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I shook my head. “My mother and father love each other more than anything else in the world. I see it, I feel it. I’ve never experienced that kind of love for myself, and even if I did, I feel like it would only slow me down.”
“Slow you down? Where are you going?”
“Anywhere. Everywhere. This place, this city… I was never meant to be bound behind its walls. I was meant to run free, to explore, to experience the world. I want adventure, Tallin. I want danger. I want to test my own boundaries and push them so that I can grow. How can I do that if I’m worried about someone elseall the time?”
“Is that what you think love is? A set of chains?”
“I know that’s what it is. You think my mother and father aren’t constantly worried about each other’s happiness levels? It sounds exhausting.”
Tallin shook his head. “It isn’t my place to try to convince you to love someone, Princess. My place is simply here, with you.”
I glanced at the little Winter Sprite. “It was, but we’ve reached the end of the bridge… this is where you turn back and go home. You can tell them you saw me escaping if you like, just give me an hour’s head start… or wait until morning. Yeah, that’s better.”
“Sorry, but no.”
“No?” I frowned. “What do you mean, no?”
“I mean, my place is at your side. If you’re going out there, then I’m going with you.”
“Tallin, no… you can’t.”
The little Winter Sprite puffed his chest. “But you can? With respect, Princess. Just because you can turn into a wolf doesn’t mean you’re the only one of us equipped to handle the outdoors. I’ll remind you I come from a long line of explorers and even warriors.”
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to imply you weren’t capable. I just don’t want you to get hurt on my account. I couldn’t deal with it.”
“Nor could I. And the last thing I want is to leave you to go out into the woods alone and never hear from you again.”
“You do realize I’m only going to visit Radulf, right? I’ll get there before sunrise if I keep a decent pace.”
“Yes, I realize that.”
I paused. “You also realize the Moon Children are part wolf—”
“—and that to them, I look like prey and would probably taste delicious, yes. I’m aware.”
“And you still want to come?”
Tallin looked up at me with his big, blue eyes. “I’ll go with you to the edge of reality and beyond, Princess. This is my vow. I’ll never leave your side.”
A gentle warmth filled me. “Tallin… that’s incredibly sweet of you.”
“I don’t suppose you’ll reconsider, now?” he asked, smiling brightly.
“You know that I can’t.”
He sighed. “I do. But you can’t blame a Sprite for trying, right?”
“I guess not…” trailing off, I turned my gaze over the frozen landscape ahead of us. The hills rose and fell, trees demarked the edge of a forest, and road signs pointed the way to the cities of Lysa, Northend, and to the Forest of the Moon.
Three separate trails of nicely cobbled stone led away from the sign. On any other occasion, I would have taken steps to mask my scent. My mother could, after all, also take the wolf’s form and follow my trail quite easily. But by the time she knew I was gone, I would be with the Moon Children anyway, so it didn’t matter.
“Alright,” I said, “Let’s make tracks, shall we?”
“Are you walking like that?” Tallin asked.
I dropped to my hands and feet, and by the time I hit the ground, I had shrugged into the wolf’s form. All of the clothes I was wearing, the bag I had brought with me, and even my shoes, had all melded into my body, disappearing underneath my fur and hide. I shook my silvery fur and took a moment to adjust to the fresh smells that had opened up for me.
“I’ll never get tired of that,” I said, taking a deep breath of cold, crisp, winter air. Puffs of steam billowed out of my nose and mouth.
