Magician's Touch (Deadly Touch book 3) Chapter 24: 24: This Hate You Won't Let Go Of

Read chapter 24 of Magician's Touch (Deadly Touch book 3) by Deb E Howell on NovelPedia.

While Elka, Rowan, and a couple of the Turhmos soldiers keen to help in the kitchen and garden brought together a meal for them all, most of the rest of the group started digging a hole for the soldiers Llew had been unable to revive. Although unused to being surplus to need, Jonas didn’t mind this time, since every ounce of energy he used cost Llew in blood. While she gave it willingly, he’d assured her he was better than he was after all she had already given to the injured and dead soldiers. He thought it likely he could manage until their planned evening transfer. Still, his muscles fatigued. He went to sit on the edge of the porch. Anya was already there, with her knees up, her dress tucked down between them to preserve dignity, and her chin resting on her arms. Jonas had never seen Anya in such a pose. Llew did it all the time, her preference for trousers not a problem, while Anya followed the protocol for women she had been raised with; tidy dresses, upright posture, gentle tongue. She had also assured Llew she was fine, despite the haunted look in her eyes, and now sat watching her friend converse with the Ajnai trees. Jonas thought he might understand that look. She had just died and lived again thanks to Llew’s magic. It wasn’t something you went through and carried on with life as you had been. It wasn’t something you could talk through with Llew either, not while you sat in debt to her. She wouldn’t see it that way, but Jonas certainly lived with it. Llew placed a palm to a tree and stood a few moments in silence before moving to the next. Jonas accepted that the trees spoke to her, though he doubted he would ever fully comprehend it. They certainly didn’t talk to him, even the one planted over his children was silent to him. Something in the Aenuk-Ajnai bond. Something Quaver, under Aris’s urging, had tried to destroy. So many lives lost – Ajnai trees, Aenuks, and the countless people that could have been saved by such a pairing – all for Aris to preserve his own. And what had Aris done with that costly extended life? Retained control over a select few individuals with Syakaran power. To achieve what? To live and live and maybe one day regain his powers? And then what? Destroy all Aenuks and Ajnais simply so he could maintain his immortality? It seemed the old man had so feared his own death he’d rather have watched the rest of the world burn than face it. So, what had it all been for? Cowardice, as far as Jonas could tell. Cowardice and the lies formulated to protect it. Gaemil returned from helping to dig the mass grave, pausing to look on Anya with concern. After dealing with the ambitions of Aris and Braph, there was something refreshing in seeing smudges of dirt on the earl’s clothing and temple, and the dark lines of dirty fingernails. Jonas lifted his chin and gave Gaemil a reassuring wave. Gaemil gave a thin smile and took the steps up to the porch to wash his hands at the water basin. Anya remained fixated on Llew. Gaemil turned a worried look Jonas’s way once more and Jonas dismissed him with a casual smile. He reckoned he had this in hand, while Gaemil’s anxiety might clam Anya. Gaemil headed indoors and Jonas shifted closer to Anya, ready to be an understanding ear if she was ready. While she remained still, having not reacted to Gaemil’s arrival nor departure, Anya’s eyes shifted, noting Jonas’s attention before returning their focus to Llew. They glistened with tears sitting in her lower lashes. “Feels like we can never repay what she’s given, huh?” Jonas hazarded. Anya ignored him. After a time, she whispered, “It’s not that.” The first tear tracked down her cheek. She wiped it away with the inside of a wrist, sniffed, and returned her chin to her arms, still watching Llew. “I don’t know why I feel this way. I only know I’m not supposed to be here.” “Yes, you are,” Jonas said it without thinking. He didn’t need to. “I shouldn’t be, though. I don’t deserve it. I was so stupid. I know what she is, and