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The way he’d held a knife at my throat made a little more sense now.
“No one’s magic has ever affected me like this. I need it to stop. But I can’t leave you alone in this place, because the thought of a monster hurting you, I can’t…I won’t let that happen.”
I watched him turn and walk back the way he’d come. “Ash.”
He paused, his shoulders rising and falling with his quick breaths.
There were likely a thousand things I could say—should say in this moment—but I stepped carefully over the fallen leaves, stopped at his side, and said, “Teach me how to fight the monsters, like I did back there, and you won’t have to worry. Teach me how to break the spells that control them.”
His fingers twitched, and my heart leaped skyward at the idea that he might take my hand.
Instead, he fisted his hand and said, “If you start tearing this place apart…if you start breaking the rules, there will be consequences, and I won’t be able to save you from them all.”
12
An hour later, Edith and Ferrier jumped up to embrace me when I entered the clearing below their fort.
“You survived!” Ferrier said, smiling broadly.
I glanced at Ash, who hovered at the edge of the clearing with his hands in his pockets. Our gazes locked for a brief moment.
Edith traced the invisible line between me and Ash. “Oh, and I found you a pair of boots. These should fit you better.”
I clapped a hand to my face and let out a sigh that sounded too much like a whimper. I dove for the boots, trying to forget that my feet would be comfortable only because someone had died. My mouth twisted at the idea, but my feet rejoiced at the embrace of the leather that didn’t rub on the open blisters.
With my boots secured, my attention turned toward the platform in the enormous tree. “Nan,” I whispered, stepping over toward the rope.
Already, I’d mastered rope climbing, never wanting to repeat the awful episode with the wolves. I wrapped the rope around my leg and foot, then stepped on it to lift myself. It wasn’t graceful, but I eventually rose to the platform and clambered to where Nan lay. She was still, and I held my breath.
When my hand touched her shoulder, she rolled over. She looked tired but glad to see me.
“Vera.”
I closed my eyes in relief. That minotaur had rattled me, and her voice felt like a warm blanket tucked around my chilled shoulders.
“You’re alive!” I breathed.
Nan twisted around, and I helped prop her against the branch behind her head. “My dear, there are two truths you need to know, and you need to accept them without argument.”
I sat back, a little surprised by her forwardness, but eager to listen.
“First, I’ve set up some fairly secure protections for myself right here. You needn’t worry about me. Edith, Ferrier, and Ash have provided everything I need, and in return, I’ve locked some enchantments in place to help them. Some they know of, others they do not.” Her wrinkled face curved in a small smile. “I have helped as many as I can, but my time is running out. I am tired.” At my quick gasp, she raised her hand. “Now, mind you, I’m not in any hurry to die. I’m merely finished running. I’ve made my peace with this place, as much as anyone can. And I’m as comfortable as is likely to be possible in this place.”
A wave of emotion swept through me as I recalled Nan’s funeral. How I’d wept then, thinking she was gone. A tear pressed into the corner of my eye.
“And second,” she continued, her voice firmer and her shoulders stiffening in a way that made me sit up straighter for what she was about to say, “that boy is not who you think he is. For one thing, he is a lock like me. That might be useful information for you.” Nan pressed on before I could interject. “And the only other thing I will say—well, there are two things. When the moment comes for you to learn what I know, I want you to remember that he’s put himself at great personal risk to help you.”
“I know who he is, Nan.”
Her gray eyebrows rose. “Oh. I see,” she said with a faint smile. “He doesn’t even know that I know. But watching someone can tell you a lot about them, especially when you can feel their magic.” She leaned forward slightly. “The things the king said about him, not even half of them are true, and those truths have been twisted to fit the king’s purposes. Only those alive before the war know this, and most of us are dead now. I was young, but I remember what my father said about Henry Asher.” She lifted a hand. “I’m not the one to set the record straight, my dear. He must tell you, and I suspect he will, in time. One other thing, if you care for him—and I suspect you do by the way your magic feels when I talk about him—try to forgive him. People who are afraid or wounded, especially those never given a chance to heal, often hurt others. And I suspect he carries deep wounds.”
Visions of my mother grated against my already spinning thoughts. After my father died, she had grown even colder—more distant—than she’d been before. Trying to make sense of the turmoil in my head, I pressed my hands against my eyes and commanded myself to calm down.
For a short while, I sat with Nan, as I had each day since I’d arrived at the fort, answering more questions about Archer and Danny and the two years of our lives she’d missed, until she fell asleep once more.
Lying so still, she looked frail. Magic was a strange strength, the kind you couldn’t see. It was like love or bravery. My lips curled into a smile as I watched her shallow breaths. She was the strongest person I knew.
Edith and Ferrier had climbed up to the platform while Nan and I were talking. Edith lifted her head when I stepped down from Nan’s little room.
