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“They believe Sourcerers and the fae-touched should live separately from the rest of us, and should keep their fae-tainted blood from mingling with ours. They talk like it’s for everyone’s safety. Like they alone can save us all from the shadows.”

“Explains why they were so awful to us at the market,” I said. “But I don’t understand what fae-touched folk have to do with shadowfiends.”

“I don’t either. Like I said, I think they’re full of shit.

But fear is a powerful motivator. People are scared of monsters, and if the Paragons can offer them an explanation for the horrors they see, and a solution to the shadowfiend infestation, then they’ve got themselves more followers. More followers means more power.”

“If they’re trying to present themselves as the safe option, the guardians against the shadow, why attack Eilith outright?” I asked.

“That’s another answer I don’t have. Eilith has been a pillar of our community for a long time.

She’s a powerful woman, and she has practiced her craft openly her entire life, even when the Paragons have expressed their displeasure with it before.

It seems the Paragons are becoming more than a nuisance now.

I think they have some power and influence to wield, so they’re wielding it.

” He paused and looked at me thoughtfully. “And I think they knew you were there.”

“What does any of this have to do with me?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they were upset that she was spreading her influence, teaching other people Sourcery.

People in power will always fear threats to that power.

Their paranoia grows with every step of the climb.

They become obsessed with maintaining what they have, rather than making any real difference in the world.

Maybe they saw a growing threat in you and Eilith. ”

I shivered and pulled my cloak tight around me. Byrgir handed me a bowl of hot porridge and I cupped it in cold hands, relishing the warmth.

“I don’t see how the two of us, especially me, could be any threat to them,” I murmured.

Byrgir eyed me thoughtfully. “I don’t either,” he said, but his tone of voice made me think that he may have some ideas.

“Maybe they were just tired of the people of Skeioholm relying on Eilith for her healing,” I suggested, keen to divert his attention away from whatever he was thinking about me.

“She is a leader, in her own way,” he agreed.

“A good source of medicine and guidance, even though she pretends to be a hermit. She isn’t nearly as removed from it as she’d like folks to think, you know.

And long as people have her around, they don’t need the new ways of order and progress that the Paragons keep pushing. ”

“So how are you tangled up in this? As a member of the Ironguard?” I remembered the morning after Litha, Byrgir’s mount covered in blood after he’d spent the night helping the village. I was suddenly annoyed that he hadn’t mentioned any of this then.

“Clever guess,” he said.

“Easy one, after seeing you swing that sword around. What do you do, exactly?

“The Ironguard are sort of… protectors of the people. A remnant of old specialized forces left over from the fae. Now, though, we mostly fight shadowfiends. I met Eilith years ago when I first moved to Skeioholm. Later, I returned as a Keeper to help defend the village from monsters.”

“A Keeper?”

“One of the two factions of the Ironguard, the Keepers and the Rangers.”

“I’m confused,” I said tersely. My annoyance was growing. I felt stupid for not knowing all this already.

“It’s a lot to explain,” he said. “It’ll be easier when we get where we’re going. Then I can show you.” He smiled at me, and before I could ask the next obvious question around my mouthful of porridge, he said, “We’re going to Rhyanaes. You’ll like it, I promise.”

“How far is it?”

“Two days if we ride hard. Three if we’re slow.”

I exhaled and felt my body deflate. Byrgir chuckled.

“You’ll be alright, kid, don’t worry. We have enough food, and we can make fires at night. I’m not as worried about anybody jumping us in our sleep now that we’re further down the road. Besides, it’s worth the risk to keep your little bones from freezing.”

“I’m not that much younger than you, you know,” I said.

“What?”

“You always call me ‘kid’. You’re not much older than me.”

He smiled. “I am a bit older than you, kid. And it’s a term of endearment, don’t get hung up on it.”

I shook my head but smiled down at my porridge.

“How long do you think Tiny and Precious will stick with us?” Byrgir lifted his chin toward Vardir, now laying across the small clearing from us with her head on her paws.

I smiled and snorted a small laugh through my nose. “That’s Vardir, and the other is Garmr.”

Now that they were fully grown, it was clear that their mysterious father had been entirely wolf, nothing else in him at all. And likely a special wolf at that. I had never seen a wolf as big as all of Rose’s pups were.

“They seem like they’ll be staying with us, and I don’t think we could convince them otherwise if we tried.”

“I don’t think I’d like to try,” Byrgir said, his eyes on Vardir’s huge and heavily toothed mouth as she yawned.