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cot.
    Pril leapt forward to help him when a strong hand reached out, grabbing her shawl and pulling her close.
    “Remove these damn chains,” he said through clenched teeth.
    There was something in his eyes. A flash of agony, betrayal, hurt? She didn’t know, and when she looked again it was gone.
    “I…I cannot until you speak the truth.”
    He shook her violently. The walls vibrated, and she closed her eyes.
    A loud thud silenced the wagon and loosened the grip on her shawl.
    She opened her eyes and regarded Kade, unconscious and bleeding from a cut above his right eye.
    Galius leaned over them.
    “What have you done?”
    “What I always do.”
    “He wasn’t going to hurt me. He was confined to the cot.”
    Galius shrugged.
    “Out!” she shouted. “You have done enough. Now I need to mend another wound.”
    She waited until Galius left before blotting the cut above Kade’s eye. Why had he come? He didn’t believe in what she did, and she could see the lie in his eyes clear as the morning sun. He searched for something. She swept his blond hair from his forehead and stared at his handsome face. Dark brows framed even darker eyes. A somewhat crooked nose and square chin gave him a rugged appearance, but it was the clean-shaven cheeks that had her wondering where he’d come from.
    Most men in her clan kept a beard during the colder months, and only those of wealth shaved often. She spotted a ring on his right hand and lifted it to see the jewel better. Large hands with callused palms told her he worked hard wherever that may be. The gold ring housed a round emerald in the center, and she couldn’t help her gasp. It must’ve cost a fortune. She leaned closer. Who are you?
    She dabbed the wet cloth over the cut above his eye, cursing Galius and his hot temper. She sunk her finger into the jar of wax and slathered the slash. The brow had begun to swell, and a light shade of purple colored the skin.
    Mr. Walker wasn’t telling them the truth. He wasn’t here to harm them, but possibly another. Tsura. Her child needed protection from the world outside of their clan, and she couldn’t do that. Galius had tried, but Milosh disagreed on every matter concerning the child. He’d been held against a stone wall far too long. Now things had become worse. Milosh’s child was gone, and he blamed hers.
    She’d have to face her brother sooner or later, and the thought frightened her to no end. She’d not allow herself any comfort. Her niece died because of her hand—because of her selfishness. She released the tears waiting on the edge of her lashes. How could she have not protected them all? What good was the magick she held if she couldn’t help those in need—her own family?
    She knew the spells by heart, she’d said them often enough, but she didn’t know how to save her only child. She wasn’t strong enough. When she was younger their mother concentrated on Vadoma’s gifts. She was the Chuvani, the one with the most power out of the two sisters. Pril was self-taught. She felt the light in her, the heat as it moved from her soul to her fingers, and spoke the words. She’d made mistakes, but Vadoma had tried to help her when she wasn’t busy studying her own magick.
    After their mother died, Pril leaned on her sister for comfort but was met with a resistance she’d never felt before. Vadoma had placed beams around her heart, and no one could get close.

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    The fire rose high, reflecting off of the concerned faces of the Peddlers gathered around. Pril held Tsura upon her lap while waiting for the clan’s counsel to begin. She didn’t want to be here, but like all the times before, Galius insisted. She searched the familiar faces for Milosh and Magda. She exhaled when she saw no sign of them.
    She should feel more relieved than she did, but instead her chest was heavy, and her hands fidgeted. She yearned for a word, an embrace, or even a smile from her sister in-law. They’d been close, and