“Esh! Fast reflexes there,” Navin said.
I glowered at Grae. He should’ve just let me take the knock. It would’ve been fine, maybe the smallest bruise on my body at that point. My spine still ached from being stomped on by the Rooks, though Grae’s salve had helped. It’s the longest I’d ever remained wounded for, but I still didn’t want to risk shifting.
“Maybe you should go lie down,” Mina suggested.
Exhaustion hit me as though she had conjured it into being with her words. My limbs felt heavy, my head fuzzy, and I knew all of my energy was going into healing the many injuries covering my body.
“Good idea,” I murmured, rising on shaking legs.
The wagon rocked again and I tumbled to the side. Grae’s hands shot out, grabbing my hips and steadying me.
“I’m fine,” I snarled, shoving his hands away when he didn’t let go. No one seemed to notice the way I pushed him away, or, at the very least, didn’t find it strange. I was too tired to act like his wife.
He just said “Mmhmm,” and the next thing I knew Grae was standing before he scooped one arm under my legs and the other under my back. He lifted me with ease, climbing the steps up to the second level.
“They’re adorable.” Malou’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“Put me down,” I hissed.
“You’re not used to being this injured,” Grae whispered back, echoing my own thoughts. The warmth of his chest radiated into my cheek. My limbs betrayed me as they wrapped around him, hypnotized by his warmth. “The last thing we need is you falling and cracking your head open. Plus, I’m supposed to be your doting husband, remember?”
“Fine,” I snapped, and he chuckled.
We reached my bunk and Grae gently set me down. He pulled away only an inch, his warm breath skirting over my cheek.
His eyes stormed with intensity as he said, “You must be tired.”
“Why?” I breathed.
His hand slid up my arm toward my fingers, still wrapped around his neck. “You can let go of me now.”
“Right.” My cheeks set on fire. I hastily released him and turned away.
“Sweet dreams, little fox,” he whispered.
“Thank the Moon we don’t have to sleep on that wagon again.” Hector shucked his boots and set them beside the roaring fire. The rocky ride had taken its toll on him and he still looked peakish.
I stared out the window, chill seeping from the pane. Below, the village of Hengreave was buried in snow. Mounds of grimy brown ice lined the streets, the steep rooftops dusted in white. How deep was the town submerged? I couldn’t see the cobbles or the bottom steps that led down from the raised houses.
“You should ride up front with Ora,” Sadie said, swinging her feet from the top bunk.
Grae had bought out the entire room, so we didn’t have to share with travelers. Two bunks, a seating area, and a giant clothes rack around a hearth to dry snow-sodden clothes. I was grateful that he hadn’t tried to get a suite for just the two of us. I didn’t think I could handle another night alone with him.
“I’ve got to keep an eye on you,” Hector replied, tilting his head and staring up at his sister. His shortly cropped hair was growing long enough to stick up at odd angles now and he brushed down his stubbly hair.
“I don’t need you to keep an eye on me,” Sadie retorted.
“I’ve seen the way that human looks at you.” Hector glanced at Grae. “Right?”
Grae laughed and continued unpacking his bag. “I’m staying out of this.”
“He doesn’t look at me like anything, and his name is Navin, not that human,” Sadie growled.
“It wouldn’t work out, Sadie.” Hector stretched out on his bed, placing his hands behind his head. “He’s not one of us.”
“I know—”
“Enough,” I snapped, my breath fogging the glass. “She gets it, Hector. Back off.”
“Not all halflings have cheerful stories like Lord Hengreave,” Hector muttered. “If the Silver Wolf pack hasn’t disowned us already, this would definitely do it.”
“Wait—” I whirled. “Lord Hengreave is a halfling?”
“You didn’t know?”
“I can’t imagine gossip was a part of her lesson plans,” Grae noted, laying his jacket over the wooden slats of the clothes rack.
“It’s one of those things that everyone knows, but no one talks about,” Sadie said, combing her fingers through her hair. “Lord Hengreave is the illegitimate son of the late Taigosi king and half-brother of the current queen.”
“What?” My eyes widened. “I didn’t think it was possible to conceive a half-wolf.”
“It’s possible,” Hector muttered, tucking his hands under his head. “But rare.”
“The Taigosi king gave his son a lordship out here, away from the city and the Ice Wolf pack.” Sadie shook her head. “The late Queen was none too pleased.”
Vellia had taught us all about the different royal families, but I’d never heard this part of the Taigosi history before.
“Don’t get too comfortable,” Grae said, switching the subject. “We’re hiking up the crater today.”
“Do we have to?” Sadie groaned.
“No one will be up there.” Grae kept his back to us, laying his gear across the top bunk. He’d brought a slew of weapons with him and an extensive kit of elixirs and remedies. No wonder his bag dropped like a stone whenever he set it down. “We need to shift.”
“We don’t need to shift.” Sadie raked her fingers through her bangs, pointing her foot at me. “She does.”
“I’m fine,” I said with little conviction. I’d slept the rest of the day and through the night in the wagon and still didn’t feel fully revived. Sleep seemed like the only thing I could do, and it wasn’t enough. “I’m healing.”
“At the pace of a human.” Hector looked me over. “That wound on your chin hasn’t even fully scabbed over yet.” He pretended to gag and I scowled at him. “How the humans handle it, I have no idea.”
“I’ll survive,” I muttered, narrowing my eyes at him. I unlaced the leather strapping holding my pack closed and pulled out the tincture Ora gave me.
“And if we suddenly get attacked by Rooks again?” Hector asked. “Is that salve going to help us fight a mob? Think like a soldier, Calla.”
Grae nodded. “Exactly.”
I groaned as I sat beside my bag and rested my head against the peeling wallpaper. “I have been thinking.”
Sadie unsheathed her knife from her belt and twisted it in her hands. “That’s not ominous at all.”
“If you two turn back now—”
“No,” the siblings said in unison.
“I’ve already tried, little fox,” Grae said, selecting a dagger to add to his belt. “They may squabble endlessly, but on this they agree.”
“You could blame us,” I pleaded. “Say that we made you and you had no other choice.”
“King Nero would still skin us alive,” Hector said. “We disobeyed him. And to disobey him is to turn our backs on the pack.”
I ground my teeth until my jaw muscles ached. “That’s a stupid rule.”