One of the night howls on the side whimpers until the one in the front turns and stalks off with the others at its heels.
When my eyes strain from making sure they’re out of sight, I say, “That was lucky.” My breath stutters. I recline against the tree as though I just crossed the boundary wall and climbed the hill, trying to catch my breath.
“Night howls you said?” she asks.
I’ve never heard of a night howl sparing someone, and I’ve never heard of someone speaking to them and retaining their tongue or any other part of their body. The king’s wolves have a reputation for being brutal, merciless, and constantly hungry, never walking away from the living and leaving them that way.
“The night howls aren’t the only thing you need to worry about. There are demons too.”
“Those I can handle.” Her startling eyes watch me carefully as a thread of light appears on the horizon, reminding me of how dangerous desire can be.
My eyebrows lift. “We should go anyway,” I say.
Sneaking back into Raven’s Landing is risky. However, it crosses my mind that she and I could secret off in the other direction, following our feet wherever they lead and live in some distant, strange place. I might not mind that except I’m always pulled back into Raven’s Landing despite my better judgment.
Instead, we stick to the thickets and trees as we descend the hills. Without the cover of complete darkness, I feel vulnerable and not because I can’t handle myself. I want her to know the stark reality she faces in Raven’s Landing and yet I don’t want her to know. However, forewarned is forearmed, at least that’s what my dad used to say.
As we near the city walls, I slow my pace, reluctantly dispensing any sense of boyish wonder at her unexpected appearance overnight and restore the armor of survival.
I fall into step beside her. In a low tone I say, “In this world, confidence is currency. It’ll get you through the gate, past the gauntlet, and directly into the king’s stronghold. It will also get you questioned by the patrol, thrown into the ashpit, or inked. Confidence will get you shelter, food, and a broken nose.” I rub the bridge of my own. In other words, confidence will ruin you either way.
“A broken nose?” she asks.
“Always hit back because they won’t stop. Fae are outcast. The inked are expendable. Magic is outlawed. The patrols have blades and arrows. The rest of us have fists and fury. Everyone is broken and no one is safe.”
A question sits on her lips, but she doesn’t ask it.
“If you could, I’d say just keep going, don’t stop here, but as it is there aren’t any boats and this peninsula is the end. If you want to get by you can’t stare doe-eyed at anyone. Keep your elbows out and your blade at the ready.”
“I just want to see the king and—”
“You’re seeking the wrong man, but luckily you found me,” I say with a smirk.
“Are you always so cocky?” She scowls.
Even so, in the soft light of dawn, she’s stunning. I close my mouth and then open it again, remembering where I am and who I am. There is no room for desire inside the Raven’s Landing boundary wall. I dismiss the notion entirely and harden my heart.
“Without some cunning and bravado, you won’t last long in the Flats or the Basin, or the Docks for that matter.” I stop by a boulder and survey the guards on the wall. “I’ve been told I’m naughty, cocky, and nasty, in that order. From when I was a kid, to when I was twit, and now,” I say as an afterthought.
She raises her eyebrows. “So far I have to agree.”
“You hardly know me.”
“I know enough.” She grunts.
“I spared you and shared my dinner.”
“I thanked you, but don’t forget I was watching you first,” she says with an arched eyebrow.
“From the tree?” I ask, my smirk reappearing.
“Who’s to say I couldn’t have come down and,” she draws her finger across my neck. She’s so close I can feel the warmth of her breath.
“You wouldn’t,” I say, my pulse picking up even though we’re not moving. “You’re not a killer.”
“I’m a demon slayer.” Her voice is cold and her eyes glisten as though she just surfaced from the water. “One got to my mother, killed her just before I was sent here.”
“Sent here? How’d you get here? Did you fly?”
She wipes her eyes but the glitter doesn’t fade. “I was too late for her, but I must see the king. Our survival depends on it. I have to help put an end to the curse.”
There’s a good chance she’s fae and unlike any I’ve ever seen or heard about. “You should keep your words and thoughts to yourself.” I’m intimately familiar with the king’s ink curse.
“Why?” she asks.
“They’re dangerous.”
And so are you.
Chapter 5
Ineke
I follow the confident steps of the tall Viking dude. It’s like he’s certain the ground won’t shift beneath his feet and even if it did, he wouldn’t falter. Not with those boots. He’s practically a giant with a long, wild mane of hair that’s light from sunshine. He must be around my age, eighteen at least.
My eyes flit from the matted footpath we follow to his muscular back as the surrounding hillside landscape wakes up.
Or maybe the earth is already quaking and I’m the one off-kilter, a little shaky in his presence, a lot freaked out over the events of the last hours, and the fact that I successfully managed to ward off the night howls, which seem a lot like werewolves—thanks to Heather and one of the talismans she
