I laugh. “Excuse me?”
He doesn’t respond, just raises an eyebrow as if to say:“You heard me.”
“Does barking orders like that usually work for you? Am I supposed to be intimidated?” He looks so affronted I have to stifle another laugh as I roll my eyes and step around him. “Excuse me, I really need to go now.”
“Aurelia!” he shouts after me.
“You can come with me if you’re so worried,” I trill, not really expecting him to take me up on the offer.
The captain makes a frustrated sound, almost like a growl, and after a moment I hear the crunch of his boots trudging after me.
Well, alright then. I suppose this is going to be a group effort.
Unfazed by the hulking figure trailing behind me, I step into the cave, passing easily beneath the enormous icicles covering the mouth. The passage inside is taller and wider than the small entrance would have led me to believe, and the air is colder than it is outside. The jagged, rocky ceiling is perhaps twelve feet overhead, and is dripping with sharp icicles as wide as tree trunks. The walls and floor are also slick with ice, and my boots slide against the frosty ground with each careful step forward.
The sound of splintering ice and a low curse makes me turn back to see Fox knocking the icicles from the ceiling so he can duck underneath them without smacking his head.
I frown and press a single finger to my lips. “Shh!”
He widens his winter-blue eyes and his nostrils flare unapologetically, gesturing silently at the shattered ice as if to say: “Were you expecting me to get on my knees and crawl?”
I shrug. “Just try to be quiet.”
Fox rolls his eyes at that, and I stifle another giggle.
I can’t say I know Fox all that well. He’s only been the captain of the guards for a few months, and in that time I’ve barely heard him speak a word to anyone. I bet he hasn’t often been told to bequieter. Or to crawl, for that matter.
I yank my gaze from his and peer instead into the inky darkness of the cave. Without giving it any thought, I conjure an orb of light in my right palm and hold it up to guide our way through the dark cave.
Fox shoots me a suspicious sideways glance. He looks slightly pained—as he always seems to when forced to start a conversation—but finally asks: “What is that?”
“It’s moonlight,” I explain. “I’m not usually very good at conjuring things out of thin air, but this is so useful that I practiced it for years. It doesn’t burn my hand like fire would, see? You want to hold it?”
He takes a step back, shaking his head as he eyes the orb with obvious disgust.
“Suit yourself.” I shrug. “But my Gods you’re prickly. You’d think I tried to pass you a handful of shit.”
I hold the light high with one hand, bracing my other on the icy wall to keep from slipping as we walk further into the cave. As we move deeper, a musky stench hits me—like rotting meat left in the summer sun.
“Trolls are vicious,” Fox says unprompted.
“Yes, I’ve got that, thanks.”
He glances sideways, his eyebrows pulling low, as if to say:“Then what the fuck are we doing in here?”
I keep my gaze on the slippery path in front of me as I answer. “I’m here because I need to collect ingredients for one of my potions.”
He snorts a derisive sound.
“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t important,” I add defensively. “It’s a healing potion, and troll hair is the only thing I can think of that might make it stronger.”
He shakes his head in resigned annoyance as he steps around me to take the lead. “Fucking witches,” he mutters under his breath, loud enough that I know I was meant to hear him.
“I’m not a witch, but would it matter if I was? You can do magic too, can’t you?” He doesn’t answer, just stares straight ahead. “Ah, got it,” I continue. “Were you never taught to use it? I suppose that would make sense if you were in the army your whole life. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t use magic…is that common in Thermia? That’s where you’re from, right?”
Fox lets out a clearly exasperated sigh. “You said to be quiet.”
“Ah, you’re right. Oops. Beatrix is always saying I talk too much, and she raised me, so I guess she would know. Oh well—hey, don’t look at me like that! You don’t have to be here. You followed me. I’m just doing what I would have been doing otherwise, so?—”
