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Putting on my best grateful smile, I replied, “I’ll be fine, thank you.”

He nodded—stepping back up to the wall to resume his post.

Rugs lined the center of the floor, softening my footsteps that no doubt would have echoed more without them. Their deep green with vintage designs running along the border brought in an earthy tone of the forest—combatting the cold white stone that took up most of my vision.

Statues and tables with large bouquets of flowers filled the empty spaces beside the walls, while doors to mysterious rooms occupied the rest. In the middle of the corridor on my right was a large opening that featured two grand staircases split to lead to both the lower and upper floors.

This place was even more of a maze than the woods. There were many twists and turns that would have left me unable to get anywhere useful, let alone back to my room if it weren’t for the directions from the other guards stationed throughout.

Eventually, I found myself in the only place I needed to truly know the path to—the kitchen. Multiple cooks were already moving about the long rows of counters, preparing breakfast. The smells of sweet pastries drew me in more than the salty smell of the meat.

A plump older woman who wore a yellow apron with white flowers speckled throughout it drew my interest. I slowed as I got closer to her, my anxiety wanting me to turn around and walk back to my room.

Giving myself two seconds to regain the confidence that chose to leave me in the worst moments, I asked, “May I have some?” Pointing to the chocolate and chestnut waffles that laid on a nearby table of assorted plates.

“Oh!” she startled before turning to me, “Of course, honey! You can have anything in here.” Her smile was crooked, but it still had to be one of the most welcoming ones I’d ever seen.

Giving her a thankful nod, I took the plate and walked over to one of the seats along the edge of the room, where I ate the food.

I watched as the cooks continued to prepare the meal, each of them joking with each other while fulfilling their tasks—then helping the others if they finished early.

It was captivating to see people work in such a fast-paced yet comfortable environment.

It didn’t take me long to finish the mouth-orgasmic flavors, leaving me well and truly satisfied. And when there was for sure nothing more on the plate, I got up and looked for some additional snacks to take with me for the next week.

The walk back to my room was much easier with the light streaming through the large windows, and I arrived at the same as Ysabel. Her hair was in a braid that draped down over the pastel purple fabric of her dress—the soft color only adding to the vibrancy of her hair.

“You’re up!” she exclaimed, concern coating her voice.

“Couldn’t sleep, so I did a little soul-searching with some waffles.”

Her face lit up. “I bet you met Irene!” She leaned in, whispering under her breath, “If you bring her flowers, she’ll sneak you some of the good wine.”

My taste buds grew excited at the thought.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said as we walked into the room and began the process of getting ready for the day.

My nerves only seemed to worsen as the time of our departure drew closer.

I didn’t think I would be going back into the woods, especially so soon.

Yet, here I was preparing for a week-long journey through them.

Soon I was bathed and dressed with a few spare pieces of clothing shoved away into my travel bag. Ysabel grabbed me anything else I could think of, and before I knew it, the bag was full to the brim.

I’d just finished securing my sword on my hip when there was a knock on the door. I opened it up to find Loughlan, dressed in what seemed to be his usual outfit, on the other side.

He looked at me, from my dark brown hair tucked into a braid similar to Ysabel’s, to the green pants that were stuffed into hiking boots.

His eyes rested on the thin long-sleeved black tunic that was normally loose but now clung to my body from the metal corset over it.

The armor covered my midsection with two half-circles at the top that connected to form a slim protective plate over my sternum, leaving my breast to fall around it.

He let out a whistle, “You clean up nicely.”

Heat bloomed in my cheeks as I looked down at my outfit. “Thank you.”

He cleared his throat as he fidgeted and his wings tucked in slightly, “I have a gift for you—from Nickolai.”

The reason for the heat instantly changed, and my voice deepened, “I don’t want it.”

He rolled his eyes, reasoning, “At least let me show you what it is before you say no.”

Loughlan grabbed a dagger from one of the straps along his pants and held out the beautiful silver blade to me.

I hesitantly took it, inspecting the sharpness and the weight of the gold handle set with a myriad of green emeralds that looked very much like Nickolai’s eyes.

It was evenly balanced and sharp enough to slice the hair off a man's head without him even feeling it.

I hated to admit it, but this blade was absolutely beautiful, excluding the emeralds. And it just so happened that it would replace the one that got lost during my fight with the wendigo.

I weighed the cost of accepting or denying it—finally settling on the former at the thought of having another weapon. One that could slice open the scars on Nickolai’s chest again so he could at last succumb to the injuries from nearly five years ago.

Loughlan watched me with a knowing expression as I continued to look it over. “If you don’t want it, I already told Nickolai that I have first claim to it,” his sarcasm was not lost on me.But I was thankful that we were at least able to move on from clipped tones.

I glared at him, sliding the blade into one of the leather straps along my pants. “I’ll take it for now, since it might come in hand on this trip.”

His face fell into a mock pout. “Damn, I was looking forward to adding it to my collection.”

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes as I tried to hide the small smirk his quirkiness pulled from me. If I had to imagine my life with a sibling, it would be like this.

Turning back to Ysabel, I wrapped her in a hug. “Don’t drink all the wine without me.”

She chuckled. “No promises.”