A tickling sensation shifted my attention to my arms to find my leathers expanding downward with newly-formed sleeves that protected me from the elements.
“Cool, right?” Kaelun said, reaching out his arm and flipping his palm up then down to show off his own expanded armor.
“Very,” Tarrin answered for me, looking thoroughly impressed.
“See,” I said, falling in behind Artton who began leading us north. “Being fae has its perks.”
I could hear the smile in Tarrin’s voice from behind. “I’ve had about enough magic to last me this life and the next.”
“Amen to that,” I agreed.
“Areyou even human?” Kaelunasked.
I whipped my head over my shoulder to see that Kaelun had done the same. Both of us turned back when we saw the warning look Tarrin shot the curious fae, which had him focusing forward with a smirk.
“I mean no offense,” Kaelun said, and I didn’t have to look back to know he’d raised his hands to emphasize his innocence. “It’s just, well… humans normally expire after a certain age.”
“Expire?” I said, through laughter. “Like, oh, this fruit is no longer good. Time to throw it in the compost?”
“Kinda.”
“Seeing as how I’m the oldest one here, kid,” Tarrin snipped, “let’s just say I’m well preserved.”
“Shame,” I heard Artton mutter under his breath, knowing that the only reason I heard it over the crunch of our footsteps was because of my fae hearing.
Sidrick’s chuckle flitted forward, indicating he’d heard it too.
“Behave,” I whispered in a warning tone.
“I thought saying it under my breathwasbehaving,” Artton said back.
“You know what I mean.”
“Do you think because of your link to King Thaddeus?—”
“Kaelun,” Artton warned, “as much as I love it when Tarrin is pestered, we’re not on a family hike.”
“Sorry,” he said, and I could practically hear his shoulders dropping through his voice before we were left to our own thoughts and the unmistakable rhythms of winter.
As the hours passed, the part of me that felt like an intruder had all but forgotten we were in the human realm and I was fae. It was just us and the wilderness—and fae or no, I’d never be convinced I didn’t belong.
I hadn’t expected it, but the punishing pace Artton set showed the divide between human and fae stamina. Though he never complained, Tarrin’s labored breath at times reminded me ofhunting trips Eithan and I had been forced to make during the winter—I didn’t envy the man.
Needing to limit the amount of time we spent in the human realm to reduce our risk of being tapped, we’d only stopped once for a quick lunch; continuing until dusk when Artton finally dropped his pack.
“We’ll camp here,” he declared.
We couldn’t afford to rest for an entire night, but we needed fuel and sleep before forging on. In one of our planning sessions, Tarrin asked why we didn’t just valen to where we indented to enter the Autumn Court. Unfortunately, there’s something in the magical resonance of valenning that High Lords can sense at their borders from a fairly large distance away.
“We’re going to hunt,” Sidrick declared, placing his pack next to Artton’s.
Kaelun followed suit.
I watched as the edges of the forest swallowed them whole, aching to join the hunt. I’d been warned before we left that I would stay wherever camp was in case something happened—they’d always know where I was.
Pouting as the heat from the hike was cut through by the winter breeze, I gathered kindling and wood as the other two made camp.
I’d always loved making fires.
