Page 24

Inside the bedroom, Alice makes a shriek which causes my wings to flare and my shift to nearly happen on its own. Within a wing beat, I am in the room and ready for anything the Yeavering might wish to bring down on me or my mate.

Alice is stood at the side of the bed, her hand spread out on the covers as she makes another squealing sound.

“She’s left underwear!” she finally says as I heave my breath behind her.

“What is underwear?”

Alice turns with some tiny garments in her hands. They do not look like anything I’ve seen before. Some parts are spun like spiders’ webs, and some are solid but made out of what looks like silk. I feel my body heat like I’m about to go into battle.

“Look!” she exclaims. “Knickers!”

I growl. I’m not sure about theseknickers. Could they be weapons? Their flimsy nature suggests otherwise, but then I did discover this female wearing a weapons holster undergarment when she was given to me.

Even as I contemplate theunderwear, the door to the wardrobe pops open in a way which has my wings nearly flapping out of their sockets. Alice runs over to it before I can stop her and makes yet more noises which could be her being killed.

I grab the door of the wardrobe, ready to wrench it off, only to discover it is filled with garments, unlike its usual dispositionwhich is to provide me with what I need when I need it. Which is usually a pair of trousers when mine have become too uncomfortable with blood and dirt to wear anymore.

Now it is filled to bursting with fragrant smelling items and Alice is running her hands over them with undisguised glee.

I would rethink my garment policy for her, only she seems excited and something else, something I haven’t seen before. Not from her or from anyone around me.

She seems happy.

And so am I.

ALICE

Fenrother jerks the wardrobe door open, snorts at the interior, and stalks out of the bedroom. I’m too happy to care. The discovery of underwear and then this cupboard filled with clothing is the best thing which has happened to me in a very long time.

And I’m including the time I was beyond the veil from the Yeavering. All my clothes were secondhand, and none of them were made to fit me like these seem to be.

But also, knickers!

I’m back by the bed, pulling on a pair and delighting in them.

“I’m never taking you for granted again,” I tell the scraps of lace and silk which impressively do a good job of holding everything in.

However, I hesitate before going back to the wardrobe, and instead of selecting a new dress or anything else I’ve spotted in there, I find myself pulling the dress Fenrother gave me back on.

I accept the underwear is the doing of Meg of Maldon, given Fenrother hasn’t a single clue, but the dress was from him.

And as it’s rapidly becoming obvious my being here, in the Yeavering, had nothing to do with him, I consider we’re going to have to try to get along.

Even if the whole mating thing is up in the air. Despite old ladies appearing out of it to proclaim their assistance. The chances of Fenrother getting the concept of what mating actually means seems a million light years away. And the chances of me wanting to do the horizontal mambo with him…

Not going to happen.

Absolutely not.

It doesn’t matter I missed the big lug. It doesn’t matter that seeing him again made my heart leap into my throat or that he really is easy on the eye.

He’s damaged, untrained, unworldly. Doing anything with Fenrother would be a huge mistake, no matter what other ideas my body might have.

For now, perhaps I should make some peace with the Wyrm who, despite everything, wanted to protect me from meddling little old ladies.

And knickers.

And apparently went out hunting for me, the reason he did a disappearing act.