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When I glanced back at Garrick, I found his eyes already on me, soft with understanding. As if sensing I didn’t want to discuss it, he let his somber expression melt into an easy grin. “I was always told the hunter was defending a lover. He was fae, but he’d fallen for a mortal woman that was betrothed to a greedy and cold king from another land. Forced to escort the woman he loved to her wedding, he protected her from every sort of dangerous creature and curse along the journey.”
“And then what happened?”
“He asked her to run away with him, but when they tried, the king’s soldiers tracked them down. They killed the hunter, and the human woman married the king.”
I frowned. “Stories are supposed to end happily.”
Garrick leaned back against the cavern wall to study the sky. “Fae ones aren’t meant to have any sort of endings. They’re either pieces of history, passed along over generations until one can’t tell truth from myth, or they’re told as warnings and lessons. I think our version of the hunter’s story might be a piece of one of our kingdoms’ histories, though the details are so vague now, it’s hard to tell.”
“Father’s stories were to let us escape into a happy world for a time,” I said wistfully. “And perhaps to teach lessons too, but they were about good deeds overcoming the bad.”
“Let me tell you a happier story then,” Garrick said, pointing to a bright star, one of the first that had appeared in the gathering darkness. “In Brytwilde, we call that staraeveld, which in the old language means hope. It’s the brightest star in the winter sky, the one that banishes the most darkness. Some like to say it’s a gift from one of the goddesses, her parting reminder that even in the blackest of nights, starlight will makea way for you and give you hope.” He tossed me a grin. “What do you think of that, Starlight?”
My face flushed. “I thought you called me that because of my hair.”
“True,” he said, his expression sincere, “but also because you shine brighter than any of those sad mortals in your town. Why do you think I chose to speak to you?”
I smirked. “Because I saw through your glamour and you wanted to know why?”
Garrick laughed. “Even before I realized that, I knew there was something special about you.”
Covering my face to conceal my awkwardness, I shook my head and laughed along with him. “You’re a horrible flirt. I don’t believe anything you say.”
“I can’t lie, can I?”
Pretending to be furious, I lifted a pinecone from the cavern’s floor and tossed it in his direction.
Garrick schooled his expression, tucking away his laughter and teasing. “In all seriousness, I’ll try not to flirt and make you uncomfortable, but I think you should know your worth after all the rot your townspeople spoke about you. Magic or not, you deserve a better life, far away from that town. I’m sorry for the way things happened, but I can’t say I’m sorry you have a chance to experience Silverfrost. Tomorrow, I’ll try to help you practice your magic, unfit as I am for that.” He stood, stretching his arms. “You should get some sleep. I’m going to keep watch. I warn you: I have to put out the fire now that it’s growing dark or it’ll attract others for miles around, but I have a makeshift door I can use to shut you in, so you’ll be all right.”
“Won’t you need sleep?”
He shook his head. “I’ll stay outside in wolf form. When I shift back, it’ll be as if my fae form slept all that time, dormant while I prowled about as a wolf.” He grinned. “I have to enjoythe benefits of the little magic I’m granted while I can, and this seems like a good time. I’ll wake you if there’s any trouble.” He lifted one of the pine branches to step outside, but before he left, he glanced over his shoulder. “Sleep well, Starlight.”
Garrick’s makeshift door was made up of bark and sealed the cave entrance well enough to keep the lingering warmth of the fire inside. Curled up in my coat and bundled within the bedroll, I was able to stay comfortable, with my own body heat soon filling the small space until I drifted off to sleep.
The scrape of the door pushing inward woke me just as Garrick filled the entrance, silhouetted by the pale grey light of pre-dawn. He tossed a pair of boots, a tin, and some thick woolen socks beside me. “Sorry to wake you,” he said, voice hoarse. “I know my boots were hurting you, so I traded with Shavonne for a new pair. You’ll need to apply that salve to help heal your feet and prevent infection. And you’ll need to hurry.” He leaned against the wall, shoving the door closed and immersing us in darkness.
But not before I caught a glimpse of an arrow shaft protruding from his leg and blood drenching his trousers.
“You’re hurt!” I gasped.
The sound of a striking match filled the space as Garrick reached for a lantern on a natural shelf in the cavern, lighting the candle within and setting it on the ground. In its flickering glow, I noticed how pale his face was as he grasped the arrow and, with a muted grunt, tore it free. “I’ll be fine. Please hurry.”
Gritting my teeth, I hastened to obey Garrick, yanking off my bloodied socks and applying a generous amount of salve to my feet. I wrapped them using a roll of gauze from Garrick’s pack and shoved them into the thick socks. Instantly, the pain eased, making me wonder what magic the salve contained. The reliefmade it bearable to tie on the new boots, which fit perfectly, and stand. “Let me see your wound,” I insisted, crouching before Garrick and studying the blood staining his trouser leg.
“It’ll heal,” Garrick said, but when his eyes met mine, they were glassy. “I was struck while in wolf form. Give it a little time, and the wound will improve. That’s one benefit of being a shifter—the injuries you sustain in your animal form don’t affect you nearly as much when you’re in your high fae form.” He flashed me a smile, a little less brilliant than his usual grins. “There’s a party of soldiers hunting us, and it won’t take them long to draw near. We need to leave. Can you walk?”
“You’re askingmeif I can walk?”
Garrick just shot me a pointed look, refusing to let me worry over him.
I stood, setting my jaw. “Yes.”
As we packed, Garrick’s limp grew less pronounced, and the color began to return to his face. “Already much better,” he insisted as we stood in the dark. We paused long enough for him to listen for any approaching footsteps, and then he slid the door free.
The growing daylight burned my eyes.
“I’m afraid we’ll have to travel hard to stay ahead of them,” Garrick said grimly. “There won’t be time to stop for resting or training. Can you manage?”
