“Apologies, good sir,” I bit out. My status alone meant I was guilty before the argument even began. Nobody in this cursed land would side with someone as insignificant as me. Flark, I couldn’t wait to be free of this village.
I pushed my legs as fast as they’d go, leaving the bailey behind and heading for the northern pasture where the high ruler’s prized flock dwelled. The moment I cleared the gates, tension unspooled from my shoulders. I drew in a long breath—smoke still clinging to my lungs—and forced the smell of burning flesh from my chest.
At the foot of Gravestone Mountain, a woolly herd of nerf grazed in lazy contentment. Jaws slack, they gnawed sweet blades of grass, oblivious to their great fortune. Oh, to be a fat, curly-coated animal with lovely horns that twisted back over my head. To spend my days roaming sunlit hills.
Instead, I spent those days shut inside Rottbarry Manor, laboring to please one extraordinarily demanding noblewoman,Lady Penelope. Who would no doubt demand my assistance shortly. The reminder lit a spark under my feet, my calves burning as I trudged up the shallow slope.
Clumps of tall grass scraped my coarse brown skirt. A robust breeze whipped crimson strands from beneath my kerchief, my unruly mane little better than unsheared wool. The fluffy beasts cast me wary glances as I hiked past, my scuffed boots crunching gravel.
“Speck?” I called.
Bells jingled, and my friend’s tawny head popped up over the backs of the flock he protected. Despite his skill with the beasts, the thought of him out here alone still kept me up at night. While I was only seven years old at the time, the moment he slid from his mother’s belly and into my arms, he’d felt likemine. In my mind, he’d always be the youngling who hobbled after me. Perhaps due to the innocence he’d kept despite all the hardships we’d faced. Sadly, unlike Speck, I’d only grown more cynical over the years.
“Over here.”
The woolly sea parted, and Speck’s freckled grin broke through like sunlight.
“Sera! Didn’t expect you.” He sat on a mossy patch, legs stretched out. The bells tied to his crutch jingled as he set it aside. “Come sit.”
“Sorry I haven’t visited sooner. With the comet celebration coming, Lady Penelope has been particularly demanding.” As her personal maid, it was my duty to fulfill the young woman’s every whim, no matter how trivial—or spiteful.
“If they were smart, they’d watch it from out here,” he said, ever the optimist. “Still, I wouldn’t mind sharing in the feast.”
Why a village that loathed magic would celebrate a comet’s arrival was beyond me. Not that I was foolish enough to question our traditions within earshot of the others.
With nobody around to scold me, I hiked my skirt up to mythighs and sank to the ground, setting the basket in my lap. “Lucky for you, I brought something special.”
“Have you now?” Speck’s brown eyes gleamed with childlike excitement.
I dug in, handing him the sweetened loaf I’d wrapped in a bit of fabric.
“Honey cake!” He tore off a bite, moaning with delight. The bread was fresh, with no weevils, a rarity for servants. His joy was contagious, lightening my mood despite the pyre’s shadow still clinging to me.
“I begged a piece from Cookie when I dropped off her arthritis liniment.” My gaze drifted to the ragged brace on his twisted leg, a defect he’d had since birth. “How’s it feeling?”
“Better since you adjusted the new padding.”
“Let me see.” I set the basket aside and patted my thigh.
Speck swung his leg onto my knee. I’d remade the brace after his latest growth spurt, same as I had since we were children.
“I think this one is the best so far. Better than the one Father made me wear when I fell behind in my chores,” he said lightly.
My jaw tightened. Once, we’d both lived with his family—until they’d sold us as indentured slaves to the high ruler. While I was merely a lost girl they’d taken in, blood or not, being discarded still stung. Speck, however, took it in stride, proud to have provided for his household.
I pulled a bottle from my basket. “Rub this in three times a day.” I worked the oil into his swollen ankle. “Still have the tea?”
“Some,” he said, brushing crumbs from his lips.
“Finish it—it’ll ease the pain.”
Once I’d retied his brace, I packed my basket, saving the small knife I used for cutting herbs for last. The only reason I’d managed to slip away for a bit was Yaga’s order that I bring hersome feverfew. I’d collect a few of the yellow flowers on my way back to Rottbarry Manor.
Speck placed his hand on my forearm. “Do you have to go already?”
“I should, it’s getting dark, and Lady…” Speck’s big brown eyes grew soft and syrupy in the fading light. Those twin pools of warm honey turned my denial into mush. Little devil. He knew I couldn’t deny him when he looked like that.
“Fine.” I ruffled his hair into his eyes. “I’ll stay a bit. But not for long.”
