AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m not completely sure about that.” She hands me my plate and a canteen of water. “I would wager somewhere around ten o’clock.”
“Ten! Why didn’t you wake me up? We’re wasting daylight sitting around here.” I quickly put the plate down and stand, adjusting my clothes.
“It’s all right, dear,” Margaret says as if her words should placate me. “Boris and the other Dawn wolves are scouting things out up ahead. You know they can move faster as wolves than we can. They wanted to make sure the way was clear for us to reach the top of the mountain. I promise you they’ll be back shortly.”
“You can’t make a promise like that. Not here anyway.” Glumly, I sit back down and snatch my plate off the cave floor. “Someone should have woken me before they left. What if something happens to Boris? What if I never see him again?”
“Don’t even say that. Don’t even think it.” Margaret holds a hand to her stomach. Her breathing becomes deeper. What I said has made her more anxious.
“Do you love my father?” I ask, watching her reaction to the question.
I don’t need to hear her say the words. The softness that enters her eyes says it all.
“Heaven help me but I do,” she says. “I thought I was too old to fall in love again, but somehow, he broke down my walls and won my heart. I can’t imagine my life without him in it.”
“I’m glad you found each other, but if you ever hurt him, you’ll have to answer to me.”
“Don’t even waste your time on such nonsense. I would rather cut off my right hand then hurt that man.”
“Good,” I say with a firm nod. “Then we understand each other.”
I crack open the bread and stuff it with the cheese. It doesn’t take me long to eat my breakfast. I’m ravenous for some reason. Maybe it was the magic I used yesterday. All the energy has to come from somewhere. Maybe that somewhere is me.
Margaret sits down in front of me. “When we get back to Midnight, Boris said he wants to move into the castle. With you marrying Damon, there’s nothing to keep him in Dawn anymore.”
“What about the shop? He loves that old place, even with all its creaks and chipped paint.”
“He said he plans to sell it and pass down his leadership of the thieves guild. Apparently, he plans to walk the straight and narrow path since his daughter will soon be queen.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “It wasn’t that long ago that I was stealing from the rich. It seems like a lifetime ago now.”
“Time has a way of leaving us in its wake. In the blink of an eye, my son grew into a man.” Margaret closes her eyes and breathes in deeply. “I can still remember what he smelled like as a baby. Oh, that smell can make the strongest women weak in the knees.”
“I’ll have to take your word on that. I’ve never gotten close enough to one to smell it.”
When Margaret opens her eyes, I see sadness there for me, but I don’t want it.
“Don’t feel bad for me. I hear babies can stink to high heaven too.” I stuff the rest of the sandwich in my mouth.
“They can but every inconvenience comes with just as strong a reward. I can’t wait until you and Damon have children. Raising Damon was the most fulfilling time in my life.”
“Margaret.” I toy with a grape between my fingers as I silently debate with myself whether or not to ask my next question. “I was told that you had an affair with your head guard and that he might be Damon’s real father. Is all of that true?”
Margaret picks up a pebble from the floor. “It’s true, but I’m not sure who Damon’s father is exactly, if that’s the next question you’re about to ask.”
“I don’t care who his father is. What I care about is the fact that you cheated on your husband. I want to make sure it’s not something you have a penchant for if you’re going to be in a relationship with Boris.”
“Oh.” She looks genuinely surprised by my worry. “I can assure you, cheating on Boris never crossed my mind, and it’s not something you have to be worried about. Not one bit.”
“Good. I like you. I would hate to have to kill you.” I pop the grape in my mouth while maintaining eye contact with Margaret.
She laughs uneasily, thinking I made a joke, but was it? Anyone who hurts Boris becomes my sworn enemy. I wouldn’t stoop so low as to murder Margaret in her sleep. At the very least, I would give her a dueling chance to save her life.
After I finish my meal, we pack up and make our way up the mountain in hopes of meeting Boris and the rest of the Dawn wolves on the way. The less time we waste the better.
Around mid-afternoon, I become worried. There’s no sign of Boris or any of the other wolves.
“Shouldn’t we have met them by now?” I ask Margaret when we stop for a water break.
