I nodded and the two of us moved to the far side of the dome, away from the stairs. There was no carpet here and we were far from the fire. My feet were a bit chilled on the cold stones.
When he spoke, I no longer had to strain to hear him, his voice was full and strong these days. He’d grown so much. “I know we haven’t seen each other much these past few months. I have enjoyed training with you, though.” He sighed and smiled. “I just have so much to learn and the more I learn the more I see how much more I need to learn.” He took my hands in his, held softly between us. “But I wanted you to know, Legs, that… I love you. I know what love is now and I know that’s how I feel for you.”
“And you’re not just saying this because one or both of us might die tonight?” I asked. It was partly a dark joke, but partly not. Our previous moment together, before the Noble’s Test had been a high-stress time as well.
He sighed. “I’msayingit now because of the danger. But I have felt it for some time and just not known how to say it… until now.”
I nodded. I understood. The trouble was, I’d felt so disconnected from him recently. He’d obviously been thinking about me, while I’d thought we were drifting apart. That meant I didn’t know how I felt in this moment.
He saved me the trouble, leaning in for a soft, quick kiss. Then he whispered, “You don’t have to say anything. I know we’ve been apart a lot lately. I didn’t say this to put you on the spot, only to let you know how I feel.” He gave a faint smile. “Perhaps, if we both survive the night, then we can talk more, yes?”
That sounded great to me. “Yes, thank you.”
We returned to the sitting area with the others. No one made any comment about our little escapade. Still, I was even more agitated after that, not only worried about the mistweaver at our doorstep, but my confused feelings for Silence as well. I sat, hands distractedly spinning out silk from my belly-button, forming it, then tossing it into the fire.
This tension is killing me, I admitted to Auwei.
Waiting can be an effective tactic of the enemy, Auwei quoted one of the texts I’d read on warfare.Keeping a foe in a suspended state of tension wearies them. The attacker needs only wait for the right moment to strike.
You’re not helping.
Then get some sleep and—
Yeah, I don’t think I could sleep.
Then find some way to relax. Or you’ll be spent before the fight even starts.
She was right.
“Someone say something,” I spoke into the silence. “I need a distraction.”
Maverick spoke, gruff but quiet in the stillness, trying not to disturb those who were resting. “Maverick House has only existed for eleven years. Before that, it was Gander House. I was a senior member of Gander House, so were Crane and Midnight.” He gave a short breath of a laugh. “Midnight was the most senior of us. I don’t know how old she is, but she’s… well the rumor is she’s half-Fey.”
“Fey?” I said surprised. “The Fey are real?”
Yup. I don’t know why you’d be surprised. You have a glowing being of energy inhabiting you. What’s so surprising about a long-lived race of ancient beings?
Good point.
“Oh yes, they’re real. They have secret towns and villages in the hills and forest of the north. It is said the Shattered Lands were created in some war between the first mistweavers and the Fey. With the North destroyed, the Fey live closer to human lands now, and some are said to come south occasionally. Rarer still, sometimes they find a human to love. And given how old I know Midnight must be yet how young she looks, and also the fact that she meets most known descriptions of the fey: short, hair like night, eyes that glow, and skin pale as death.” He shrugged. “Seems likely to me. Anyway, she didn’t want to lead the House, neither did Crane, so it fell to me.” A long inhalation and sigh of a breath. “There were a few other members of House Gander, who chose that time to disperse and retire. That’s always an option when a House changes. So, it was just us. Then… Fin was the first, then Amber and Ant and so on.” He rose and wiped down his blade, testing it. It was amazing how smoothly he wielded the heavy sword, with just one hand; mesmerizing.
“Before Gander, there was Twitch, his was a cricket avatar. Before Twitch was Revel, some form of small dog if the stories are true. And before Revel was Mantis. This House has always been a haven for—”
An ear-splitting shriek split the night as a column of mist shot out from the stairwell, moving through others to form into a woman in front of me. She held a dagger in her hand as she materialized, and it was at my throat a moment later, slashing.
My training saved me. I’d been practicing an evasion technique and without thinking I did it. I tossed the webbing I’d had in my hands at her face as I flipped backward. As soon as I landed, I leaped again and this time caught myself high up on the dome, hands and feet attached firmly.
Spirits, the glass was cold!
But you’re safe!
And the fight below was… intense. The woman had dissolved into mist as soon as I’d fled and was now weaving around the others, half-there, trying to get to me. They were attacking when they could, but their blades and fists passed through the mist-woman. She’d materialize to strike at one or another, but the hits weren’t meant to kill, only disable. And she was lightning fast. She had Fennec and Princess out of the fight quickly.
Ant’s next attack passed right through her. She wasn’t staying solid long enough to hit. And as mist, she’d move with incredible speed to another spot amidst the group.
Tusk took a dagger to her side, though seemed to shrug off the hit, bashing with her heavy mace, which passed through Hazra. The mist sped to Sparrow and solidified.
I screamed.
