn’t her laid-back twin, it was William. And it was clear that this was really weighing on him. His feelings for Quinn must be even deeper than she’d imagined, and this
was
a difficult situation. So, instead, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as hard as she could. “Things will work out, Will,” she said softly in his ear.

“Do you really think so?” he asked when she finally pulled back. “Because sometimes I really worry that all I’m doing is dragging her into something that’s going to make everything more difficult for her later.”

“And harder for you.”

He was quiet for long enough after that to make her start to worry. Finally, though, his eyes met hers. “I’m already past that point, Nay.”

The deep emotion in her brother’s voice almost made her take a step back. Yes, his feelings were deeper than she’d guessed. She took a deep breath, stalling as she worked to come up with the right answer. “If that’s how you feel, Will, then the only thing you can do is what you already are. Be there for her. Let her figure this whole thing out and decide what she wants to do.”

“What if I’m pushing her into something that isn’t really what she wants?”

At this, she rolled her eyes. “William, it’s Quinn. Do you really think, even for a minute, that she would be here with you if it
wasn’t
what she really wanted? You can’t control everything, and you don’t have to. She’s with you because she wants to be – that much I know for sure. I know the whole thing is crazy and complicated, but I really do believe it will all work out. It’ll be awfully interesting to see how it does, though.”

She hadn’t realized just how much tension there had been in William’s posture until his shoulders drooped visibly at the release.

He nodded. “You’re right, Nay. I tell myself over and over again that I just need to let it go, and care about her while I have her here, and worry about the rest later. It’s just hard sometimes.”

“Well, I’m always here if you need reminding. I’ll smack you upside the head if you need me to.”

That actually got a grin out of him, and she didn’t manage to duck away before he’d completely ruined her braid ruffling his fingers through it, so she punched him lightly on the arm. “Love you, Will.”

“Love you too, Nay.”

*          *          *

Quinn had always thought that the landscape of Eirentheos was green, but today, after a solid day and a half of heavy rains, she was astounded by the lush, rich colors of the trees and vegetation.

The sun was back in full force today as they rode toward Mistle Village. They’d enjoyed the sunshine as they’d escorted Connie Hardridge and all of the children except Payla to a small farm about twenty minutes outside of the village. There was still a slightly cool, damp feeling to the air that made the temperature feel close to perfect.

It had been an enjoyable morning, meeting the older couple who were so willing to take in the Hardridges, and the children had loved running in a small meadow with two adorable black-and-white goats that’d been born only a few weeks before.

Now, as they were riding back, William wanted to search for some valoris plants; the Mistle Village clinic was running quite low on the powder they made from the crushed seeds that worked as a mild pain reliever and relaxant. Mild for most people, anyway. Quinn had learned on her first trip here that just a tiny amount of the powder would knock her unconscious. William had assured her that it would only affect her if she swallowed it, though – it was safe to pick and carry.

Quinn and Linnea followed as William led Skittles down through a heavily wooded patch that led to the river. “The plants grow best right along the river bank in shady areas,” he said, bringing Skittles to a stop and dismounting. “Look for pale orange flowers.”

A few minutes later, they were all down on the ground, combing through the thick plant growth along the river, searching for the valoris flowers. The rain seemed to have caused thousands of new plants to spring up overnight. Quinn had never been anywhere with so many different kinds of living things growing together in such a small space.

Almost none of the plants were familiar to her, which might have made her worry if she wasn’t intimately familiar with what William promised was the only actually poisonous plant in the kingdom. She did find herself being watchful for the bright purple blooms that would signal an encounter with shadeweed; even though she’d been told that none had been reported growing in the area.

She was investigating a hint of purple, actually, leaning far over the riverbank, when she spotted the ones they were looking for – pale orange flowers with a large, black center, the source of the valoris seeds.

“Will!” she called, pointing.

The flowers were a few inches out of her reach as she knelt along the riverbank. The section of the bank they were hunting along was elevated several feet from the river; the flowers were growing on a little shelf just past where her fingers would have been able to touch them.

William, who was quite a bit taller than either of the girls, lay down on his stomach near the edge, and stretched his hand down to the shelf, grinning triumphantly when he brought up a handful of the flowers. Linnea took them from him, and was tucking them into a small, leather pouch when he cried out, uttering a word that took Quinn by surprise.

“Will! What’s wrong?” In an instant, she was kneeling on the ground next to him.

“I think something just bit me!” he said, pulling his hand back up, wincing as he pushed himself back up into a sitting position.

Sure enough, there at the base of his right thumb were four small wounds, all of them starting to bleed.

“Crap! What did that?” Quinn peered over the edge, but she couldn’t see anything.