I hold up a hand. “Dwelling on the past won’t fix this world or the future. We know what caused the problem. Reach out if you want to be part of the solution.”
He closes the space between us and faces me, eye to eye. “Don’t hold your breath.”
“Your prerogative.”
“Just tell me one thing,” Jaqual says through his teeth. “How did you ever win the dragon to your side?”
I scoff. “It’s a simple act, but one so beyond your abilities, I have no fear of sharing it with you. I love her. I won her because I love her.”
I don’t wait for him to say anything more. This time, I blend into shadow and leave him to his own.
17
Hard Knocks
Eloise
“No matter how many times you tell me that shades don’t have to sleep every night, it won’t help me stay on this beast. I can barely keep my eyes open.” We’ve been riding for hours. Damien seems obsessed with putting the caravan as far behind us as possible. I’ve watched Warbill’s head bob several times on the back of Borus, and I’m convinced he’s sleeping while sitting up at this point. “Had I known you would deprive me of sleep, I might have stayed with Jaqual.”
Damien forms from the shadows beside me and scowls. It was a low blow, but a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do. “Fine. If I remember correctly, there’s a safe house about a mile from here…if it’s still there. Warbill. Warbill!”
Warbill startles awake. He was asleep, the lucky bastard. “Yeah?”
“Does the safe house at Barrel Pines still exist?”
He nods, slowly looking around. “I think so, although it’s been years, you understand. Not too far from here.”
Damien snorts. “Lead the way.”
We’ve been following two ruts in the underbrush that could be called a road if one were feeling generous, but Warbill takes a hard left into a trackless wood. Romulus snorts at the seemingly impenetrable thicket, the branches of the trees too low and tangled to move through, but Warbill and Damien use the shadows to bend branches to allow us passage. The rabble beasts’ paws tangle in the dense foliage, requiring we pause to free them. Above us, old growth chokes off the moonlight. Our progress is slow. Tedious. The air is suffocatingly close.
When the forest finally opens again, I inhale deeply in relief, thankful for the room, the air, the light. A shack comes into view, surrounded by a deep layer of dead, undisturbed leaves. It’s clear this safe house hasn’t welcomed any recent visitors.
Damien opens the front door, and a blast of stale air invades my nostrils even before I dismount. Romulus sneezes and shakes his head. “It’s safe,” he says.
I’m so tired, it could be a rat-infested cave, and I’d happily sleep on the stone floor. I dismount and remove Romulus’s tack, setting him free to hunt in the surrounding woods, and then I enter the tiny cottage. I’m relieved to find there are two beds with bedding folded and stacked at the end of each, although everything is covered in a thick layer of dust. A fireplace and a stack of old wood await us on one wall with a cauldron on an arm that can swing over the fire. Out the back window, I see the outline of a small outhouse beside a hand pump for water.
Warbill sidles up to me and rests his hands on his hips, scowling at the accommodations, as Damien begins stacking wood for a fire. “I think the back of Borus might have been the better option.”
“Ye of little faith,” I mutter, drawing on my bond with Phantom. I mumble the spell they feed me and snap my fingers. A breeze starts near our feet, sparking with magic as it slithers around our ankles, kicks up dust, and spirals, corralling the dirt in a cyclone of power. The mattresses and pillows give up years’ worth of grit that joins the cloud of filth. Both mattresses fold in half, cover themselves in sheets and blankets, and return to their frames, dressed in perfect corners with blankets layered cozily on top.
The tornado of magic sweeps all the dirt and grime and insect husks up the chimney, blowing out whatever obstructions have built up there over time. A storm of leaves and sticks, along with flapping, bat-like things, falls toward the backyard beyond the window.
Finally, with a flick of my fingers, the logs Damien has stacked ignite.
Damien steps back from the growing blaze and slants a smug grin in Warbill’s direction. “In case you were wondering why I almost ran Jaqual through for daring to touch my woman.” He takes me into his arms and spins me around.
“She is easy to have around, I will admit,” Warbill says, drifting to his side of the room.
Moments later, I’m under the covers, tucked into Damien’s side. It takes me precious little time to fall asleep.
The grandfather clockin the corner of the parlor of Harcourt Manor chimes one time as I bring the cup of tea to my lips. I breathe deeply of Grams’s rosewater perfume mixed with the scent of the fire and the soft feel of the green velvet sofa beneath me. And then a pale face fringed in black bangs leans into my field of vision, her eyes blinking from behind black-rimmed glasses. “Fuck yeah!” Maeve says. “I thought I’d never catch you sleeping.”
I set down the cup in my hand and pull my best friend into a hug as a laugh bubbles up my throat. “Oh, I missed you so much!”
“Then why haven’t you come to see us? Do you have any idea how bad your parents’ Hitch and Cast spell tastes? I’ve been drinking that shit night after night, trying to reach you. I finally tried it during the day, and here you are. Are our timelines out of sync?”
“No, I’m sleeping during the day today. And honestly, things have been so busy, I haven’t been sleeping much at all.” I give her a rundown of what’s happened in the month since I saw her last and watch her face grow more and more concerned.
