“Make sure he eats something,” she said to Adriel, though her concerned gaze flitted in my direction. “I’ll bring more tomorrow. This was all I could wrangle on such short notice.”
“Thank you,” said Sorsha.
“I’ll see to it that someone brings some firewood down so you don’t catch your death.” Gertrude cast an exasperated look around the cabin and then headed for the door. “You know where to find me if you need anything else.”
I swallowed, wanting to thank the old fae, but I couldn’t quite find the words. Whoever Gertrude was to Kaden and Sorsha, it was obvious that she cared for them.
The notion brought a surge of emotion to my throat. It had been years since I’d lost my own mother, and I’d almost forgotten what it was like to be fussed over.
As the sun dipped below the trees, slivers of red and blue and golden light fanned out across the floor. Sorsha summoned a few balls of faelight to illuminate the small table, and she and Adriel fell upon the food like wolves.
Even though I knew Kaden wasn’t going to join us, I couldn’t stop myself from glancing up the staircase every few minutes.
“I should go check to see if he wants something to eat,” I muttered, shoving my chair back as I stood.
“He knows the food is here,” said Adriel. “He’ll come down if he’s hungry.”
“You should eat,” said Sorsha gently. “You need your strength.”
Reluctantly, I sat back down and took the meat pie sheoffered me, which was somehow still warm. I bit into the flaky crust and nearly groaned aloud as the rich gravy spilled onto my tongue –– venison and candied mushrooms, stewed in rosemary, thyme, and something peppery I couldn’t quite place.
By the time I had eaten my fill, darkness had fallen outside, and the fire had burned down low in the grate.
“We can’t stay here,” said Adriel quietly, as though picking up a conversation we’d all been having earlier. He glanced at me but fixed his gaze on Sorsha, who was nibbling on an oatcake. “Semphrys may not be able to reach us here, but his demons can.”
“What do you propose?”
“We leave at first light. Make our way over the pass and get to the Great Oak.”
“He isn’t ready to travel,” I said, irrationally angry that Adriel seemed completely unfazed by Kaden’s current state. “His wings —”
“His wings are the least of our problems,” Adriel shot back, keeping his voice low. “Semphrys knows we have safe houses scattered all over the Oranthan Mountains. It’s only a matter of time before his demons catch up.”
“We aren’t leaving,” I said, more firmly this time. “Not until his wings are healed.”
Adriel’s jaw tightened. “If Semphrys finds us —”
“I know the risks,” I bit back. “But he isn’t fit to travel. He’s just been through a horrific ordeal. He’s barely even spoken.”
Sorsha glanced at Adriel, her gaze a mix of concern and sympathy. I sensed there was something she wanted to say, but I refused to be overruled.
“We’re staying,” I repeated, glancing from one to the other as if daring them to challenge me.
Adriel loosed a breath, slouching back in his seat with a look of reluctant acceptance. “Fine. We’ll stay.”
I awokewith a start in the middle of the night on the edge of the double bed Sorsha and I were sharing. The musty sheets were twisted around my legs, and I was covered in gooseflesh.
A loud thud sounded from the floor above, followed by a groan. Kaden’s low voice rumbled overhead, though I couldn’t make out what he was saying.
Shivering, I pulled the blankets up under my chin, trying to ignore the ache in my chest.
After everything we had shared, it felt wrong for him to be sleeping up there alone. I wanted to wrap myself around him and assure him that it was over — and assure myself that he was alive.
A loud snarl made me sit bolt upright, shoving the covers off my legs and grabbing my dagger from the bedside table.
Padding out onto the landing, I started up the ladder in only the oversized linen shirt that I’d fished out of the safe-house wardrobe. Another groan of pain made my stomach clench, and I hurriedly pulled myself up through the opening to the loft.
My heart thudded against my ribs, loud enough that any demon would be able to hear it.
