“Well, you get extra points for being a dependable student,” I hear Judd say right before he comes into view, rounding the corner from the living room with floppy mustard-colored hair and a grin. “I think it’ll be good for you to get out and walk around with Lu. Emphasis on the walk. You could really use the practice with that because you’re still a bit shit at it.”
“Ha ha,” I say dryly.
He gives me a playful wink.
“You want to come with us?” Lu asks as he comes nearer.
“Nope, you enjoy.”
She gives him a skeptical look. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Think about what?” he asks, sounding far too innocent for it to be real.
“If you go into my room while I’m gone, I’ll know.”
“Will you?” he counters, eyes glittering.
“Dammit, Judd, I didn’t steal the damned wine!”
“Mm-hmm,” he says, seeming completely unconvinced.
He nudges her in the arm as he walks by to head for his bedroom. “Have fun with Gildy Locks tonight. Drink some wine for me since I can’t because our barrel is missing.”
Lu rolls her eyes, and Judd disappears into his room before I can try to convince him that I want to train instead.
“So…” I whisper, glancing at Lu. “Did you steal the wine?”
She snorts. “Of course I did. Ready?”
“Umm…”
She arches a dark brow. “You don’t live in a cage anymore, Gildy. Gotta venture out sometime.”
She’s right. I know she is. I can’t hide inside forever. But what if I snap again? What if the fae beast in me wrenches out and I flood the village with gold, killing more innocent people?
“My power…”
“You’ve got this. And if you don’t, I’m sure I can distract you with my magic.”
My head tilts. “Does your magic work that way?”
“No idea. Let’s go.”
I can’t keep the hesitation out of my voice. “Okay.”
She tilts her head, motioning me forward, and I follow her into the living room. “Grab your coat,” she says, and I head for the peg, pulling the coat off and slipping it on. The heat of the fire is saturated through the fabric, enveloping me in its delicious warmth. “It’s not late yet, so the pavilion still has people around.”
I nod as I do up the last button and then slip on my boots.
Lu pulls up the hood over her shaved head. “Ready?”
“Is it too late to go train?”
She rolls her eyes and tugs me forward by the arm. “Come on, Gildy.”
Together, we head out of the house and go through the Grotto’s cave, and with every step, my heart pounds. All I keep thinking of is when Slade stepped in front of me, when I finally came back down from the rush of the power driving me and realized I’d killed people and flooded the room.
Outside, the night is bright, the moon full and shining against the snow, making everything seem to glow. Yet I find no comfort in it. The night used to give me reprieve. It used to be safe, marking the time where I didn’t have to worry about my magic and every single touch of my skin. But I can’t trust it now.
“You’ve got this,” Lu says, and I follow as she heads to the left, our steps crunching over a snowy pathway.
Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I feel for the ribbon, twining it around like threading fingers through a friend’s hand.
The air is stiff and icy, not a hint of a breeze, and every exhale I let out condenses into a cloud. I pull up my hood to try and keep the chill from clinging to my face and ears, but it seeps in anyway. Yet even though it’s freezing, there’s something therapeutic about breathing in fresh air. Only once you feed it into your lungs do you realize how stale you’ve been.
I take a moment to look around, head tilted up at the looming mountains. In the dark, they look crooked and notched, with cracks running through like some long-ago giant took an ax to them, blade chopping into the rock again and again.
We’re at the base of the smallest mountain, its form hunched like the stooped spine of someone bracing against the cold. Above us, the natural shelf near the base of the mountain continues, keeping our path hidden and shadowed, while meager clumps of trees pepper the slope.
“Look at you,” Lu says beside me. “You’re not leaking gold out of your ass or setting a rabid molten bird after your enemies, so I think you’re going to be okay.”
“Thanks,” I deadpan.