Free Rise of the Phoenix (Return To Avalore #2) by Elianne Adams Page B

duty and loyalty. Surely, he wouldn’t begrudge her those very traits. “When I left Avalore, I had nothing. I know you don’t trust the Erritrols, and I didn’t either at first, but they took me in and kept me safe when I had no one else.”
    “You could have had me,” he replied through clenched teeth.
    “How was I to know? You said you didn’t want to be joined. What was I supposed to do? Force you into being with someone you didn’t want? Make you stay in Avalore and be miserable, while others searched for Rhiannon?” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms again. “I should have listened to the Elders and waited until the queen had returned to ask for my mate, but I was desperate.” She regretted the words the moment they left her lips. Why in Goddess’s name did she tell him that? He didn’t need to know how low she had gotten and how close she’d come to succumbing to the darkness.
    “I shouldn’t have said the things I did. If I could take them back, I would. It wasn’t you that I didn’t want. How could it be? I didn’t know you.” Shaking his head again, he sighed. “We can’t change the past. Come, we can talk while I heal my leg.” He hobbled over to the bedroll, sat with his injured leg stretched out before him, waiting for her to join him.
    “I’d rather stand, if you don’t mind.” The nervous energy building inside her needed release. She would never be able to sit still, especially not with him so close.
    “Suit yourself.”
    Already, deep purple energy surrounded his hands. He made it look so effortless. Maybe she really should have paid more attention during healing lessons.
    “You were telling me about the Erritrols…”
    Did he even realize his entire body tensed every time he spoke of them? “The day I left Avalore, I didn’t know what I was doing or where I was going. I thought I’d be gone from this world before nightfall.” His gaze shot to her, but he didn’t interrupt. “Somehow, Goddess only knows how, I held on.” She didn’t want him knowing her moment of weakness, but he had to know the truth. “I’d travelled far and hadn’t paid attention to where I was going.”
    She hung her head, heat creeping up her cheeks. “That’s a lie. I knew the moment I crossed the dark border. I just didn’t care anymore.”
    She waited, expecting chastisement, but when Evan remained silent, she continued. “When I woke in the Dark Lands, I was afraid, so I hid. I was going to go back to Avalore, but then I heard a flock of Grondas devouring their prey, and I couldn’t make myself leave the cave I had slept in. Days later, Argram found me.”
    “Argram. That’s the one you rescued along with me?” He didn’t stop his energy infusion, or even look in her direction, but his shoulders stiffened, and if she wasn’t mistaken, he was holding his breath while awaiting her response.
    “Yes. We thought he had died during the battle. We didn’t expect to find him there with you. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him hanging there.”
    Evan’s gaze met hers for a second before dropping back to his leg. “Okay, go on.”
    “They took me in and fed me. They kept me safe. You don’t trust them, and I can’t blame you after all that’s happened, but I do.” She paced away from him, then turned and came closer again. “There’s so much more to the Erritrols than you can imagine. We know so little about them, yet we condemn them.” Raising her hand, she stopped his protest before he could utter it.
    “I can’t deny the evil plaguing their species, or that the acts committed against our people were not brutal and merciless, but not all Erritrols are evil. The new order is looking for change.” Taking a deep breath, she plowed forward, wringing her hands before her. “They need to break a curse.”
    Evan raised his eyebrows, but didn’t speak. It sounded crazy, but she had seen the difference her presence had on the beasts. Her pack was changing, and breaking