‘Thank you,’ I whisper against his tunic.
‘You need never thank me for such a thing, Bryn,’ he rumbles. ‘I’ll never let harm come to you again.’
‘But you won’t always be there,’ Locke says quietly. ‘Bryn needs to learn to defend herself properly.’
I draw away from Morgan and cant my head at the darkhaired fae.
‘I was trained in the pits for weeks,’ I say defeatedly. ‘I won against Maldred.’
I say it without malice, or reproach, though Locke still looks away from me for a moment.
‘I know you did. But it’s not enough.’
‘Locke’s right. It’s not enough,’ Morgan surprises me by saying. ‘I could teach you some tricks, how to wield a knife properly, more than what we began the other day. Locke is best with a conjure usually, but his footwork is actually better than mine and Jak’s. We could begin before you train with Voss’s students...’
I nod, cautiously excited to learn. ‘All right.’
They take me back toward the cottage without delay, keeping me between them on the street. I’m not sure what to make of them, so protective when yesterday I assumed that, Locke at least, could barely stand the sight of me.
When we get to the apothecary door, they take me inside. Morgan knocks on the healer’s room and Jak answers, his smiling countenance darkening significantly as Morgan speaks, telling him what happened, I suppose.
He comes over to me, not touching me. ‘Are you all right, Bryn?’
I nod. ‘Just my neck, but it doesn’t feel too bad.’
Probably because I took that healer’s potion not long ago.
‘It doesn’t look too bad,’ he says. ‘I’ll give you a salve for the bruising. I’ve noticed the healing potions are running a bit low and I won’t be able to make more until the flowers bloom, so we should save them for when they’re really needed.’
I nod and he goes to a basket filled with small identical pots. ‘Here. Would you like me to do it?’
I shake my head. ‘I can.’
Is that disappointment I see in his eyes? Does he want to? Why?
‘The ritual,’ Locke says from across the room where he’s leaning against the wall, looking imposing as usual. ‘We should do it today.’
My eyes find the others to see them nodding and I frown. Last night they were against it, but today is fine? My lip curls when none of them ask me what I want.
We go back to the cottage, Jak in tow as well. When we get inside, I relax minutely, sinking down in one of the chairs by the still-warm hearth.
‘What if I see that man again?’ I ask no one in particular.
‘He won’t remember you,’ Locke says from the casement as he stares out at the trees behind the cottage.
‘But I’ll remember him,’ I whisper.
The floor creaks in front of me and I look up to see Morgan standing ominously over me.
‘You will never see that cunt again, Bryn,’ he promises darkly and my eyes widen.
Morgan is going to kill him, I realize with a certainty that should frighten me.
But it doesn’t. It makes me feel better in some strange way.
‘You won’t get caught?’ I whisper.
His lips turn upward. ‘I won’t be caught, my little human. Come.’
