As my hand falls away from Thaden’s chest, I’m aware, even more than ever, of Erik’s presence at my back. The way the two men standing on opposite sides of me cast shadows across me.
A wolf and a dragon.
“I’ll look after your family, Asha,” Thaden says before he turns away. “I promise you.”
I’m grateful, but I’m also facing the possibility that my family might never be mine again.
Chapter28
Irace along the corridor with Erik a step behind me.
My skin crawls with the need to escape my own body. My own nature. Even staying here one more night feels like too much stillness. Too much waiting.
“We need to leave.” My declaration is quiet. Stifled. “Ineed to leave.”
“Then let’s leave,” he says.
I’m startled by how quickly he agreed.
“The armory is that way,” he says. “Gallium told me where to find it. Even if we can’t get everything we need from within it, he’s hidden packs of supplies outside the castle.”
“My brother did that?”
“He may have been thwarted every time he tried to see you, but he wasn’t idle. He was preparing in case you needed a quick escape.”
I follow Erik’s outstretched arm to the corridor on our right—apparently, the direction of the armory.
The relief I feel at taking control is immense. “First, I need my toolbox. I also want to bring the tusks I used for your stretcher. They’re immune to Blacksmith magic and they’ll make excellent spears. You pulled the first one free; I’m sure you can retrieve the second.”
He gives me a small smile. “I can.”
I hesitate only another moment. “Then let’s go.”
* * *
Ten minutes later, Erik stands in front of a wall of weapons and I consider the shelves on the other side of the armory, most of which hold neatly folded black suits like the ones Elowynn wears.
One shelf doesn’t.
It contains multiple sets of tunics and pants, all in varying shades of brown and overlaid with what looks like leather plates.
It’s an earthy sort of armor. Nothing like the finely crafted black suits on the shelf above it. At the end of the shelf containing the brown clothing are multiple packs of what look like rolled-up furs.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen furs like that. Only elite Blacksmiths ever wore them. Forest animals were nearly extinct when I was growing up. At least, they were extinct in the wasteland around the city, although from what Erik told me, there were wolf packs roaming these mountains.
I run my hand over the end of the wadded-up pelts. They’re soft, but somehow, alsowrong.
Erik appears beside me, holding a hunting knife, along with a bow and a quiver of arrows.
He also considers the furs. “Wolf. Or possibly bear.”
“My mother had one of these,” I murmur. “She was so proud of it.” Then my jaw tightens. “But these garments are nothing like the fae clothing I’ve seen so far. Could these have belonged to humans?”
“Possibly,” he says. “Regardless, we’ll blend in to our surroundings better with clothing that color.”
I scoop up a tunic and pants that look like they’ll fit me well enough. It only takes Erik a moment to find a set that should fit him. In fact, there are multiple sets large enough.
All of the fae men we’ve encountered have been much slimmer in build. Not that we’ve met many, but it’s another reason to believe the clothing was made by humans.
