“You say that even in Moss, the magic is still tied to your heart, yes?” she asked, resting an elbow on her knee.
“Yes.” I carelessly stoked at the fire, which had now turned into a sufficient flame.
“Have you ever thought that maybe it was the knowing you were far away that dried up your magic rather than the distance itself?”
“Have you ever thought about shutting up?” Why were we still having this conversation about magic? Had I not made it clear enough in Moss that I didn’t want to answer these questions anymore? She’d done enough damage.
“My apologies, I shouldn’t have brought this up before you ate.” She lifted her hands in the air in defeat.
Before I could say,What the fuck does that have to do with anything? How dare you call out my inability to regulate my emotions when I am hungry?she interrupted me.
“Before you wither me with your words, there’s someone I’d like for you to meet.”
She met my piercing glare with a look of mischievousness. Then she put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. Birds flew out of the trees, and a few deer darted in and out of the path ahead. Then silence fell in the wood once more.
“What did you just do?” I asked. My answer came quickly.
A dark shadow flew overhead, encircling us. Hesper looked up to the skies, smiling. Warty began chirping and skittering on his rock.
Does she have a Goddess-damned dragon or something?
Just then, a huge black, winged creature swooped down and scooped up Warty, and his squeaks sharply cut out. Hesper pointed up to the sky with a huge smile.
What. A. Wench.
“No!” I screamed. The world imploded inside of me. I did the only thing that made sense at that very moment and tackled Hesper to the ground, the ghost of a confused grin still on her face.
I caught her off guard, and we both fell hard. I attempted to scratch her eyes out, but she deftly grabbed my wrists and had me pinned underneath her in a matter of moments. I tried to wriggle free, but her strength overpowered me instantly.
“Why? Why would you kill him?” I pleaded.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, still scanning the skies.
“The thing you summoned! It killed Warty,” my voice cracked, but I kept fighting.
“Edge would never do that.”
“Who is Edge?” I asked. Hesper released me as a shadow passed over us again.
Then a crow swooped down and gingerly placed Warty back atop his mossy rock. My hedgehog, while obviously in a dither, was unharmed. He smoothed his quills back into place and nudged the crow with his nose.
Did he just give his assailant a friendly boop?
“Hesper Altanfall, you will tell me what is going on right now or so help me.”
She whispered into my ear from behind me. “This is Edgar—Edge for short.” I ignored the chill running up myback from her closeness. “He’s my trusted companion, as Warty is to you. Edge has been keeping a look out while we were in Moss.”
The crow flying overhead at the cottage, the other circling me when I thought I languished all alone in the field. That was Hesper’s pet all along.
“He will fly with Warty until we reach Dwindle. It’ll be safer for them both.”
Hesper left her place behind me to greet Edge and Warty. They both sidled up to her. Warty, that treacherous bastard—already friends with the enemy and her bird. I followed Hesper’s footsteps, making my way over to the devilish trio.
“Uh, hi?” I said dumbly to Edge. He cocked his head elegantly to the side, his beady black eyes shining in the dimming forest light and crackling fire.
“Charmed, Madame,” Edge replied with a voice like velvet, lilting at the edges.
“Hesper, did your crow just talk?”
