He paused in the doorway and looked back at her. ‘You want me to take you from your home—for the second time? Separate you from your family? From Ita?’

‘No—’

‘You want to live behind walls again?’

‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘But I want you to want that.’

He looked out the door. ‘I’m not him.’ Then he stepped through it, disappearing from sight.

Panic rose in her. She tried to stand, to go to the window, to lay eyes on him again. But suddenly the pain in her chest was everywhere at once. It was not heartbreak she was experiencing but a complete shattering of mind and body. She could not stand up, despite how badly she wanted to. She could not even call out to him. Her hands went over her face as a sob tore from her throat. She could not even cry properly. It was all silent heaving and rolling nausea.

Arms went around her, familiar and safe—but they did not belong to Blackmane.

‘I’m here,’ Ita whispered, holding her tightly. ‘I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.’

Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30

Blackmane could feel Tatum watching him as he mounted his horse. He was waiting for him to say something.

‘I guess we’ll talk about it later?’ Tatum said, riding up next to him.

Blackmane did not respond.

Glancing over his shoulder, Tatum asked, ‘She knows you’re leaving? Permanently?’

‘What happened to talking later?’ Blackmane was resisting the urge to look back at the house. He had heard the retched sob as he walked away, and he had kept walking.

‘Shame you didn’t get to say goodbye to Tolly.’

Blackmane blinked slowly. His brother was off protecting the borders, which was much more important. ‘There’s always next time.’

The pair fell silent.

Talgarth was swarming with injured and displaced people trying to find information about missing family members. They would have preferred to stay and help out for a few weeks, but orders were orders, and they had consequences of their own to face back home.

The return journey to Chadora took two days, and Blackmane barely spoke a word the entire time. Tatum managed to fill the long silences with long ramblings that Blackmane had learned to tune out. By the time they reached Chadora, he was exhausted and eager to be away from people for a while. But first they had to face the warden.

Shapur Wright rolled into the barracks like a dark storm, hands on his hips as he looked between them. ‘What the hell happened?’

As commander of their unit, it fell upon Tatum to answer. ‘I got everyone back here safely, and Hodge returned home alive, sir—as ordered.’