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The Beast rumbled with pleasure, his mane fluffed out smugly. Freya gave him a sidelong look, half amused and half puzzled, and went back to scrubbing her clothes.
Aldis was much less inclined to go near the Beasts, but she finally crept towards the next basket of laundry. The other Beast, smaller than the russet one and speckled with gray and black fur, shook out a blanket for her.
Aldis froze in place, but finally forced herself to take it. When the Beast didn’t immediately attack, she even chanced a weak smile.
Relief filled me. I had been sure I’d find at least one of them utterly losing her mind at the thought of living amongst perceived enemies, but if meek Aldis could adapt… anyone could.
“You’re coming along well.” I strode down the riverbank, settling near the Beasts. I still felt weak and tired, exhaustion dragging at my bones like weights.
Freya actually smiled when she saw me. A real smile, one I hadn’t seen on her face in years. “So are you. We helped clean you up.” She gestured towards Aldis. “Your Beasts were, um… a little upset to have someone else touch you, but we convinced them to let us handle the blood.”
I had been out so hard I hadn’t been even slightly aware of anyone cleaning the blood away. “Thank you. I couldn’t let Ash die… not after what he did for us. How have they been treating you?”
Freya cast another sidelong look at the russet Beast, who immediately preened for her. “Shockingly well. I slept in a knothole last night, which was strange, but… comfortable, all things considered.”
“It takes some getting used to.”
She held up the blanket. “He told me this was for nesting. Are we squirrels now?”
Despite herself, Aldis laughed a little. She fell quiet again when the black-and-white Beast cocked his head.
“He won’t hurt you,” I told her gently. “I know they are frightening, but they are not the same as the men from Vostok. And if one of them brings you raw meat… just come talk to me. I’ll explain it.”
The russet Beast’s eyes were gleaming as he watched Freya. I wondered if he was already planning to bring down a stag in the next night or so.
“I know,” Aldis whispered. “He was very kind to give me shelter. It’s just… I’ve always been so afraid of them.”
Freya patted her arm. “We’ll be fine, love.”
“Is there anything you need?” I asked. Once I was sure they would be able to settle in comfortably, the first thing I was going to do was eat my own body-weight in food. Then I’d be able to figure out what to do for Ash next.
They both assured me they were fine for now—the russet Beast seemed to be mentally tallying exactly what Freya would need—so I went back to the firepit and got a small flame started.
It didn’t take long to mix up a small batch of porridge, cracking several eggs into it. I found a salt cellar the Beasts had stolen from a caravan, and ate until my stomach felt like it would split.
But after that, I felt a thousand times better. I gave my crow the last specks of my food, then put on a pot of water to boil, tearing up clumps of more marshmallow and slippery elm.
Draven and Torr came to me while I strained the herbs and began crushing them into a fine paste.
“Did they hurt you, love?” Torr asked, running his claws over me. They lingered at my wrists, still bruised from the iron cuffs.
I wrapped my fingers around his claws. “No more than they ever did before. Torr, you can’t punish Ash for this.”
“And why not?” His red eyes gleamed, anger simmering beneath the concern.
“Because he paid for it with blood,” I said bluntly. “If not for him, Freya and Aldis would’ve been left there, and I have no doubt Freya would’ve been dead within the year. He took the arrows for us. He’s been punished enough.”
Torr made a grumbling sound, but as he watched me continue smashing the herbs with a little more force than was really necessary, he finally sighed. “Very well. I will leave him in your capable hands.”
“Believe me, I am more than capable.” I smiled, thinking of how upset Ash would be to have me fussing over his wounds. “But he owes me, and he’s going to be quiet and deal with it.”
Draven snorted. “He will fight you every step of the way.”
“I’m practically counting on it.”
Draven helped me carry the pot of poultice up to the knothole, and I kissed his snout before he left.
I examined the Beast sleeping in my nest. Ash was on his stomach, making it easier for me to tend the wounds.
