They followed a winding road through the wood. Not wide, but it did seem well-traveled. She supposed it made sense for the town of Verity to remain connected to Loxlen by a maintained route. That city had been her first large one since leaving Ghadra, and it was the opposite of what she’d grown up knowing. Rather strange, perhaps, when considering the bookshop, but strange did not mean corrupt.
Now, if she’d known she was being observed. If she’d known she’d been followed…
“What’s that sour face for?” asked Sven, his own wrinkled with effort.
She turned the full force of her scowl upon him until his eyes widened and he glanced away.
Lars huffed behind them. “Uppity city girl, are you? Well, let’s see what you think of Verity.”
“Lars—” came Magda’s warning growl.
“Verity isn’t so bad,” argued Sven. “It’s got a nice air to it.”
“It gives me the jeepers, is what it does,” muttered Lars. “But maybe if you have enoughgoldquins—”
Lux could take no more. “You blathering idiot,” she snarled. Spinning on her heel, she stomped over to him. “You know quite literallynothingabout me. Keep what little thoughts are in your head to yourself, or I’ll pry it open so you’ll never have another.”
A burbling sound drew her attention from Lars’s paled features. Sven’s face wrinkled further beneath her scrutiny, his attempts at stifling his reaction a struggle.
“How much farther?” she demanded of Magda.
The older woman glanced down the twisting road. “Not far at all.”
Deepinthewood,sat the forest town of Verity. Or maybe “sat” was the wrong choice. Now that they drew closer, it might make more sense to say, “Here grows the town of Verity.”
Wooden buildings rose red from the leaf-strewn ground, camouflaged with green moss having crept to seal the cracks. Whoever had built them had taken the natural curves of a forest as inspiration, being as the thatched roofs were quaint and sloped and covered by as many leaves as the forest floor. Even the doors were rounded at their tops.
Viktar’s body rested amongst the sparse toadstools at the roadside—a reprieve for both Lars and Sven, who’d carried him the entire way. Magda perched silent beside them, though Lux wasn’t oblivious and could tell from her periphery the woman watched her.
“They’ll have marsh snapper eyes? Here?” Lux surveyed what she could see of the town. The evening light cast everything into shadow, and the trees were extraordinarily tall.
“They should,” said Magda. “I told you it’s an unusual mix.”
Lux huffed a dismissive laugh.More unusual than the Dark Market? I doubt it.“There’s about an hour yet until I can perform a revival,” she said to the group. “We’ll need to find a private place.”
“What for?” said Lars.
“How private?” asked Sven.
“Somewhere he won’t be bothered at having all his parts exposed.” Lux darted a quelling look at them each.
“Oh, Viktar wouldn’t care a whit. He’s not a bashful sort.”
Lux curled her lip. “Fine, then. A private place for me. I need to concentrate or else the attempt will be a failure.”
She swiveled toward Lars’s derisive snort.
“Serves. I wondered when you’d start hinting at not being able to do as you promised. Bring back the dead… No such thing.”
Lux contemplated wringing his neck but instead pressed the heels of her palms to her eyes.
“Lars, my darling. If you cannot control yourself, I will leave you at home next. With your aunt.”
Magda’s threat had its desired effect as Lars shuddered. Lux looked between the pair of them and realized they did look quite alike. Same eyes, same mouth. But where Lars’s fractured nose had been clearly mismanaged at some point in his life, his mother’s was straight and upturned at the tip.
“Up he goes then,” said Sven. He groaned, hauling the body into his arms. Lars grabbed at the feet.
“He’s getting stiff!”
