Page 46 of The Pactbound Angel (The Soul Mirror Duet #1)

Call me whatever you want. In fact, it’s making this that much sweeter. “Rant and rave all you’d like, fey. The choice is now yours. You or the rest of your animals?”

“I dissolve the pact, then!”

Ramiren eyed the fey with a smirk. “You cannot. The only way to dissolve it is to break it, and you know what might happen then.”

The look in the enraged fey’s eyes as he measured us, to see if his mercenaries could maybe take us in a fight, had my hand creeping to my sword’s grip.

After a few seconds, he shook his head and huffed, throwing his pitchfork down.

“Fine. Take them all, whore. Now, give me that contract with the king’s favor. ”

A second scroll appeared in the air. It rolled up and lowered into Ramiren’s upturned hand. “My favor is now yours.” Ramiren smiled, elongated canines showing.

The fey snatched it out of Ramiren’s hand. “Let’s go. Fucking pactmakers…”

They unloaded the cart, putting cages on the ground by the side of the road.

As they faded off into the distance, heading the way we came, Ramiren looked at me with pride in his eyes.

“Excellent, Lady Nathalia. Though if he had accepted going with us, the pact would have invalidated itself. Non-binding, as though it never existed. I cannot enslave others with a pact. I refused to take that particular training.”

My heart leapt at the look he gave me. “I recall you saying something to that effect.” My smile turned crooked. “But he didn’t know that.”

“No, he did not know that.” Ramiren beamed at me and walked towards the cages as Raewyn tackled me in a tight hug.

Georgina, having been silent this whole time, raised an eyebrow. “And just what are we gonna do with a dozen animals?”

Beep. “Play with the fluffies!”

Though no longer screaming since Georgina fixed his voice box, M.A.L.C.O.L.M. exclaimed so excitedly that a few of the caged birds squawked in fright .

Beep. “Oh. Sorry.”

Ramiren’s tent was the only one big enough to house all of the animals we had suddenly adopted.

Raewyn spent her time there wrangling them while everyone else set up the camp to the side of the road.

Georgina and M.A.L.C.O.L.M. found a small stream cutting through the forest to the south and fished for the animals’ supper.

Ramiren was kind enough to set up my and Raewyn’s tents.

I started the fire, listening to Raewyn sing to the animals softly.

After putting a pot of beans and rice on the fire and washing my hands, I looked in, seeing several animals playing on the feather bed.

Some of them had ripped the stuffing loose from the mattress and were chasing the floating feathers around the interior.

A few huddled around Raewyn as she pet and cuddled them on the floor.

Those animals that were too skittish were given space, food, and something soft to sleep on.

A couple birds sat perched on M.A.L.C.O.L.M.

’s shoulders as they cleaned their feathers.

His eyes blinked a soft green, and he did not move or speak for fear of scaring the brightly-colored creatures again.

Even Georgina was playing with what looked to be a tiny orange bear cub who now seemed happy to have a full belly.

Sitting at his table, with a winged cat lay across his shoulders, Ramiren read a book quietly as though completely unbothered by the madness surrounding him. It purred and raised its head at my approach.

“Looks like you made a new friend,” I said, smiling.

Ramiren grinned, but he did not move except to reach up a hand to scratch at the winged cat’s ears.

Though not relishing this conversation, I knew it was needed. “We need to figure out what to do with these animals. ”

Raewyn looked up from the dark green miniature pony she was feeding clover to and pouted. “Can’t we keep them?”

Without hesitation, I shook my head. “I don’t think so, Raewyn. We still have a mischief hag to defeat. We’ll need to release them.”

Georgina frowned. “But they might die!”

“They almost certainly will die if they stay with us, Georgina. We are in no fit state to care for them.”

“There might be another way,” said Ramiren.

“Oh?” The fey dragon perched at the end of Ramiren’s bed trilled at me, demanding attention.

Ramiren half-closed his book. “Perhaps this seems obvious, but what about the grove? Maybe they can be taken there. We’re not that far away, and a druid’s grove is a sanctuary.

I saw many cared for animals there. I have some unconfirmed suspicions about her, but I believe she genuinely helps animals. ”

My hand extended to rub under the fey dragon’s chin. It moved its chin forward and purred much like the cat still lounging on Ramiren. “The grove is an excellent idea. I wish I had thought of that.” The entirety of what he’d said finally registered. “What suspicions?”

He reopened his book. “As I said, unconfirmed ones. I still don’t know what she’s getting out of the mischief hag’s defeat, and that troubles me. Much like Lord Dalson, there might be a hidden agenda. Something to gain. I just can’t see what.” He turned a page in the book roughly.

There was nothing to say to that. Admitting I too had my doubts about her, at least in the beginning, would only muddy what we came here to do: kill the mischief hags and reclaim what was taken.

If she indeed benefitted from their removal, beyond peace and safety, I couldn’t see it either, and my commenting on it would only add opinions, not facts.

“Leraska will take care of you, precious,” Raewyn scratched the ears of an especially fluffy wolf pup, who pawed at her hands playfully .

That night, the threatened storm arrived. Above the whistling of the wind, the pelting of the rain, and the thunder, I could hear a man’s beautiful voice rising and falling in a lullaby, no doubt for the animals’ benefit. It was an old song, melodic and soothing.

So, he can sing.

The next morning, we backtracked to the grove. Leraska was more than happy to take the creatures under her care, and when we told her how we acquired them, she burst into joyful laughter.

“Tricking fey is no small feat, Nathalia. I am glad I set you on this path.”

I gave a small smile. “I’m afraid we will leave you with abused, skinny animals, Leraska, but you are the best person we know to care for them.”

Leraska peered mournfully at the fey dragon fluttering at my side. “Don’t worry. We’ll love and fatten them up. These creatures will be well taken care of, I assure you.”

Georgina, cuddling the tiny bear cub in her arms, gave it a final scratch on the head and murmured to it.

She placed it on the ground, where it ran over to the waiting arms of another druid at the grove.

The tinkerer sniffed, and Ramiren placed a hand on her shoulder.

“The creature will be cared for, Georgina.”

“I know.” Georgina sniffled again. “But I named him Rufus.”

“Rufus will be alright,” Ramiren said softly.

Georgina’s lower lip began to tremble, and she turned away.

After we gave our thanks, without actually saying thank you, we took to the road again, bound for the capital.