I’d always wondered what the Ice Wolves of Taigos looked like. If Vellia’s paintings were to be believed, they were pure white. Olmdere’s neighboring pack to the south, their kingdom was hidden above the clouds and under the snow and ice. I craned my neck up toward the thick blanket of gray and shuddered. What cities lay hidden in the murky skies?
“Here,” Ora said, offering me a woolen blanket. They pulled their shawl tighter around their lean shoulders. “We won’t be doing much camping in Taigos.” They huffed. “But if the weather’s fair in Olmdere, we can set up our tents or sleep under the stars. It’s nice to get out of that wagon every now and again.”
Navin turned the corner, leading by the halter two creatures I’d never seen before.
“What is that?”
They were bigger than a normal ox, taller than a horse, with shaggy copper red hair and curling horns.
“You’ve never seen Taigosi oxen?” Navin grinned, stroking a hand down the beast who stood shoulder height to him. The oxen seemed built of solid muscle, slow but strong, perfect for hauling the monstrous wagon. “They’re harmless.”
Navin was a lanky man with short twists of black hair and long, slender fingers that looked perfectly designed for plucking strings. He wore a blue velvet vest with a mishmash of different buttons and a flowing white shirt with ballooning sleeves. I looked from Navin to Ora to the twins. Not one of them dressed like I’d ever seen before, with faint nods to the different kingdoms, but unplaceable by attire alone.
“This is Opus.” Ora patted Opus’s flank. “And that one’s Magnum.”
“Very clever,” I said.
“My grandmother named them,” Ora said. “I think their names tell you plenty about her spirit.”
We exchanged smiles. “She sounds like she was an incredible person.”
“And a fine musician, too.” Ora nodded, gazing up at their home. They’d painted songs around each of the boards. A whole evening’s worth of tunes etched into Galen den’ Mora’s sides.
Navin looked over his shoulder as he led Magnum down the trail. “We’ll see you in twenty.”
Ora gave him a quick wave before tucking their hands back in their shawl.
“There are some tussocks beyond the ridge to graze the oxen,” Ora said, as we watched Navin head down the switchback trail. “You can go with the twins to stretch your legs if you’d like.” They gestured to Mina and Malou, who were peering into a darkened window across the street. “But Nesra’s Pass is full of ne’er-do-wells, so stick together.”
I bobbed my chin in thanks and scuttled off to join the twins. We meandered to the end of the road, which was only a few paces, and peeked into the general store window.
Mina’s breath fogged the glass. There was something in the store she wanted, though I didn’t know quite what. I’d figured out some of her language over the past few days. She was patient with me as I practiced it with her. It didn’t help that she signed in a Valtan form of the language, and so I had to translate it twice over in my head, but I was getting there. Another language I could eventually add to my repertoire. I’d noted that Mina could hear what people were saying and preferred people to speak to her while she communicated back through sign. But whatever she was signing now was lost on me.
“Come on, then.” Malou tugged on her sister’s sleeve.
“You’ll spend all our coins on sweets,” Mina signed, even as she followed.
I huffed. That I understood.
“What’s the point of traveling the kingdoms if we can’t sample all the sweets in Aotreas?” Malou grinned as the bell above her tinkled.
We navigated down the dusty, sparse shelves. Wicker baskets lined the far wall, picked nearly clean apart from a few rotten apples. Strings of dried lemon and bundles of dried mint hung from the windows to ward off the bugs. In the corner sat a table of glass jars filled with colorful boiled candies.
“Have you ever had aniseed candies before?” Malou asked, lifting the jar and scooping out a dark round ball.
She offered it to me and I picked it up off the spoon, giving it a sniff. It smelled sweet, with an undercurrent of spice that reminded me of cloves.
“Just try it,” Malou snickered, taking a candy for herself and popping it in her cheek. “Don’t chew it though, not if you want to keep your teeth.”
Mina slipped one in her mouth and I followed. The flavor made me grimace, and the twins burst out into laughter. It was strangely smooth yet bitter, spicy yet sweet. I swallowed, the taste of it coating my mouth. I rolled the candy across my tongue, getting used to the bizarre tang that lit up my taste buds.