“What if I told you I could help you escape?”
His words were so quiet I didn’t fully understand them the first time he said them, but when comprehension did sink in, I found myself leaning away. “There isn’t anywhere for me to go, in Ralheim, I mean. I have no family—other than Collum.”
Leif shook his head. “I didn’t mean help you escape to town. I meant to my coven. They live in the hills near Malheim. They have been against Viscount Adis since he came into power. They will hide you. I know it.”
I probably should have asked more questions, but I couldn’t help the hope that bloomed in my chest. “They would do that?”
“Absolutely. They love me, and I know they would love you too.”
My mind drifted, imagining myself living in the woods, away from Ralheim so Milo could have his life, while also finally being allowed to have my own. Of course, I would have to tell Leif my secret but?—
“I’ll tell them next time they send word that you are coming with me. And then once we are there you can stay in my hut and I’m sure we can find a job for you?—”
“Wait.” I felt bad that I was interrupting again, but I needed to know. “You are leaving too?”
“Of course.” His grin was back, the small sliver of light from the door reflecting off it. “You didn’t expect me to make you run there on your own right?”
I sucked on my lip, my eyes catching the barest glimpse of the room beyond, my cousin’s voice barely tickling my ears. “But what about Collum?”
His gaze went to the door as well, his grin fading. “You can invite her, but . . . I’m not sure she will come. I also worry . . .” He trailed off. “Invite her anyway. If she wants to come, my people will help her too.”
I wasn’t stupid. “You worry what?”
He sighed, running a hand through his blond locks. I couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was with his hair mussed. “I worry that she won’t want to go.”
“Why wouldn’t she want to go?”
He pinched his eyes shut, bringing his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath before letting the words tumble out, “Because no matter how much I like you, I cannot deny that our covens are engaged in a sort of war.”
CHAPTER 13
Maybe I should have waited longer to approach Collum, after all. That probably would have been smarter. But I couldn’t help the eagerness that welled in my chest at Leif’s offer.
I had never wanted to be here in the first place, and now I had a way out—one that would allow my brother to keep the freedom he had likely found in my absence.
Thinking of him sent a sudden pang through my chest as Collum and I snuck through the hallways. It had only been about a fortnight, but I missed my twin desperately. Though I hated sharing his life with him, he really had been the one confidant who had always been there for me, even if there were more bad times than good.
“You’re quiet,” Collum whispered as she closed the door behind her, effectively closing us off from the shuffling of the hallway as the other servants, their eyes now rimmed with gold, silently made their way to their rooms.
I shrugged. It was a bit surprising Collum was just now noticing my silence, when we had barely talked at all in the last few days. It said a lot about how much she thought of ourinteractions.
She sank down on the cot, which we had been taking turns sleeping in since it only fit one of us comfortably. The other got a blanket and the floor. Her gaze didn’t leave my face. “What did you and Leif talk about?”
Those few words broke the dam and I couldn’t stop the grin that emerged from my lips. “He knows a way for me to leave here.”
Collum arched an eyebrow, her lips curling into a frown. “And why would you want to do that?”
My mouth dropped open and I motioned to the room. “Collum . . . are you seriously asking me that?”
“Yes.”
Something about the way she said the word didn’t sit right in my gut, but I continued anyway, with an exasperated sigh. “I’m a prisoner here, Collum. In this room, in the body I pretend to wear. I need to leave Ralheim. I want to have my own life. I want to be free.”
Collum shook her head. “I asked some of the others about Leif. His coven is bad news.”
My heart fell. I couldn’t believe my cousin would put coven politics over my comfort. We really had fallen far from the friendship we had once held dear. “He said you would say that.”
“And he knows I’m right. There’s no reason for you to go live among the Eastwoods coven. You are needed here.”
