Floodtide: Hall of Thorns, Book Four by Ash Fitzsimmons

Author:Ash Fitzsimmons [Fitzsimmons, Ash]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ash Fitzsimmons
Published: 2023-01-02T16:00:00+00:00

By eleven, I was long overdue for a break.

Squinting at the light outside my room and shuffling—I fully trusted neither my feet nor the floor—I made it to the kitchen and grabbed a Coke. The evidence of Yven’s shopping covered the counter and filled the fridge, and when I opened the cabinets, I found them stocked with bags of rice and pasta, dried goods that would easily last for the duration of our stay. After leaning on the counter for a moment and letting the sugar hit my bloodstream, I felt sufficiently recovered to step into the den and be social.

But the house was too quiet, and the only person I found was Mafora, who’d curled up in an oversized chair near the fireplace and regarded me with wet, red eyes as I emerged. “Uh…hi,” I said, glancing around the cottage for less hostile signs of life. “Where are the guys?”

“Gone,” she said. “Deono wanted to see the area by day in case we need to flee, and what’s-his-name took him for a drive.”

“Yven.” I settled onto the couch and looked out the window at the downpour. “You didn’t want to go with them?”

She sniffed and pulled her knees closer to her chest, and I suspected that she hadn’t been invited.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, kicking myself as the words came out.

“What isn’t?” She moped for a moment, but when the silence grew too uncomfortable between us, she mumbled, “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“Your elopement hideaway? Sorry, I don’t have a spare cabin on hand—”

“Deono had it worked out! He said no one would find us there, and I didn’t think Father would still be angry. He was supposed to be over it by now…”

My laughter cut her off. “Oh, trust me, he’s pissed. I’ve been watching him all morning.”

“How? He protects himself from farseers. Mother used to, but she says it’s just paranoia…though I suppose that’s been disproven,” she allowed, eyeing me.

“I have my ways,” I replied, disinclined to go into the details of farsight with my sullen great-aunt. “But yeah, he’s furious. Teolm let slip that I left yesterday, so now he’s worried that I’m going to find an authority figure and blab that he sneaked me over the border to begin with.”

“Does Teolm know—”

“About me? No, I’m just the random sorcerer Inade hired to do a family portrait. Speaking of which, he punched a hole through my painting when your mother wouldn’t tell him where you were.”

Mafora barely smiled. “She told me she’d keep my confidence—”

“Wouldn’t count on that. Someone at the Tribunal building mentioned to Inade that he’d seen you and a mystery man over there, so Inade’s figured out that you’ve eloped. Once he told Liventi, she admitted that your husband’s a ti’Gata.”

Wide-eyed with indignation, Mafora uncurled as if poised to leap from her chair. “Why would she…Mother promised—”

“I did mention the painting-punching, right? He threw a tantrum and intimidated her. Anyway, he’s put calls in for help to a few people. I don’t

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