In the light of Raj’s lantern, I spotted a spinning wheel sitting near the room’s only window which was covered in furs. As I looked at the room’s back wall, I spotted a rocking chair and a broken baby’s cradle near the stone fireplace. Raj stepped toward the hearth, and his lantern’s light glinted on an iron cooking pot hanging over the empty coals. Gray ash was scattered about, and tiny footprints, like those of a rat, were visible in the dusty cinders.
“What do you think happened to the people?” Drekken asked.
“Whoever they were, they must’ve come upon hard times,” I said.
“Do you think we’ll find their bodies?” A gruff voice said behind us.
We turned around to find the dwarf sitting on the floor. He looked on us with a bloodshot eye as he arranged his eye patch.
“What in the—” Drekken stumbled back and hit the wall. “Who’s that?”
“Drekken, meet… umm…” I started. “Meet our wolf. He’s a shapeshifter.”
“Shapeshifter?”
“Aye,” the dwarf said.
“But… how?” Drekken asked.
“Long story,” I answered. “It involves a witch’s curse. He also can’t remember his name, so don’t bother asking.”
The dwarf grumbled. Drekken’s eyes darted from me to the man on the floor, as if he couldn’t decide if he liked what was going on.
“I’m pleased to meet you,” he said, formally, almost forced, as he gave a stiff bow.
“Save it,” the dwarf bit back. “No dark elf is pleased to meet me unless they’ve laid eyes on my coin purse.”
“Ah,” Drekken said darkly. “I assure you, I’ve no interest in the coin purse belonging to a dwarf. Probably full of cursed gold.”
“What?” the dwarf spat.
“You heard me, Dwarf. I’ve known enough of your kind to know your capabilities.”
“I’ll break your legs, you filthy elf.”
“Will you? With what weapon? Your peg leg?”
“Why you—”
“Dwarf,” I interrupted. “That’s enough. If you’d like to continue on this journey with us, I’d ask that you respect our traveling companions. That goes for you as well, Drekken. If we could get a fire going, would you be inclined to play a tune or two?”
His eyes lit up. “Play for you? You really want me to?”
“Yes, I would love it.”
“Then I shall acquiesce,” he said with a formal bow.
“I think a tune by the fire is a wonderful idea,” Raj said. “I suppose we can use what’s already here for fuel. Dwarf, Drekken, would you mind helping me with this chair and cradle? Gothel, you can dismantle the spinning wheel. We’ll use them all.”
He placed his lantern on the floor, unsheathed his sword with the quiet sound of metal rubbing against leather, and hacked the cradle in two. I cringed. It seemed wrong to so casually destroy an object that had been used to hold someone’s infant, but we needed warmth, and as the cradle was already broken, I put aside my misgivings.
Removing my knife from my boot, I walked to the spinning wheel and began cutting away the spokes. We worked without speaking until we’d dismantled the wooden furniture. After we arranged the wood in the fireplace, Raj lit the fire. A cheery orange flame burst into existence, chasing away the shadows, seeming to lighten the mood. As I sat on the floor beside the blaze, my skin warmed.
It didn’t take long for the fire to chase the chill from the small room, and as we sat near the hearth, we ate a dinner of sausages—that we’d managed to buy in the last village—and some cheese and vegetables.
After riding all day and eating very little, the food tasted divine, and I savored every bite. The others made small talk, and I was grateful Drekken and the dwarf no longer argued, though I was too exhausted to keep up with the conversation. I huddled under my cloak as the smell of wood smoke filled the air. Flames crackled as Drekken pulled out his lute and began playing.
He plucked a tune, a melancholy sound that conjured images of my past. Varlocke killing my mother. Standing over her broken, bloody body, her too-cold hands pressed between mine, not accepting that she was really gone.
Later, my sadness had grown to anger. Why had she been so petty? If she’d escaped him and left Rapunzel alone, she would’ve lived, and I wouldn’t have been an orphan, forced to protect the person she’d cursed.
“Are you going to sleep?” Raj asked, jarring me out of my thoughts. I glanced around the room. Drekken had stopped playing and now lay sleeping on his bed roll. The wolf also slept curled in a ball near the fire.
“Sorry,” I said, rubbing my eyes. I stood and grabbed my pack, untied my bed roll, and placed it on the floor. I wished I could’ve found an actual bed to sleep in, but there wasn’t one in the room. There weren’t many things I missed about the tower, but my soft feather mattress was one of them.
I laid atop the worn blanket and pulled the woolen coverlet over me. Raj lay not far away, closer to the fire, and I tried to ignore the way the firelight reflected on his smooth, bronzed skin. I failed, and my heart gave its usual flutter. He laid on his back, and I gazed at his profile: a broad forehead, straight nose, and strong chin.
He rolled to face me, and his eyes opened. I quickly looked away, feeling my cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. Had he seen me looking at him?
“You’re awake?” he whispered.
“Yes,” I answered, looking intently at the thatch and wooden planks comprising the ceiling. I wouldn’t dare glance his way
