Page 128 of Salt Between the Wolves

Sometime before dawn finally arrived, sleep found her at last.

Chapter 17: The Crossroads

Eira

The following morning arrived beneath a pale sky streaked with thin clouds drifting inland from the western coast.

Eira was halfway through breakfast when Leander appeared without any announcement or servant hurrying ahead to herald his arrival. One moment he was absent, and the next he stood in the doorway with a mug in one hand and an expression suggesting he had already been awake for several hours.

"Good."

Eira blinked as Leander nodded toward her plate.

"You're eating."

The statement caught her entirely off guard.

"I'm sorry?"

"Travelers who stop eating are usually either ill or planning something foolish."

After taking a sip from his mug, he added, "You appear healthy enough."

Before she could decide whether that qualified as a greeting, Leander glanced toward the window and instructed her to bring her cloak. He then walked away as though the conversation had been perfectly normal.

Eira stared after him while, across the table, Finn looked entirely unsurprised.

"Does he always do that?"

"Yes."

"That's exhausting."

"Also yes."

Lyra nodded solemnly before adding, "Sometimes he disappears in the middle of conversations."

"That cannot possibly be true."

"It happened twice yesterday."

After a moment of consideration, Finn corrected her.

"Three times."

"See?"

Eira looked toward Maelin, whose smile made no attempt to hide itself.

"You'll get used to it."

That did not sound reassuring.

Twenty minutes later, Eira found herself crossing the courtyard beside a man who appeared entirely unconcerned by the fact that he had given no explanation whatsoever for where they were going.

Leander walked with the same easy confidence he seemed to bring to everything else, moving at a pace that was neither hurried nor slow, as though the world would wait patiently for him to reach his destination.

The morning air carried the sharp scent of frost and distant water, while thin sunlight reflected from patches of old snow and stable hands and servants moved about the estate, already busy with the day's work.