I sneak one last look at my mates before walking away from them. They appear unruffled and relaxed. Riall is finishing his meal like nothing’s happening. He even reaches over and steals my food as though it shouldn’t go to waste.
Such a shit.
I tense when the three gray cloaks surround me as we move closer to the exit. Beva takes the lead, and the two silent Igeeyin take up position behind me. I tighten my hand around a dagger, just in case. I do my best to expel all the tension and apprehension coursing through me and concentrate, but it’s difficult.
“Thanks for sending word, Aego,” Beva calls to the barkeep as she strides confidently to the front door, and I follow.
I snap my head in the direction of the fae who apparently ratted the other me out, and he blanches.Good.
Snow has once again started to fall, and the wind shrieks wildly as it streaks down the street and squeezes between the shops as though it’s trying to get away. A fresh blanket of white covers the road and shop fronts, and it crunches under our feet as we leave the warmth of the tavern. I hope the flakes don’t fall fast enough to cover any footprints that the Scorpions might need to follow me wherever it is we’re going.
I’m guided silently down the street, and I track every shadow in range on the off chance I need to make a break for one. Hopefully, shadow walking isn’t a common thura among these fae.
Beva’s hood is once again pulled up and protecting her from the cold, and I’m curious why she doesn’t have the same unusual hair color and eyes as the others that were sent after the Scorpions. I assumed all Igeeyin looked like me and Verus, but maybe not.
“So you have the town watching me?” I question evenly, wanting to discreetly collect what helpful information I can and hoping it’s not a mistake.
“Everyone knows Lutyn is a bad influence, but at least he’s one of our own. Where’d you even find those fae? Some roving mercenary group?” Beva snarks. “Of course Aego and Hinnet would have their concerns.”
“Do we not need allies?” I challenge, flinging what Verus said about the Igeeyin at these guards and hoping it sticks.
One of the fae behind me titters, and Beva shakes her head with exasperation. “You thinkthat’swhat the Crescents had in mind when they declared that? Fuck, Auset, they looked like they’d enjoy ripping your head off, fucking it, and then using it for a piss pot until they found some new gullible girl’s skull to replace yours.”
I scoff.
If only she knew who she’s talking to.
“I thought they were quite beguiling?” one of the cloaks behind me dares to admit, her voice deeper than the one who previously hissed at Beva inside.
“You would, Tayim,” Beva calls over her shoulder as we approach the tree line of the Caleran forest.
The large woodland embraces the town of Krieger between it and the shore of the Eritas Sea. We specifically chose towns to investigate based on Riall’s observation about Verus’s blood tasting like he was from some misty forest. That, and the clue about where Lord Daeral traveled before he was cut down. It was a long shot at best, but Tarek was right. There was something here worth finding.
“You’re no bigger than one of their thighs, Auset. What did you think you were going to do if all three of them aligned against you?” Beva demands sharply.
“I could think of a few things one could do with all three of them,” the fae with the silvery voice teases.
I smile at the indignant huff that flies out of Beva, and fight the urge to punch the flirty fae in the throat. I’m on edge and ruffled, a combination that’s making me feel jittery and anxious. This entire situation is disturbing and digging up all kinds of alarming new questions and emotions. I know at some point all of this is going to go to shit. They’re going to realize that they’ve made a mistake, and I need to be ready when it happens.
Carefully, I watch the path that Beva is picking out as we pass into the trees. Long shadows from the thin trunks stretch like ghastly fingers across the smooth sparkling snow. Some animal hoots into the night, but the forest is silent other than the crunching of our boots on the carpet of snow as we walk deeper into the striated shadows.
The forest appears unusually barren under the shroud of falling snow. The trees extend as far as I can see, but they’re all the same, and it makes nature look more uniform than I’m used to. I don’t know how long we walk, but it doesn’t feel like much time passes before the flat forest begins to slope. Large rocky outcrops creep closer to our path, and then we round a ridge, and I try not to stop in my tracks.
Nestled in the concave seam of two huge hills is a village. There’s a large house that appears more functional than grand as it overlooks many smaller houses that trickle downhill like steps on a staircase. At the base of it all are two long, unpretentious buildings that immediately make me think of barracks. There’s enough cleared land around them that a large amount of fae could gather and train.
I hold my breath as I wait for any hint of recognition to trickle through me.
It doesn’t come.
Flickering torches fight against the falling snow, illuminating patrols that guard the edges of the village both below and above. Warm light spills from many house windows, and if I stare at it all long enough, it blurs to become a sea of stars against the hillside.
I follow my escorts down what must be a worn path under the growing layer of snow. As we draw closer to the stacked, hillside village, I notice stairs that lead up through the dappling of houses until they stop at the highest point in the village, the larger manor. I have a strong sense that this is where they’re taking me.
Stealthily I try to appraise the strengths and weaknesses of wherever we are. Cloaked guards either holding torches or lanterns walk the perimeter lazily as though it’s more chore than necessity. I count only a dozen of them below and another dozen and a half on the ridge above the manor. No one stops us as we stalk across the training grounds, pass the barracks, and start up the stairs. Just like in town, the weather has chased everyone inside, which makes it difficult to gauge how many fae call this place home. It certainly isn’t the small group of fae with the unusual colored hair and eyes that we thought it might be.
I stay alert as we ascend. My chest feels as though it’s full of rocks, and my heart is chiseling through them one by one as I take it all in. I still have no idea how I’m even here right now. Nothing looks familiar or stokes any wayward memories or flashes of recognition. It’s all as strange and foreign to me asIwas when I first woke up in a cage. I climb stair after stair, fully expecting groups of guards to charge toward me from between the houses any moment now. They’d no doubt laugh hysterically as they tackled me to the ground, unable to hold in how hilarious it is that I fell for their trap. But the night remains quiet all around us, our path to the large house is clear, and I grow more and more anxious and tense with each step.
I want my secrets unlocked, I want to see past the blank wall in my mind, but as I take in the size of this place, I start to wonder what other secrets are hidden behind the wood doors and stone walls. The few fae who are outside on patrol all wear the same light gray cloaks. It confirms that they’re either Igeeyin or connected to them, but it doesn’t afford me an opportunity to see if anyone else possesses my unique coloring.
