“I don’t even know your name,” he said. “Just that you came with the Champion.”
I hesitated for half a second. “Lily. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Ler. Thank you for your help.”
I was struck by how these people, whose lives had been shattered, could still thank a stranger.
After surreptitiously refilling his flask with my water channel, I handed it back to him and continued helping wherever needed.
Every time I looked over at Griff—which was more often than I cared to admit—his eyes were on me. It was as if he was worried that I might disappear into the night if he didn’t consistently check on me.
As I was working to clear away debris, he extracted himself from his conversation and approached. “Lily?” he said quietly.
“You seemed like you didn’t want anyone to know who I was,” I said equally as quietly. “And ‘Lexa’ is too well known with this.” I gestured at my hair, which had escaped its crown braid.
Griff reached out, almost involuntarily, to smooth the heavy tail that laid across my shoulder before we both turned back to the work.
It had been a long day, and work would continue into the night. But I wasn’t complaining. This was the most useful I’d felt in months.
After sharing a simple meal with the villagers, people began making arrangements for sleep.
Griff materialized beside me. “I should get you back.”
I swiped a hand over my face, pushing hair aside. “And if I wasn’t here? You’d stay until the work was done.”
He hesitated, then nodded.
“Then I’m staying.” My voice was soft but firm. I saw the doubt in his face and decided to make it easy for him. “Griff, if you want me to go back tonight, you will have to forcibly remove me from here.”
Amusement flickered through his eyes before someone clamored for his attention. He took several steps away, conferring with the chieftain and other town elders about preparations for protecting the village during the night. They offered him a place at their campfire.
“That won’t be necessary.” His tone changed, becoming stiff. “I’ll be staying with—with Lily.”
All eyes shot over to me. A knowing grin crossed the face of one of them, and I decided to play along, sashaying over to tuck my arm through Griff’s elbow. His entire body went rigid.
The men chuckled as they moved on. Griff shot me a look that clearly was a demand to knock it off, and I smothered a laugh. Was it possible the great Champion was flustered?
Before I could say anything else, a whistle through the air distracted us both. In moments, dark shadows stretched out in every direction, falling from the sky, like tentacles reaching out toward us.
“Down!” Griff’s cry echoed throughout the clearing, as he lunged on top of me, forcing me to the ground.
Hufen.
I looked up at Griff. His face was inches away from mine, thoughts flashing through his eyes.
“We arenotleaving,” I said harshly. I wouldn’t deny these villagers their best chance at defense.
Griff resigned himself to that answer, and once the shadows dissipated, he lifted himself off me just as they took solid form around the village.
We drew our swords in tandem.
“Stay alive,” was all he said, before spinning into the fight, both blades flashing.
I followed his path through the hufen until a shape dropped in front of me. He hadn’t been turned that long ago, the black streaks barely reaching his eyes. He brought his ax down in a chopping motion, but Anamlae shattered it in two. The hufen stared at the splinters as if he couldn’t reconcile his woodcutter’s tool with the fragments in his hands.
Muttering a prayer for the soul that used to inhabit his body, I ran him through and moved on.
Another whistle alerted me to the ax barreling toward my head. Before I could dive out of the way, strong arms grabbed me, and suddenly, we were across the clearing. Griff’s eyes raked my face, looking for any sign of injury.
