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A biting sensation pricked at my palm like I’d wrapped my fingers around a ball of acid-laced thorns. But before I could react, the pain faded, swallowed up in that golden warmth like a balm of soothing honey had slipped between me and the bulb.
Carefully, I lifted my eyes to the woman and her companions. “Satisfied?” I asked, my voice meticulously calm.
The woman jerked her chin at Casimir. “Him next.”
“Indeed.” Casimir took the bulb from me, holding it and arching his eyebrow at the woman as if implying the same question I’d asked.
Her jaw clenched, and then she glanced at Ruhl. “Press it to the dog.”
Silence reigned for a heartbeat.
“Ruhl,” Casimir snapped without taking his hand from my back.
The wolf circled to his side. Casimir lowered the bulb down, resting it briefly on Ruhl’s fur and then removing it.
“May I return the produce now?” he asked coldly.
The woman’s expression hardened, but she nodded.
“I assume that means we passed your inspection,” Dex said as Casimir placed the bulb back inside the wooden box.
Her eyes scanned us, and she gave no sign of noticing that even now, Casimir’s magic still pulsed through the contact he maintained with my back. “You are permitted entry to Duteliera.”
“Wonderful,” Clay replied, and only a fool would have missed the sarcasm in his tone.
Her gaze snapped to him angrily. “That test has saved countless lives. It is the reason Duteliera still stands when numerous other cities have fallen. You would do well to respect our ways. They might just save your life too.”
“What exactly does this test prove?” Lars asked.
The woman merely gestured for the guards to return to the city. “It is not safe to remain outside the walls for long.”
With that, she turned and strode back toward the gate, leaving us to follow.
“Here,” Byron said, pulling out a scrap of cloth from his bag. He headed immediately to me and Casimir, an urgent look on his face that, with his back turned, the Aneirans wouldn’t see. Placing the rag on my palm, he clasped my hand briefly and murmured something under his breath.
A cool sensation swept my palm as he pulled the cloth away.
Casimir removed his hand from my back and took the cloth, waiting a heartbeat for the scholar to murmur the words again.
“Thank you,” Casimir said, his voice soft but sincere.
Byron gave a small nod and then glanced at Ruhl. “If I may?”
I couldn’t tell if he was asking Casimir or Ruhl himself, but the wolf paused long enough to allow Byron to wipe the rag over the place on his fur where the garlic had touched.
Ruhl gave a little shake when the scholar finished, but only as if he was rearranging his fur to his liking rather than experiencing any discomfort.
Quickly, Byron made his way around the group, offering the rag to all of the men and giving the Aneirans a tight smile when they glanced back.
“What?” Clay asked them. “You expect us to go around smelling like garlic all day?”
One of the guards’ eyes narrowed. I held my breath, bracing myself—but for what, I wasn’t sure. We’d passed. Whatever the hell this test was, we’d passed.
“Don’t stall,” the man warned. “You don’t want to be out here if anything comes over those hills.” Without another word, he hurried after the woman and the rest of the guards.
Uneasy looks passed between my men.
“Well,” Clay said tightly. “That’s ominous as fuck.”
