But for now, it doesn't matter. The wolf is polite, obedient, and apparently more teachable than my other student.
Unless it's stalking Rhianelle.Coinneach's voice brushes my thoughts.Our Nel likes to cuddle strays.
This fucking pervert. A flicker of murderous intent rises sharp and instinctive—
The wolf's head lifts at my intent and Shade stiffens.
I exhale slowly and force the thought down.
"Keep working," I tell them both, picking up my hammer again. "We're not stopping until Shade can at least spell his own name."
Shade mutters something creative and deeply profane. Footsteps echo against the stone floor outside.
I don't need to look up to know who it is. The scent of steel and leather reaches me first. But underneath that—fresh blood, recently spilled.
Fucking Red.
The door swings open, and he leans against the frame casually. His golden hair is slightly disheveled. He's watching me with that infuriating smirk on his face.
I keep hammering, refusing to meet his gaze.
"I always suspected you were a good man at heart," Red says, voice warm enough to grate.
My hammer comes down harder on the metal.
"No, really." He pushes off the doorframe, gesturing at the scene before him. "Teaching assassins to read. Adopting strays. Learning honest craftsmanship. It's almost touching."
"Say what you came to say," Hrolf says gruffly.
Red's smile fades.
"There will be a trial," he says. "Three days from now."
The forge quiets.
"The Aeonians will prosecute the Butcher of Dunrovin." Red's tone shifts, losing its edge. "You know the trial won't be fair."
Hrolf snorts softly. "I will not beg for fairness from elves."
He picks up a smaller tool and turns back to the piece on the anvil. His hands don't stop moving.
Red steps fully into the forge now. "You destroyed civilian districts. Families died. I will never forgive that."
Silence hums between them, elf and dwarf.
"But the siege on Darvan mountains left you starving," Red exhales a heavy sigh. "The elven forces blocked supply lines. You were given no path but violence."
The knight reaches into his coat and tosses a folded parchment onto the worktable. "I can arrange safe passage. You'd be gone before dawn—quietly, out of Aelfheim's reach."
The offer hangs in the air.
Hrolf doesn't hesitate. "No."
Red studies him. "You don't even need to think about it?"
"I will attend my trial."
I already knew that. I offered Hrolf the same escape weeks ago. He refused me too.
