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“So, you didn’t have a plan?”

“I—” She couldn’t very well tell him she planned to escape now. That she knew the guards’ rotations well enough to guess their whereabouts. That the mountain pass wasn’t just a fleeting dream anymore. “I guess I’ve just been waiting for Talon to show up.” She let out a long sigh. It wasn’t as though she were lying. She was always waiting for Talon. “It sounds foolish now that I say it out loud.”

Rion adjusted himself on the pillows. “It does, considering this Talon of yours could die in the process.”

“He’s too strong to die.” Fear seized her again, but when she looked at Rion, he didn’t seem offended by her tone.

“I almost did.” She studied the softness of his features. The relaxed curve of his jaw, the brows without a crease in the center, and the way his auburn hair hung over that emerald gaze. “Never mind. Forget I said anything. You know where the blankets are, no shivering tonight.”

Arianna stared at him for a long while. He was right about one thing, the longer she waited, the more she was putting Talon in danger. But perhaps a little while longer wouldn’t hurt, at least until Rion was back on his feet.

Chapter Twelve

Arianna

Arianna crept from the cabin and hesitantly closed the door, half wondering if Brónach’s warriors would make up an excuse to kill her and dump her body in the woods. She pulled the scarf tighter, wishing fabric could hide her newly revealed heritage, but she was beyond hiding now. She just hoped their fear of the Demon would be enough to still their hands.

She chewed her lip as she walked down the familiar path through the throng of tents. She hadn’t wanted to leave, but she was running out of supplies, even with Zylah’s gifts. Not to mention she missed the female dearly.

In less than a week’s time, Rion was back up and commanding his troops with the authority of someone who’d never been injured at all. No one challenged him, at least none that she saw, and Arianna wondered how he’d earned such a reputation among his people. Then again, perhaps it was best she never found out.

Their last conversation had been... interesting. He knew who she was now, knew what he stood to gain with such information, but Arianna had yet to be dragged from the cabin and tied to a post. She had yet to be tortured for information on how to infiltrate Móirín’s capital city or the best way to assassinate her father. Rion was a general. A leader of his people.

And he wasn’t using his best source of information.

A Fae in their wolf form prowled the camp and his head snapped toward Arianna when she rounded the path. His lips pulled back in a menacing snarl, revealing sharp canines, but she ducked her head and stepped out of his way. Her heart hammered in her chest, wondering if leaving the cabin was a bad idea after all, but the wolf kept walking.

Maybe the fear of The Demon would be enough after all.

Perhaps Rion was trying to show her a kindness for saving him when everyone else would have let him bleed out. Maybe he wanted to study her and see what she hoped to achieve.

Freedom. Though she knew asking for such a thing would only grant the opposite. With it returned, she wasn’t keen on having it stripped away again.

He’d exercised more patience with her and no longer snarled at her presence. In fact, it almost seemed as though he welcomed her approach and in some weird way, she found his company pleasant as well.

Arianna ducked her head, dodging out of the path of another group of snarling warriors. What was she thinking? She was a slave to these people. To her enemy. To a male who had slaughtered hundreds of her kin during the war.

And yet, Talon had also slaughtered hundreds from Brónach. There was bloodshed on both sides. Enough that it couldn’t be pinned on a single person.

Arianna ducked around another guard and entered the slave area where more than a dozen half-breeds froze at her presence. She wasn’t here for food, she’d missed that by a few hours. She just wanted to see the female she now considered a friend. She just—

“Arianna?” Zylah’s breath clouded in the frigid air. She wore thicker clothes now, all the slaves did, and she’d tied her hair back in a loose braid. Arianna gave her a small smile, but the female grabbed Arianna’s wrist and dragged her into the nearest building. The storehouse. “Are you out of your mind?” The female looked her over.

“You told me to come when I could.”

Zylah peeked through the open door. “You can’t just walk through camp when everyone knows you’re from Móirín. Gods, I’m surprised they didn’t kill you.”

Both females studied one another, but it was Arianna, who’d noticed the finger marks around Zylah’s throat, that spoke first. “Are you all right?”

Zylah scoffed. “I should be asking you that. Did he hurt you?”

“No, actually he’s been rather…kind.”

“Don’t go getting sentimental for that creature. I assure you, he doesn’t feel the same.” Zylah’s face scrunched then she pressed her hand to Arianna’s forehead. “Are you feeling well?”

“I think so.” Her stomach had been rolling all morning, but Arianna had assumed it was from the stressful events involving Rion.

Zylah raised a brow then turned to rummage through the cabinets and pulled out a small jar. “Take these just in case. Steep them in hot water and drink it once in the morning and once at night.” She pushed the glass bottle of herbs into Arianna’s open palm. “Get your stuff and be quick about it. Don’t rely on their fear of him, they might think to use you in a power struggle.”