His gaze moved to the lump that was Bedelia, near Finn. What had she been doing wandering out in the snow? Had she entered into a plot to distract him from the other men? If she’d only needed to relieve herself, she could have stayed much closer to the door. He’d been watching her since she walked out, noting the way she moved, how she favored her right leg, and had seen the wolves stalking her. He’d almost debated stepping in.
He knew it was too great a coincidence that they would happen upon her on the Sand Road after she and Finn were separated in Migris. His suspicion was only increased by the fact that she knew Maarav, and that he had been the one to deliver the potion to cure her ailment after Finn was kidnapped by Anna. Was she somehow affiliated with the secret city, or did she simply know Maarav as in innkeeper in Migris?
One of the lumps stirred, drawing his attention. A clump of fluffy blonde hair came into view. Only Ealasaid.
He shook his head. What an odd group they had gathered. He at least trusted Ealasaid, and her magic was useful.
Next rose Finn, then Kai. Slowly the others awoke and sat up. Last was Bedelia, likely tired from her late night exploits.
“Has the snow stopped?” Finn asked of the room in general as they all struggled out of their bedrolls.
“Yes,” Iseult replied, stepping toward her to offer her a hand up.
She took it, smiling up at him, melting his icy heart . . . just a bit.
“Though riding will be treacherous for a time,” he continued. “The snow will disguise the lower areas and holes in the ground, so we’ll need to be cautious of where we ride. We’ll make for Badenmar, and hope it has not been . . . affected.”
Iseult watched as Finn glanced across the fire at Kai, meeting his gaze. The three of them remembered well what happened the last time they were in Badenmar. That was the night Kai and Anna had first kidnapped Finn. No such thing would happen this time.
Ealasaid and Bedelia left the group, heading toward where the horses were tethered. A few minutes later they returned with hard bread and dried fruits, passing them out to everyone in the group. Bedelia did not meet Iseult’s eyes when she handed him his portion.
Anna peered at the two empty bedrolls, confused.
“I did not see them depart,” he explained, stepping up beside her, “but I doubt it was long after everyone went to sleep. I do not believe they will return.”
Maarav stepped up on his other side. “Those blighted, worthless midges,” Maarav hissed, staring at the space his men should have occupied. “They could have at least challenged me, rather than running away in the night like cowards.”
Iseult simply looked at him, attempting to divine whether or not he was just playing at being surprised, then turned away. It did not matter if he acted. Iseult was watching him regardless. Perhaps they’d go outside and find the men eaten by wolves, and the riddle would be solved.
After everyone had eaten their small meals and attended to their morning duties, they prepared the horses and set out. Finn had attempted to climb onto Bedelia’s horse, but Iseult stopped her, requesting that she ride with him instead. Kai commented on the human and wolf prints near the door, though neither Iseult nor Bedelia offered to explain.
The castle grew small behind them as they rode across the frozen landscape, glittering fiercely in the early morning sun.
“It’s beautiful,” Finn muttered softly near his ear. Her arms were wrapped loosely around his waist, keeping herself steady as his horse trudged through the deep snow.
While he’d requested she ride with him in part to keep her away from Bedelia, he also trusted his horse more than the others to not lose its footing in the snow. Her added warmth at his back was merely a bonus.
“Do you have any memories of the snow?” he asked, knowing that she returned to the human world after the snows had passed for the season.
She sighed. “I remember the snow when I was a tree, but not before. Though, sometimes I see it in my dreams. I see it just like this,” she removed one arm from his waist to gesture at the glittering landscape, then quickly resumed her hold as their mount lurched forward into a hidden dip.
“What do you think it means?” he asked gently. While he didn’t necessarily mind the crisp air biting into his skin, they should have been feeling comforting rays of warmth, given the season. He’d seen Faie magic before, but he was not sure even the Faie were capable of covering the land in ice.
“I wish I knew,” she replied. “I wish I knew a lot of things. If only I could speak once more with my-” she cut herself off, as if only then realizing she’d been speaking her thoughts out loud.
“Your mother,” he finished for her. She’d told him about her encounter with her mother. She wasn’t sure if it had been a dream, or some alternate reality, but her mother had warned her of great danger, and had advised her to stay near Iseult’s side. Her mother had also implied she had been hiding Finn from their tribe, the Cavari.
Finn was silent for several seconds before replying, “Yes. I just wish she could explain things to me. I wish anyone could. For some reason, this snow makes me feel like a child again, but I do not understand why. I don’t even remember anything about being a child. I just . . . I feel like it means . . . something.”
“It will come to you in time,” he offered, hoping to comfort her.
“Will it?” she questioned, sounding almost hostile. “It feels like it’s been ages since I was a tree, and yet I’m still in the same place I was before. Searching for answers that seem to get farther away the more I look.”
He could understand her discouragement, but he also suspected she didn’t truly want the answers she sought. He suspected her missing memories were her own doing, a way to deal with the pain of losing her child in her previous life. She would never be able to unlock them if she could not accept that loss.
“I apologize,” she said in reply to his silence. “I should not complain. At least I now know who I am, though my people are strangers to me.”
He placed a hand on her arm and gave it a squeeze. Though he was unused to displaying any sort of affection, he felt she needed it. “Knowing who you are is the most important part.”
“Yes, you’ve taught me that,” she replied playfully. “And after that, I suppose it’s knowing who your friends are?”
He chuckled, another rare event. “Yes, you have taught me that.”
They rode on in companionable silence after that, while their party members occasionally complained about the snow. There were no complaints on Iseult’s mind though, for the snow suddenly seemed a little less cold, or perhaps it was just the effect of the warm presence at his back.
Of all the things they could have encountered, snow was the last thing Maarav would have guessed. The second to last, were the black shapes he occasionally noticed watching them from the trees. He knew Iseult had noticed them too, judging by the way he gripped the pommel of his sword, and the way his eyes darted about. He also knew it was no coincidence that Tavish and Rae had disappeared the night before.
He sighed, refocusing his attention on their present predicament. They’d ridden out of the denser snow to find a small path with only a light dusting. Hopefully soon they would ride out of the snow altogether, and things could go back to normal . . . at least, as normal as they could be in a land plagued by the Faie. Perhaps the stealthy black shapes were only observing them, and upon seeing him, would leave them alone.
He sighed as several black clad figures stepped onto the path ahead of them. Things wouldn’t be going back to normal after all.
He drew his horse to a halt, recognizing those who stood before them, though they wore black cowls over their heads, with additional fabric covering the lower parts of their faces. One in particular he would know anywhere.
“I’m surprised to see you this far south, Slàine,” he called out as his companions stopped their horses a few paces behind him.
“I have a job to do,” called back the woman who’d raised him like he was her own son.