Page 46

My thumb grazed my wedding ring. My wife had fallen while trying to protect something—she had failed in that, as I had failed to protect her.

The lumber maiden was right. No one was ever protected, not by, or even from, those who cherished them.

On the slim chance that her story proved honest, I could not begrudge the girl’s desire to save someone important to her.

“Did you find your cure?” I inquired.

She sank into the nearest armchair. I did not miss her resistance, the words needing to be rallied and then punched out. “I have to go someplace else for it.”

Reclining in the seat across from her, I cocked my head and mused, “Someplace far...and historic.”

“You’re scary when you do that.”

“That is why you embarked on this sojourn through Mista’s woodland, dragging Nicu with you.”

“Coming with me was his idea. What lad doesn’t like thrills and adventure?”

“We can start with me.”

“You were not invited,” she sang and then, after a moment, changed tactic. “Though since you’re here...”

I could have laughed. “You cannot expect me to escort you on this journey. Unlike you, I do not break laws, nor betray the monarchy.” I gave her a humorless smile. “My apologies.”

She leaned forward. “What if asked you nicely?”

Rather than snark, her intonation sounded almost like a plea. It had a slant to it, perhaps not fraudulent, perhaps not genuine.

I should be prudent, for she could be a very gifted liar.

What else could I expect from a girl who was not an actual girl?

Pinpricks of light brimmed through the room, subtle flames touching us both. Her face reflected candlelight from the tapers, and because I had not gazed upon her for this long before, I noticed the burned stub of a missing finger and a dark knot of wood, mimicking a beauty mark, nestled above her lips.

Above that pouting, lying mouth.

13

Fantasy

How the hell did he find us?

Why the hell did I assume he wouldn’t?

Wiggling in the sheets, I noted the knight’s absence this morning. He’d been guarding me all night, while I fake-slept on a pallet in the main room. He hadn’t trusted leaving me alone in one of the chambers, even though he could have tied me to a bedpost.

Instead, he’d opted for knotting my ankles as well as my wrists. Not very cozy.

If he’d vanished, the man must have finally realized I wasn’t going anywhere. Except he’d discounted Punk.

Fresh from her rest outside, she fluttered over my head as I grumbled awake. “It’s about time,” I said, though I didn’t know if I’d been referring to the woodpecker’s arrival or the knight’s disappearance.

I raised my arms and legs. It took a while for Punk’s beak to cleave through the bindings, but she managed. After which, she tweeted right over my thanks.

She didn’t have to worry. Tragic enough that I’d lost my hat, but where would I go without my hatchets and supplies, the lot of which Aire had confiscated and stashed somewhere.

Plus, what about Nicu? How would he feel if I left him now?

I sat up, grimacing at the splinters on my wrists from where the rope had chafed. My woodskin felt too damp in here. I really didn’t want to get moldy.