Bonemender's Oath by Holly Bennett Read Free Book Online Page A

friend.
    Gabrielle was fighting tears now. Féolan liked and cared for the quiet young man, but Gabrielle, he saw, had come to love him.
    “We have to go after him,” she said. “He can’t just run off like this!”
    Féolan was doubtful. He draped a comforting arm around Gabrielle’s shoulders and tried to gather his thoughts. He understood the desire to follow Derkh, and since he had a good idea where the trail headed, there was a decent chance he could find it. But would Derkh thank them for it?
    “Gabrielle,” he offered. “Let’s think a moment. If you meant what you said when you offered Derkh a home in Verdeau, then he is as free as anyone to go where he wishes, is that not so?”
    “Yes, bu—,” Gabrielle began, but he held up a finger to forestall her.
    “And if he wishes to leave without long explanations and goodbyes, much as we might wish it otherwise, is it not his right to choose?”
    “Yes, I suppose—but Féolan, why would he want to?”
    He could no longer hide his dismay. “I think he has decided to go back to
Gref Oris
. That’s why he left from here—less country to travel on his own. And if I had to guess, I’d say he felt he could never explain to you why he was going, or maybe he was afraid of losing his resolve. So he slipped away late last night, while we were distracted by your party.”
    “But why?” she blurted out. “If that place is as bad as you described, why would he go back?” He felt her unspoken question as a wave of hurt:
Could it have been so bad in my own home?
    “I don’t know, Gabrielle,” Féolan said softly. “Derkh’s old life was very...defined. Maybe he didn’t know how to make a new start.”
    Gabrielle pressed her hands to her eyes and took a deep slow breath, and Féolan felt her clamoring emotions become quieter. She stood that way for some time. “I don’t mean to stop him,” she said finally. “But I do want to say good-bye, if he’s really bent on leaving. And does he even know where he’s going? We could ride him to the border,” she suggested.
    “That’s what worries me,” confessed Féolan. “I expect he’s a competent navigator in his own country. But he doesn’t know the deep forest, and if he’s making north for the mountains he’s going through miles of wild terrain.”
    “You think he’s in danger?” she asked.
    “This land is dangerous for any but experienced woodsmen,” he replied. “And what I saw of
Gref Oris
is mostly open plain. Yes, I think he could easily get himself lost, and I doubt he has more than a few days’ worth of food. So I agree with you, after all. I’ll have to go after him.”
    “We,” she corrected.
    “Gabrielle, I’ll move faster without you. I really think—”
    “We.”
    He took in the squared shoulders, the lifted chin, and sighed.
    “Pack a blanket, a change of clothes, and wear good boots. Meet me at the kitchens. I’ll have packs for both of us.”
    Her grateful smile lit up the barn.
    “I won’t hold you back.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    D OMINIC leaned against the fence, his hands steadying Matthieu where he balanced on the top rail. Inside the ring, perched on her fat pinto pony, Madeleine tried to follow the riding master’s instructions:
    “Heels down, Mademoiselle! Always your heels down. Now, pretend you have no reins. Can you turn the horse toward me without them? Use your legs and knees to tell him where to go...”
    Though Madeleine squeezed and nudged mightily with her thin legs, the pony walked stolidly on, straight ahead. Madeleine squealed in frustration, and Dominic hid his smile behind Matthieu’s back.
    “Dominic!”
    Tristan loped across the field to the ring. A piece of parchment flapped in his hand.
    “What is it, Tristan? You look... Have you had bad news?”
    Tristan nodded. “From Rosie. Dominic, would you read this? I need your advice.”
    “You want me to read your love letter?”
    “It’s not... Look, just read it, okay?”
    “Sure. Take