I started to move toward another tree, but Takkan whispered, “There’s a story behind this song. Hear how Megari’s mimicking the river?”
She swept her fingers over the strings. Yes, it sounded like water rushing and trickling.
“The song is about a girl riding down the Baiyun River in a chestnut shell,” Takkan said. “She was the size of a plum, so small she battled cicadas with needles and hopped onto kitebirds to fly away from her enemies. And she wore a thimble on her head so no one would know she was actually a daughter of the moon lady.”
A thimble on her head?I showed my skepticism with twisted lips.Did you make this up?
“You don’t like it?”
I shrugged. It didn’t make any sense. Why a thimble over her head if she was a daughter of the moon lady?
“It’s not my best.” Takkan chuckled. “But I sometimes wonder if you’re one of them, Lina. A daughter of the moon. I’ve decided that must be why you don’t want anyone to see your eyes. They’ll blind us all with their brightness.”
He was teasing, using his stories to coax me out of my shell. Demons take me, it was working. I picked a blossom from my sleeve and blew its petals into Takkan’s face. It made him laugh, and I smiled. I took in the smudges of ink and charcoal on his rolled sleeves, the windswept hair neatly gathered at his nape, his dark eyes, somehow brighter every time I saw them. Kiki was right. He wasn’t so much the barbarian I’d pictured.
It didn’t mean I liked him, of course.
But it couldn’t hurt to like his stories.
It had just begun to snow when we saw the wolves. They loped down the hill, stalking across the snow-white ledges—their eyes pale and merciless.
Megari’s grip on my arm tightened. We turned for another path, but the rest of the pack was on its way, appearing from the direction we were headed. Soon we’d be surrounded.
“Lina,” Takkan said through his teeth as he passed me Admiral’s reins. He reached for his bow and quiver of four blue-feathered arrows. “Take my sister back to the castle.”
“Back to the castle?” Megari repeated. She let go of my sleeve. “No, you’re not staying behind to—”
Takkan cut her off, picking her up and setting her on Admiral’s back.
For Megari’s sake, I climbed onto the horse too, digging my heels into his sides to urge him to ride away.
“Lina! We can’t leave Takkan. He’s injured. You have to turn back—”
My mind was screaming the same. I’d never seen Takkan in combat before. I had no doubt that he was skilled, and that no man would want to make an enemy of him. But no matter how competent a warrior he might be, he was still weakened from his injury. He couldn’t fight an entire pack of wolves alone.
I jumped off, slapping Admiral to carry Megari back to the castle without me. She’d be faster without my weight to bear, and she knew the way. I landed in the snow, and Takkan pulled me to my feet. From the hopeless flicker of his dark eyes, I could tell he thought me a fool for staying.
But at least I was a courageous fool.
The wolves encircled us, emboldened by my small dagger and Takkan’s heavy breathing. They growled, their gray coats glistening with snow. Their fangs were so large they jutted out from their lips.
“Stay close,” said Takkan, pressing his back against mine. The air was thick with menace, as tense as the bowstring straining under his fingers. I bit my lips shut, more afraid thatI would gasp aloud than that their white teeth would end me.
A howl came from beyond the hill—and then the wolves attacked.
Takkan released his arrows, shooting with the precision of a gifted marksman. Each arrow found its home in a wolf’s belly or chest. If there had only been four wolves, the battle would have been over. But more arrived, coming from behind the trees and up the hill.
He drew his sword.
I was the more vulnerable prey, but the wolves ignored me completely. They howled, dodging my attacks and kicking me away. All they cared about was Takkan.
They were going to kill him.
Blood pounded in my ears as the fight drew uphill, crashing through the undergrowth. I tackled one of the wolves rushing after Takkan, but its powerful legs kicked me aside and I tumbled uselessly down.
Below, one wolf skulked along the edges of the hill. At a glance, he looked like the others: his fur was a light bristly gray, his ears pointed and alert. But he was smaller than the other wolves, and he was watching the fight from afar. Every time Takkan killed one of his pack, he let out a terrible cry. He was the one who had howled to begin the attack.
I crawled toward him, scraping along the undergrowth. There was a gold cuff on one of his forelegs. Unusual for a wolf.
