Page 94 of Salt Between the Wolves

"You should have told him."

"I know."

The repetition carried more frustration than agreement.

When Maelin finally looked at her, worry had returned fully to her face.

"I wanted one evening."

The honesty of the answer caught Eira off guard.

"One evening before everything becomes complicated."

Neither of them pretended not to understand what she meant, because it would become complicated, and perhaps it already was.

Maelin glanced toward the main house again before guiding her horse away from the road, not toward the front entrance but toward the side of the estate.

Eira noticed immediately.

The path curved behind a line of storage buildings and continued toward a smaller courtyard that was partially hidden from the main yard. Lantern light barely reached this part of the grounds, and the sounds of the household gradually faded behind them.

"Maelin."

Her sister kept riding.

"Please don't make that face."

"What face?"

"The one where you've already decided I'm right."

Eira almost laughed.

Instead, she followed as Maelin guided them behind a large stone granary and toward an older wing of the estate that appeared to have been built long before the rest.

Unlike the main house, only a few windows here were illuminated, while most remained dark and undisturbed, giving the entire section a quiet, hidden quality.

And suddenly Eira understood.

Not because Maelin explained, but because she didn't, and because every turn they had taken since entering the grounds pointed toward the same conclusion.

Maelin wasn't hiding her from enemies; she was hiding her from her own household.

The realization settled heavily between them.

Ahead, a narrow side door opened into the older section of the house, and a lantern burned beside it, casting a pool of warm light across the snow.

Maelin finally dismounted, moving more carefully now that the long ride was behind her. For a moment she stood beside her horse with one hand resting against her stomach while she gathered herself, and then she looked up at Eira.

"Come inside."

The words were simple, yet beneath them lay everything neither of them had said.

For tonight, at least, the world could wait, while tomorrow promised difficulties soon enough.

Chapter 14: The Cost of Shelter

Eira