I nearly looked away in shame. “I am so sorry. I am sorry I cannot—”
Endre hopped on top of my knee and butted his head against my chest. His wings fluttered as he looked up at me. “Se-ra…love…you.”
I sniffed and let a little smile bloom on my lips. Erik fluttered up to perch on my shoulder. He preened a few wisps of hair away from my temple. He was never one to dispense verbal affection, but he delivered the sentiment all the same.
I gently ran my fingertips down Erik’s glossy back, then Endre’s. Having some of them was better than none at all.
Daigen picked up his pail and walked to the fire in the hearth, which was losing its azure hue by the second. “If you have had enough of your little reunion, I have a reunion of my own that I need to get to.”
Endre perched on my available shoulder as I slowly rose from the floor.
“I had no idea an immortal could be so impatient,” I said.
Daigen tossed me a sly glance. “And I had no idea a sorceress could be so difficult.”
He tipped the pail and doused the fire. I furrowed my brows.
Daigen glanced at my face and set the pail down with a clatter. “I already had to explain how water works, do I have to explain how heat works too?” He walked toward the pile of ash that was once his table. “Fire burns away all the moisture inthe air around it, meaning there are too few tears around most flames for you to manipulate. Anything more than a candle is going to require normal mortal tools to snuff out.”
How inconvenient.
He pluckedReginbaniout of the pile of ash and slid it back into the scabbard at his hip. He pulled a pair of pants and a dusty pair of boots out of a cupboard and shoved them on.
Daigen finished the last knot on his boot and stood up. “Well,Baron,we’d best be leaving. There is a scared little girl at the fortress who just lost her parents and is needing some help.”
My stomach dropped. Astrid. Nikkolas and Hilda Bloodstone had died more than three days ago. Poor Astrid was lost and confused on a normal day, how was she faring now that she was completely alone?
The bigger question, however, was why did Daigen want to go to her? Hilda had told me Daigen had cut Riyan free from his mother’s womb, so he had appeared when Astrid was in peril at least once.
Did that mean she was in worse distress than I feared?
My hand slowly slid into the pocket of my skirt. I traced the threads of the three flowers embroidered into a scrap of linen, each one representing a promise I had made Riyan before he left.
Take care of Astrid. Take care of the North. Try to be happy.
I let out a breath. Even though I felt like I was failing Riyan with every passing minute, I could at least keep my promises.
I pulled out the golden Bloodstone pin bearing the snarling bear and pinned it next to the Ravenwood pin that held my cape closed. If we were going to the fortress, might as well announce loud and clear that I was the North’s new Baron.
Daigen fastened a grey and green cloak around his shoulders. He held the door open for me as I stepped into the night.
Erik croaked in my left ear just as I was about to take my second step. I looked down and my heart leaped as my foot dangled in the air over the ledge.
I froze. Erik and Endre fluttered their wings against my hair as I almost took one step too many. The space outside the door could not have been more than six inches long—perfect for a sorcerer with hooves of a mountain goat, but not for a person! “The hell—?”
“Thought you were going to rely on me to get everywhere?” Daigen said. “This is another exercise in trust.Youare going to trust in your magic to get back to the fortress andIam going to trust that you will not fall to your death.”
Endre hissed and raised his hackles. I bit my tongue and was foolish enough to glance down. I could not even see how far up I was from the ground.
I turned around. Daigen leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded across his chest.
I could have punched him. “If I die,youwill never get what you lost from the Hytons.”
Daigen’s smirk disappeared. His cheek twitched in his silence, as if he were carefully considering what he was going to say next.
Finally his eyes gleamed and he smiled. “I’m glad you finally figured out that I need you just as much as you need me, but the Man of the Mountain gave you the gift of sorcery for a reason. If you don’t use your magic, you might as well sit next to Fraleigh at the feet of Duke Hyton’s throne.”
I huffed. “Duke Hyton cannot own me. I am a Baron!”
