“It's not that cold and I have two perfectly,"–she stumbled and I clenched my jaw–“good feet.”
Stubborn wench. Something loosened in my chest. It was just me and her right now. I didn't have to please our friends or fit into a certain place in the group. I wasn't Ward's buddy or Noth’s foil.
Don’t make me toss you on my back. Godds help you if I miss.
Fallon’s smile stopped spreading when she saw I was serious. Cloak whipping at her legs, I felt her regard like a caress. Maybe, for once, she heard the truth behind my teasing because her full-body shiver had nothing to do with the cold. My fur bristled to attention. When I didn’t waver, her breath slowly fogged into the night air. Fallon climbed onto my back, strapping on the canvas bag. I didn’t miss the way she buried her face in the softest partof my ruff. Her full length spread against me, even through layers of clothes, was pure perfection. I resisted a heavy groan.
See. That wasn't so hard.
“Please tell me this is somewhere no one will hear of my complete humiliation.”
That I can promise you, Honey. I won’t even tell my family. Nightfell itself has been lost to the world for many generations. When the Harrowlands grew into what it is now, the Old Magic retreated into pockets that obscured themselves. It started when I was a kid. Every summer, it became tougher and tougher for outsiders to find the entire territory of Sombermane. When we lost our alpha, it was like the veil had become permanent.
“And you can get us there despite all that?” Her muscles finally relaxed, the cloak trapping more of my heat against her.
I always know where home is.Even though home was complicated.
Fallon grew silent, shifting on my back as we turned north, off the road and into the frozen grassland. Though she weighed nothing, it wasn’t a brief trip to Sombermane and further to Nightfell. I wanted to transport her in the finest carriage the Harrowlands could offer, but only my humble strength and determination would get us over the terrain ahead.
After a few hours of travel, Fallon broke the easy silence. I could tell she had her mental quill andparchment ready for a list. “Explain to me everything I need to know about your family and town.”
I huffed a laugh.Honey, be serious.
“I’m dead serious. How am I supposed to convince anyone to help me if I can’t check their boxes? Do you have siblings? What’s your mother’s favorite recipe?”
For once, Honey, I implore you to trust me and just go with the flow.
Her hands tightened on my fur to the point of pain.
Okay. Okay. Don’t skin me alive. Siblings? I mean, there’s too many of them for me to keep track of, so they’re hardly worth a mention. The littlest, Eilie, was only ten when I left.
“Am I going to have to feed them all or did they move away like you?” Was that hope or fear in her voice? Fallon grew up pretty much on her own. Her parents died of Hollow Fever when she was thirteen. Her Aunt took her in. I couldn’t blame her for being intimidated by a large gaggle like mine, and she hadn’t even met them yet.
‘Move away’ isn’t quite an accurate description of what I did.
“What do you mean?” I hadn’t really told any of my friends the half of it. Away from the others, the truth felt looser in my mouth.
The Brothers of Zophiel taught me many things over the years, whether they meant to or not. I met interesting travelers who had come to the monastery. I learned things about myself I never would have otherwise. Even though it didn’t work out in the end–
“Declan, they tried to hand you over to be slaughtered in a shifter army.”
Mistrust was only one lesson they taught me, but it didn’t do to dwell on it.They were the last in a long line of searching. I joined because they claimed to have the Old Magic I left to find. I was dumb enough to believe them.
“We never saw you looking for anything,” Fallon said.
Letter writing seemed a saner way to search after getting trapped.
She hesitated before asking. “Did you find it?”
The answer was as disappointing to me as it probably was to her.
Every scholar and mage only confirmed Old Magic isn’t something you own. It comes to you when it wants to and it's tied to the land in increasingly smaller pockets. It’s a wild thing, Fallon. When Balance returned, the magic would appear on its own. I was never going to stuff it into a satchel and bring it back.
“All that time away, Dec,” she said.
Every moment was worth it to find her.
All the letters repeated: search inside myself. Not the most helpful advice. But I understood what they meant. Everything would be okay, even if I couldn’t bring it back. When the Old Magic fled, Momma was still a gifted chef, with or without it. So, if anyone can teach you to control your feastweaving, it’s her.
