“Oh my gods. Nick,” the blonde exclaimed, lowering to her feet. “I’m so glad to see you. You have no idea.”
“It’s good to see you too, Helene. Where’s Kellan?”
Helene’s eyes darkened as her gaze skipped over Nick’s face, and her lips turned down in a sad expression. “He…didn’t make it.”
Cynna pushed her way to the edge of the crowd and watched the exchange. The blonde held her left arm at an odd angle against her body, the sleeve of her jacket missing, and looked up at Nick with both remorse and regret.
“When?” he asked in a low voice.
“During the raid. We lost fifty-eight before we were evacuated. It would have been more if not for the queen.”
Nick dropped his head, rubbed his temples with the thumb and forefinger of one hand, and looked down at his boots. And the hunch of his shoulders, the clench of his jaw told Cynna he was fighting that darkness again. Just as he’d been at the colony.
Cynna crossed quickly to stand at his side. The blonde—Helene—glanced at her with surprise and a hint of suspicion. “Hi. I’m Helene.”
“Cynna.”
“You’re…”
“A friend,” Cynna answered.
Nick didn’t look Cynna’s direction. “Helene helped me run the colony.”
So she’d worked with him. That explained the female’s excitement upon seeing Nick again. But Cynna could tell Helene was happy to see him for other, more personal reasons, as well.
“What about Mark?” Nick asked.
Helene’s blue eyes darkened once more, and she shook her head again.
Nick drew a deep breath, dropped his hand, then noticed the way Helene was holding herself. “What’s wrong with your arm?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Tell me what happened, Helene.”
She sighed. “It was chaos. There were young on the playground when the attack happened. I went out to bring them in. A daemon…”
Her voice trailed off, and Nick’s shoulders went rigid, his eyes as hard as Cynna had ever seen them.
“We all got away,” Helene said quickly. “None of the young were killed, but a few of us were injured.”
Nick’s fiery eyes shot to her arm, held close to her body. “Your arm isn’t—”
“No, no,” Helene cut in. “It’s not like my leg. Don’t worry, it’s still there. It just didn’t mend quite right, and Callia, the queen’s personal healer, had to operate to repair the damage.” She pulled her jacket back with her good arm so he could see the sling beneath and the sleeve she’d tucked inside so it didn’t flop around as she moved. “See? In a few weeks, I’ll be back to normal. This is just temporary.”
That little bit of good news didn’t seem to alleviate any of Nick’s anxiety. “Who’s running things here?”
“I am. Well, as much as I can. Delia is helping too, but we could really use you. The Argonauts are here now and then, and the queen herself as well. But this land, Nick… It’s not at all what I expected. Their Council of Elders—”
“Nick!”
A child’s voice rang out, and Nick turned to his left. A little girl, no more than seven, with dark, bouncing curls, wearing a thick coat and boots and carrying a doll in one hand, rushed toward him.
Nick dropped to his knees just as she reached him, opened his arms, and caught her in a hug. She threw both arms around his neck, her doll dangling from her fingers as she squeezed him tight. “Nick, Nick, oh, Nick. I knew you’d come back.” She looked up at Helene. “Didn’t Minnie and I tell you he’d come back?”
Helene laughed down at the small child. “You did, Marissa. I promise never to doubt you and your doll again.”
Marissa eased back and looked into Nick’s eyes, but she didn’t let go of his neck. And as she did, Cynna noticed that one whole side of her face was puckered and scarred as if from some kind of fire, making the hair on the right side of her head sparse, making her eye on that side droop just a touch. “I saw you. I told them all you were okay, but no one would listen.” Her gaze darted past Nick and settled on Cynna, and she grinned. “I saw you too. Hi, pretty lady.”
Whoever this girl was, she’d already been through hell and back, but she didn’t seem at all fazed by her scars, and since Nick wasn’t looking at them as if they were new, Cynna breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Hi, yourself.”
Marissa refocused on Nick. “I saw them. Minnie showed them to me. They’re going to come for you.” She leaned close to Nick’s ear as if whispering a secret. “Don’t let them.”
Nick stiffened and pushed Marissa back, focusing on her little face. “What else did Minnie see, Marissa?”
Cynna had no idea what was going on, and she glanced toward Helene for help.
“Marissa is a soothsayer,” Helene whispered. “A seer. The doll is her medium.” A frown pulled at her lips. “She shouldn’t be talking about this stuff right now, though.”
A chill spread down Cynna’s spine.