“Your friend was nagging me about my terrible habits. She’s worried about my wounds. Obviously, she spends too much time thinking about my body,” Ulric says.
Ashavee scoffs and steps away from him, pointing in his direction. “I stopped by to bring a new salve and found him bleeding again.”
He dismissively flicks his wrist at her. “You’re overreacting.”
“Overreacting?” She grabs his arm and forces him to turn around. It’s not as bad as it has been in the prior days, but hehas stained his shirtagain. “You’re the most infuriating man I’ve ever met. You’re stubborn, egotistical, and impossible to talk to.”
“You aren’t a brilliant conversationalist yourself,m’ eudail,” he counters.
“Did you just call memedal? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Em. You. Dale,” I say. “It’s an endearment in the country lands of our kingdom. It comes from the old language.”
Ulric gives me a proud grin. “Aye. Good job, nanny goat. You’re a smart one for a city girl.”
“What does it mean?” Ashavee asks.
I open my mouth to answer, but he beats me to it. “Start being nice to me and I might tell ya.”
“Impossible,” she groans.
I walk into the room, disregarding their banter. “I have the start of a plan to get us out of here.” I turn to Ashavee. “If you don’t want to be implicated in this, it would be smart for you to leave.”
“No. I meant what I said. I want to help you,” she says without a hint of reservation.
I explain to them about the next shipment and my plan to sneak onto the new ship the Outlanders plan to dock. With the new members of the crew, there is no way they could know for sure that Ulric and I don’t belong. We would sail with them until they reached a port on the mainland. Hopefully, they will dock in any kingdom but this one. It might take some finagling, but we can find a way home from there.
“It’s a good plan, Elle. But you have one problem. The Outlanders are not allowed in the palace. Guards stand watch at the top and bottom of the lift. They will sense you right away,” Ashavee says.
Ulric runs his hand over his bald head and releases a puff of air that rattles his lips. “Not to mention that the two of us won’t stand a chance against the shifters on the ground.”
“Is there any way to disguise our scent?” I ask.
“In the country, hunters cover themselves in bear piss,” Ulric says.
I scrunch my nose and shake my head. “I like Ashavee, but she’s not urinating on me.”
“Do you have a better suggestion?”
“I might,” Ashavee says, lifting her finger and pacing the room. “Sometimes animal pelts make it to the storage room. We usually burn them and spread the ashes in the trees. You can use them to make disguises.”
“I can do that,” I say. I was never the best with needle and thread—my leg is proof of that—but I’d helped Salone make Ansley’s costumes for the fall festival every year. It had become a tradition for the Mansi sisters. How hard could it be to make a tail or ears?
“Well, that gets us out of this palace, but what happens when we hit the ground?” Ulric asks.
Ashavee pulls her braid over her shoulders and runs her fingers over the silky ebony strands. Her plump bottom lip slides from side to side as she gnaws on the inside of it. “We usually give weapons to the Outlanders, and they rarely make their way to me. But I might have a couple of daggers. Maybe it will be enough to defend yourselves.”
He locks eyes with me, and his expression grows grim. “I might be the bait after all, nanny goat.”
“Absolutely not!” To make sure I leave no room for argument, I add, “We leave together or not at all.”
It’s risky. The chances of Ulric and I making it to the ship undetected are slim. We’ll most likely be ripped to shreds in thetropical forest. But at least we can die knowing we tried instead of doing nothing.
“I’ll go with you.” Ashavee says. “I can protect you until you make it to the coast.”
My eyes grow wide, and fear has my heart beating at a rapid pace. “If Zek learns you helped us, you’ll be charged with treason. He won’t hesitate to kill you.”
“And if I don’t help you, thousands more of your people will die. I can’t live with that either.”
