She does it on the first try, just like with flying. I shake my head.
“How did you do this? It’s perfect.”
She opens her eyes with a shrug, avoiding my gaze. “I suppose hiding myself comes easy. It’s letting myself be seen that’s hard.”
I wish you’d always let me see you.I don’t say it out loud. She’d hate it.
“Let’s fly around the island to see if you can hold it without issues, and then we’ll be ready to go. Switch back to your normal appearance. The fog hides us here, but we could be seen if Perun has spies watching the island.”
We fly together, and Jaga grows bolder with every swooping spiral and dive she tries out. I watch her, circling lazily, then challenge her to a race to the cliffs. She laughs with belly-deep enjoyment and whoops when it starts to drizzle. Her face and lips are wet with rain when she hovers in front of me with a smile so wide, it’s impossible not to return it.
“You love it,” I murmur, taking in her starry eyes and red cheeks. “You love flying.”
She nods, shaking with joy. “It makes me feel free like nothing else ever did. Thank you for teaching me.”
She pulls closer, her gaze dipping to my mouth, and I hold my breath. Jaga taps my shoulder and speeds away through the rain.
“First to Struzina!”
I shake off my disappointment and race after her, giving it my all. She wins by a hair’s breadth, and I congratulate her grudgingly.
“It’s time to go.”
We descend into the foggy shelter of Devil’s Cauldron and change our looks until Jaga is the most forgettable woman that ever lived, and I am a handsome devil in disguise. I check if all of her essence is hidden, then strengthen my own barriers.
“I’ll grab you if anything goes awry, so stay close,” I say, cupping her cheek. “Now… To the mortal world.”
I pull her into my arms. It’s not necessary, but I’ll take advantage of every excuse to hold my beloved. I let the world go out of focus and pull us toward the blander, less exciting reality that neighbors Slawa. Jaga gasps, clutching me tightly, and I pull us faster until we appear just outside a small village bordered by woods on two sides, where the first prayer I heard came from.
“Let’s go in and mingle, and I’ll do my miracle once I find the right house. Remember, no magic.”
“Wait.” Jaga grabs my sleeve. “We’ll look suspicious coming out of the woods with no bags. They’ll think we are bieses or witches. We need baggage so we can say we’re traveling.”
I nod and stop the time, filling the space around us with shadows. “We can do magic here. Make us some bags, woman. You’ll know what’s proper.”
“Woman.” She scoffs under her breath, spreading her hands over the ground.
A pile of baggage appears, two walking sticks and two large bags with pots and pans tied to the straps. I grab the bigger one and grunt. It’s heavy. Very realistic.
“I put everything there I would have taken with me if I had a chance to leave my village when you cursed me,” she says with a nasty gleam in her eye. “Put those muscles to use.”
It’s a cool but sunny day here, and people are out and about. A short man chops wood outside a large cottage, and he stops when he sees us.
“Good day! What brings you here?” he asks, wiping sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt.
“We’re traveling to see relatives,” I say with a grin, pulling Jaga closer. “We just got married, and they invited us to winter with them. This is my wife, Alina.”
Jaga stiffens with a subdued growl, though her face remains impassive. I want to put my arm around her, but the blasted bag is in the way. I settle for taking her hand.
“You’re going south, aren’t you? Good choice,” the man says with a nod. “Winters are milder there. Will you stay the night? We don’t have an inn, but old Kata lets rooms to travelers, she’ll have you.”
“We just might, because my husband gets so easily tired after only a few hours of walking,” Jaga says with a mean bite.
The man startles, giving her an odd look, and I suppress a snicker.
“You’ll ruin your disguise. You can’t speak like your usual fiery self while looking like a meek mouse of a woman. Now be a good wife and give me a doting look.”
“Be a good husband and drown yourself in a well.”
