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“She can’t see me unless I use my magic. If she can’t see me or hear me, she can’t smite me down.”

“That’s impossible. The queen has eyes on all of her fae children. That’s what she calls you…her children. Did you know that?”

“It isn’t impossible, it’s true. The queen cannot see me unless I wield magic. I am not one of her children.”

“Let me guess – I can’t ask you to elaborate?” She looks at me with narrowed eyes.

“No, you can’t because I won’t. I swear it’s for your own safety.

The less you know about me, the better. All you need to know is that my name is Alaric.

I worked as a mercenary after apprenticing as a smithy.

I’m a nobody. Let’s leave it at that, please.

When I take you back to your coven, I won’t be hung and quartered because you will stand up for me. You won’t let them hurt me.”

“Don’t be so sure.” The side of her mouth lifts in the start of a smile.

“I know full well. You owe me one after I saved your bacon.” I smile.

She laughs, and I find that I like the sound. “I didn’t ask you to rescue me.”

It’s my turn to laugh. “You’re full of it, McColl. You know you wanted to be rescued.”

“I said thank you, and I meant it.” Her face falls. “If my coven decides to hang you or to turn you into a field mouse, I won’t have a say in the matter.” She shakes her head. “You need to understand that. Outsiders are not welcome, especially a fae. They won’t like it one bit.”

“You’re powerful, which means that you will have more say than you think.”

“I told you that my power isn’t reliable.

It abandoned me when I needed it the most. My power means nothing.

” Her eyes turn hazy with thought. “Do you think that something happened when you broke the amulet? I felt something more than just the surge. I thought it was the release from the eclipse; in hindsight, it could have been more. The more I think about it, the more I know I’m right.

The bolt of magic that hit you must have hit me, too. ”

I nod. “I’ve been giving it some thought, and I think you’re right.”

“What kind of a fae are you?” She cocks her head like she’s trying to figure it out.

I shake my head. “I’d rather not say.”

“Why? You want me to trust you, but you won’t tell me anything about yourself.” She rolls her eyes. “Let me guess – it’s for my own good that I am kept in the dark.”

I shrug. “Yes, it is. I mean it, McColl, you’re going to have to trust me.”

I notice that her teeth are chattering. She’s freezing cold.

I’m also starting to feel the real chill in the air now that we’ve slowed to a walk.

“Your cape is tied to the back of your saddle, just behind your saddlebag,” I tell her.

I twist around and untie my oilskin, pulling it around myself and slipping my arms into the sleeves.

She does the same with her cape. It looks too thin to be of much use. She pulls the hood over her head and ties the front in three places to secure it. And as if reading my mind, she says, “It’s warmer than it looks, and it’ll keep out the rain, too.”

“You’re right; it doesn’t look like much, but I’ll take your word for it.

” I look up at the gray sky. “It will be nightlift soon,” I tell McColl.

“We should start looking for shelter. I don’t want to get caught in the open.

It’s not ideal, but I think that we should travel at night.

I would rather contend with predators than get caught by the fae. ”

“So, you think they’ll come after us?” Her eyes go wide, and her face drains of blood.

“I know they will. They will come after me. I would suggest that we go our separate ways to draw them away from you, but I doubt you would get very far without magic. Since it’s erratic, we can’t rely on it. That means that we run together. They will come, and they won’t stop.”

She shakes her head. “You truly must be someone important.”

She has no idea.

“Sticking together is our only option at this point.” She says it like she hates the idea, which doesn’t sit well with me. I’m not sure why. “I’m sorry about my magical ability being so…bad.” She looks downtrodden.

“Nothing to be sorry about. We can’t rely on my magic at all. Good thing I’m good with a sword, that I know these lands.” I look around us. “Speaking of which, I think we should head for that forest and find somewhere to shelter.” I point in the direction of the thick clump of trees.

“Aren’t there creatures in the forest? Creatures that would like nothing better than to make a meal out of us?”

“Yes, but they mainly hunt at night. We’ll stick to the open at night, but we need to hide come nightlift, or we will be recaptured. It’ll take the better part of a week to get to Witch Mountain.”

“Maybe more.” She sounds wistful, and I don’t blame her. I wish I could go home, too. My home no longer exists…not really.

McColl yawns. “I’m looking forward to getting some sleep.”

“I’m looking forward to a meal.”

She gasps, touching her saddlebag. “We have food?”

I smile. “We do, indeed. Both food and water.” I look down at the waterskin that is still tied to the opposite side of my saddle.

She groans, and the sound shoots straight to my groin, which is a shock, given our circumstances.

“I can’t wait.” She smiles.

I try to smile back, but I’m sure it’s tight while I try to get my body back under control. I take deep breaths, looking away.

Am I attracted to the witch? Surely not. Then again, it has been a long time since I last lay with a woman…years.

But her?

Now?

No matter, it isn’t something I will ever act on. There are more important things to worry about right now.

We ride in silence for a while, entering the forest. I’m sure it was once magnificent.

Not anymore. All the life has been sucked from the lands outside of the fae Courts.

It’s all Snow’s doing. It’s sickening. Most of the trees are dead.

The few still living have twisted limbs with hardly any leaves.

Lichen and moss cover everything. They’re the only things that seem to thrive out here.

As we ride deeper into the forest, the silence is heavy around us. The only sounds are the soft thudding of our horses’ hooves on the forest floor and the occasional rustle of leaves in the light breeze. McColl looks around, her eyes wide as she takes in the desolate surroundings.

I scan the area, looking for a suitable spot to make camp. After riding for a while longer, we come across a small clearing nestled between a cluster of trees.

“That looks like a good place to stop for the night,” McColl says.

“Looks good to me,” I tell her, and we dismount.

I have a thought, so I put my tongue on the roof of my mouth and look at McColl sideways.

“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I was just wondering…”

“Yes?” she prompts when I don’t go on.

“The spell you cast on that guard who wanted to hurt you…”

She lifts her brows. “Yeeeees?” she draws out the word. “What about it?”

“What was it?” I ask. “What did you do to him?”