We edged around the building, Theron pausing occasionally when he noticed movement. When we neared the front, he peered around the corner, then swore under his breath.
My eyes widened in alarm, my pulse quickening. “What is it?” I mouthed.
“Soldiers,” he whispered. “Stationed around the smithy.”
My heart lodged itself in my throat as I gave him a panicked look. What were we supposed to do? We couldn’t get to Stella’s house without passing the forge.
Theron jerked his head toward the other side of the building, and I nodded. We turned back the way we came,coming toward the back door of the smithy. Just before we reached it, the door swung open. I scrambled backward, nearly falling on top of Theron. He dragged me out of the way just before a blacksmith strode out of the building, wiping his face with a rag.
“We need to go into the forge,” Theron whispered. His voice was right at my ear, and I realized his hands were wrapped around me, pressing my back to his chest.
I swallowed hard, my face suddenly hot as I scooted away from him. “How will that help? There are still soldiers stationed outside.”
“It’s not unusual for blacksmiths to wear cloth masks to protect their faces,” he said. “You can use your invisibility, and I’ll dress myself as a blacksmith. If I walk out of a smithy, my face covered and ash staining my clothes, the soldiers will think I’m just an ordinary blacksmith.”
I arched an eyebrow at him. “Are you sure about that?”
“My livelihood depends on my blending in,” Theron said, giving me a flat look. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“And what if Vikros is there?”
“Then you’ll cover your face, too, and blend in along with me. Just follow my lead.”
I resisted the urge to snort at that, refraining from pointing out thatfollowing his leadmight be difficult if my deranged stepmother happened to summon him again.
We crept closer to the back door. The sounds of a hammer striking metal rang out, blaring against my ears. The air swarmed with heat, making me feel sleepy.
Theron carefully eased the door open and peered inside, holding up a hand to indicate I wait. My heart raged inside my chest as I waited for someone to notice him and cry out in alarm.
But nothing happened.
After a moment, Theron slid inside. I summoned my magic, draping my invisibility around myself, before I followed him.
As soon as I entered the smithy, an inferno surrounded me, making the air stifling. I struggled to breathe around the ash and scorching heat. A massive kiln was built into the center of the smithy, and several men in aprons surrounded it. Some hammered away at their metal, while others plunged tongs into the hot coals.
A few people turned to glance at us as we entered. I stiffened, but Theron said smoothly, “Morning. Is Miller around?” His arm came around his back, and, without looking, he snatched a bundle of black fabric from the shelf behind him and tossed it to me. Even though I was invisible, I was already tying it around my face. I choked on a gag when the smell of sweat filled my nostrils. But it helped block out the heat, so that was something.
I inched closer to Theron, who was wearing his glamour from earlier, now donning hisHarlanpersona.
“He went to get more scrap metal,” muttered a blacksmith as he wiped sweat from his brow. His eyes narrowed, and he pointed his hammer at Theron. “Haven’t seen you round here before, lad.” His tone was laced with suspicion.
“I come and go,” Theron said, grabbing a rake from the wall as he approached the kiln. “Clean up here and there. Tell Miller that Harlan says hello.”
“Aye, Harlan!” called a voice from across the forge. A burly fellow with curly red hair was grinning from underneath his cloth mask. “It’s been an age. Where you comin’ from?”
“Athawood Peaks,” Theron supplied. “Good to see youagain, Bran.” He grunted as he started scraping out loose bits of scrap metal and coals from the kiln. His movements were steady and precise, as if he knew exactly what he was doing. When the area was clear, he pulled the bellows off the wall and stoked the flames.
I was gaping at him, unable to process this. He actuallylookedlike a blacksmith right now. If I had stumbled into this forge, even knowing what Theron looked like, I wouldn’t have been able to notice it was him. Between his glamour, the face covering, and his confident movements, he truly did blend in.
I’ll be damned,I thought, knowing he would brag about this later. I had clearly underestimated him. My eyes snagged on the ash coating his fingers, and I barely caught a glimpse of him wiping the soot on his face in between his movements.
Smart.I inched toward the forge and did the same, rubbing ash over my face and clothes to make me as unrecognizable as possible.
Bran, the red-haired blacksmith, huffed a low chuckle. “Those mountains, boy… You’re lucky the storms didn’t blow you away.”
“They almost did,” Theron said with a laugh.
Shivering bones, he waslaughing. The sound was so foreign to my ears.
