"They werenae to keep people out."
"Nay."Maia swallowed hard. "They were to keep me in. I tried to tell ye that when ye took me. Tried to tell ye that me uncle wouldnae care. But ye dinnae believe me."
She felthim tense behind her, his whole body going rigid.
"So ye see,"she continued, her voice taking on a manic edge she couldn't quite control, "this is the first time in a while I've seen the sky without iron bars between us. Since I've felt wind on me face properly and smelled heather and pine and grass and, oh look!"
A fox dartedacross the path ahead of them, its red coat vivid against the grey-green moorland. Maia leaned forward instinctively, watching it disappear into the undergrowth.
"Did ye see that?"She twisted to look up at him, forgetting for a moment that she was a captive. "A fox! I've only ever seen them in books, and the illustrations never do them justice. The way it moved, so quick and graceful, and the color! The artist always made them too orange, but that one was more copper, almost dark copper."
"Christ."The word was muttered under his breath, but Maia heard it anyway.
"What?"
"Nothin'."He urged the horse faster. "Just, keep talkin' if ye must. But try nae to lean so far forward. Ye're throwin' off me balance."
Maia settledback against his chest, a small smile tugging at her lips despite everything. Despite Mollie's death, despite being kidnapped, despite having no idea where she was going or what would happen to her.
She was outside.
She wasoutside,and the world was so much bigger and brighter and more alive than she'd remembered.
"There's another bird,"she said, pointing. "With the long tail. What's that one called?"
A long-suffering sigh. "Magpie."
"One for sorrow,"Maia murmured, remembering the old rhyme her mother used to recite. "Two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy. Do ye ken that one?"
"Aye."
"Me maither usedto sing it. She said if ye saw a single magpie, ye had to tip yer hat to it and say 'good mornin', Mr. Magpie' or ye'd have bad luck all day."
"That's superstitious nonsense."
"Maybe."Maia watched the magpie take flight, its black and white wings flashing in the air. "But she believed it. And I was never sure if the bad luck came from nae greetin' the bird, or from believin' it would."
She felthim shift again behind her, though he said nothing.
The landscape was changingaround them. The open moorland was giving way to rolling hills dotted with clusters of trees. In the distance, Maia could make out the dark line of a forest, and beyond that, mountains rising like ancient gods against the dawn sky.
"Is that where we're goin'?"she asked, gesturing toward the mountains. "Into the forest?"
"Past it."
"How far past it?"
"Far enough."
Maia huffed."Ye're nae very forthcomin' with information, are ye?"
"Ye're nae very forthcomin'with silence."
Despite herself,despite everything, Maia felt a laugh bubble up in her chest. It came out as more of a hiccup, choked and strange, but it was still a laugh.
The man made an irritated sound."What's funny?"
"Nothin'.Just—" She shook her head. "I shouldnae be laughin'. Me friend is dead, I've been kidnapped by a man who sets fire to buildings full of innocent people, and I have nay idea what's goin' to happen to me. But here I am, babblin' about birds and foxes like a mad woman."
