She was too damn quiet.
Hábrók’s hairy arse. Rey could not believe it irritated him, but there was somethingunnaturalabout her silence. She should be pointing at the rock formations or humming incessantly. He’d never admit it aloud, but he’d grown to like the sound of her chatter. It uplifted him. Kept him from the dark places he so often retreated.
And he couldn’t help but think of the night before.Round ‘n’ round ‘n’ round we go, she’d said. When she’d started twirling, when she’d spoken those words, it was as though Rey’d been sent back to another time. Back to those gardens.
A lifetime ago. Not to mention, the girl was long dead.
But Silla had curled into him. Had trusted in him enough to forget for awhile. Why did this woman’s trust feel like a thing to be cherished? Like a sapling he yearned to shelter so it might grow stronger…
Rey gave himself a shake. Those were dangerous thoughts—ones he needed to rid himself of.
The canyon grew more and more shallow, until at last they climbed back into the forest. The familiar scent of pine needles and loam filled his senses as they followed a narrow goat track through the woods. Wet foliage brushed against them, the path thankfully soon widening.
Why is the queen hunting her?
The question shouldered into Rey’s thoughts as it had a hundred times in the past few days. In the aftermath of Kopa, he’d asked Silla why the queen hunted her. But that look in her eyes—haunted and terrified—he’d never wanted to see it again. And so he’d urged her to tell him when she was ready. Rey knew well enough some secrets were essential to keep a person safe. He wanted to respect her need for secrets. But the gods damnedqueenhunted her. The Klaernar were involved. Warbands and assassins had been sent after her. This was no small secret, and knowing some details could be a matter of life or death.
Again and again he ran over each strange detail he’d collected about the curly-haired woman who’d climbed into his supply wagon in Reykfjord. Like Rey, she was Galdra. There was the spinning game and the scar, just wherehershad been. She’d led a sheltered life, as though she’d been hidden away from prying eyes.
It takes a small man to be ruled by fear, and a large one to show mercy. And anyone can see you are no small man.
The words she’d spoken to him on the Road of Bones flitted through Rey’s skull. At the time, he’d brushed them off as a curious coincidence, but now, he wondered if it could be more than that. What if their fathers had known one another? It would fit with the girl’s identity…
No. Rey ground his teeth. The girl was dead. There had been a body. Everyone in this kingdom knew the gruesome details.
Unless she hadn’t died that day. What if she’d escaped the castle, hidden away for all these years before being discovered near Skarstad? He thought of her father—a supposed farmhand—killing six of the queen’s warriors before succumbing to his wounds. Considering each strange detail alone, it seemed an unlikely answer. But when they were all added up, no other explanation fit.
It was her.
Rey’s temples squeezed. It couldn’t be. It was impossible.
But the facts were piling up too high, and with each pound of his heart, the impossible grew ever more plausible. By some miracle, she hadn’t died that day.She was alive, and had been sitting right in his wagon all these weeks. A feeling of wonder filled him, and Rey opened his mouth to say something. But he slammed it shut as a woven fence came into view, followed soon by a longhouse, smoke twisting up from it.
Rey drew Horse to a stop near a patch of grass. “We’ll stop here for a few minutes,” he told Silla, dismounting. He couldn’t keep his eyes from roaming her face, searching for similarities to the girl. But Rey’s jaw clenched as his gaze found the bruise on her cheek instead. “I think it best you stay out of sight. Draw your hood up and linger behind the fence. I’ll be gone only a few minutes to send word north.”
Rey had thought this place a village, but soon discovered it was merely a cluster of steadings. Thankfully, the old mothers were happy to allow Rey use of their falcon for the generous coin he offered. They’d also readily parted with boots and garments in Silla’s size. Rey found his gratitude waning as the old mothers pressed their unwed granddaughters forward, imploring him to stay the night. After sending the message to Kalasgarde, it had taken all his patience not to snap at the boldest of the granddaughters, who’d taken his arm and tried to steer him to the yard for a stroll.
“Married,” he’d barked, watching the women scowl at his ringless finger. “My wife is just there!” Exiting the home, Rey had tucked the garments under his arm and broken into a run. He was desperate to talk to Silla. To tell her what he knew…but his feet came to a sudden halt.
Silla was gone. As was his gods damned horse.
Anger quickly replaced his excitement. She’d fled into monster-filled woods while warriors combed the countryside for her.
“I know you’re more clever than this, Sunshine!” he bellowed through cupped hands. From the corner of his eye, he saw the women of the steadings gather in the doorway. “You don’t know how to ride, not to mention you’re onmygods damned horse!” He put two fingers into his mouth and let out a shrill whistle.
Hoofbeats and Silla’s frustrated cry soon met his ears. A moment later, Horse emerged from the woods.
“Other way!” begged Silla, pulling on the reins. “Horse,please!”
But Horse merely tossed her head, whinnying in greeting to Rey. He snatched the reins, then stroked Horse’s velvetty nose as he glared at Silla. “No amount of treats will buy her loyalty.”
Silla’s gaze met his, flustered and guilty.
“Why are you running?” he asked in a low voice. Casting a cautious look at the women gathered in the longhouse’s doorway, he swung up on the saddlebehind her and shoved the garments into the saddlesack. Urging Horse forward, they rode in silence along the track until Rey judged they were far enough away not to be overheard.
“What has happened?” he demanded, lifting an arm to shield her from a low-hanging bough. “You no longer trust me?” Rey went over everything he’d said in the last day.
She’d tried torun, would have put herself in danger’s way, and, as a strange dry laugh choked out of her, the flames of Rey’s anger were fanned.
