“A wraith fae once brought a Meer-wolf pup into the tavern,” I said softly. “He’d found him abandoned. He was big, his head past my waist, even for a baby.”
“Meer-wolves don’t abandon their pups,” he stated with some superiority. “Likely, the mother died defending it from another predator.”
“So they all reach his size?” I gestured toward the black hound.
He scoffed, his long canines showing when he sort of sneered. “No. None get to be Wolf’s size. He’s a king of his kind.”
“What’s his name?” I asked, still standing on the perimeter of the firelight.
“I’ve said his name already. Wolf.”
“You named your wolf, Wolf?”
He leaned down, one elbow on a knee as he reached for a log and tossed it into the fire, the flames licking up to the meat. My stomach turned.
“What else should I call him?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps Näkt for the god of night?”
Stepping closer, I sat upon the ground since there was no other log or stump for another person. He was alone here.
“Or perhaps King since you said so yourself, he is a king of his kind.”
The wolf rounded the fire and stretched out at my side. I froze for a moment, but then he licked the back of my hand before resting his head on his paws. Hesitantly, I brushed a hand along the back of his neck.
“He is gentle for being such a giant.”
The hound huffed and nuzzled closer to me.
The dark fae male snorted with disgust. “Traitor beast.” He then reached to the ground and lifted a water satchel before tossing it to me. I caught it in my lap.
“You’ve broken the fever, but you need water. Drink.”
Grateful, I twisted off the cap and drank greedily. Then drank some more. The water was cool and welcome on my parched throat.
“Not sure how you broke that fever so fast,” he added. “Is it your witchcraft?”
I arched a brow at him. “If you mean my magick, then possibly so. My kind rarely stays sick. Water is its own kind of magick for skald fae.”
It was true that water itself was a magickal healing property for skald fae. Especially those in my family with a deeper connection to water. If I hadn’t fallen unconscious in the snow running from the Mevian guards then I’d have used my magick to transform the snow into a healing cocoon in the icy cold. But I’d been in a panicked run for my life. I’d had no time to stop and think, too afraid they’d catch me if I did.
“Hmph. Witchcraft,” he grumbled.
Suddenly, the beast fae pulled a black blade the length of my entire arm from a sheath at his belt. I flinched but kept still as he knelt closer to the fire.
“I’m not going to kill you, female.”
He sliced a piece of the meat from the deer haunch and placed it on the rag he’d used earlier to wipe his hands. Then he sliced another before carrying it around the fire and handing it to me. I blinked up at him, still in awe of his size, but I took the offering and set it in my lap.
He sliced himself a giant chunk and sat on his stool, taking a bite. I didn’t miss that his canines were longer than any I’d seen before. He was an incredibly impressive beast fae. He was an incredibly impressive beast fae, in that he could kill me with one swipe of his claws. I stared down at the roasted meat in my lap, my stomach souring.
“Eat. You need food to warm your body on the inside and fight the cold.”
I blinked at him. “I…can’t eat this.”
“Why not?” He gave me that same scrutinizing look like he thought I might be addled in the head.
“I don’t eat meat.”
