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You look as vile as ever
Mewling, ill-bred harpy
Gleeking, earth-vexing hedge-pig
Sour-faced vixen
On one page, he’d divided it into three columns, creating a sort of insult-generator. It was almost impressive.
And entirely aimed at her.
It made her smile. She’d always assumed his insults were a spur-of-the-moment thing. She quite enjoyed the effort he’d gone through to craft them. Perhaps she got to him just as much as he got to her.
It was difficult to read by the firelight alone, and her eyes were struggling to stay open as it was. She ate her rabbit in silence (thinking bitterly of herbs and thickly-buttered bread and honey cakes) and stamped out the remains of the fire. She’d be cold, but it wasn’t worth alerting anyone or anything to her presence.
She wrapped herself in her cloak, closed her eyes, and prayed for sleep.
And maybe, just maybe, to see him again.
Despite how exhausted she was, sleep did not come easily. She trod the place between dreams for a long time, tossing in the leaves.
She missed her bed, her room. That sounded ridiculous and foolish given the situation—it was just a room after all. But aside from being comfortable, was it even hers anymore?
Say this works,she told herself,say you get to the capital. Say you free him. What then? He won’t need a guard after then. Fae marriages tend to happen quickly. It could happen immediately. Will you be allowed to go back to the room that was once yours? Will you want to?
She’d endured listening to Hawthorn’s countless exploits in the room next to hers over the years. Why was this different?
Because Serena will be his wife. Serena will stay.
Juliana would be the replaceable one.
You are his guard,she reminded herself.Not a lover. Not a fool. You are meant to be replaceable.
Sleep was almost upon her when she heard the first howl.
She was tired enough to ignore it at first. After all, one lone wolf was hardly much of a problem. The chance of a wolf attacking anyone they didn’t deem a threat was incredibly low. She was safe where she was. No reason to panic.
The howling grew closer.
Juliana raised her head. There was something wrong with the howl. It was too low, too distorted, something more… monstrous.
It took her too long to recognise it.
Not a wolf. Awerewolf.
Juliana was on her feet in an instant. Shoving her backpack in a cranny under the roots, she grabbed her sword and bolted in the direction of a nearby tree. Thankfully, the full moon offered just enough light to aid her in scrambling up the branches.
She froze, gathering her breath, waiting for the next howl.
This is fine,she assured herself.Just stay quiet and stay up here. It won’t find you. With any luck, it’ll move on in a moment and it will be safe to get down.
She didn’t relish the thought of spending all night in a tree. In her haste, she’d left her cloak behind her, and although she was wide awake right now, she knew it would be hard to remain so for the entire night. Maybe she could take off her belt and tie herself to the branch…
The howls increased in volume, something else sliding underneath them.
The sound of panting, low, desperate cries.
The werewolf was chasing someone.
