I wanted to shout after him—to tell him he was already worthy of me. He was worthy the moment he chose to be my friend all those many years ago. But instead, I silently trudged out of the warm water and back into the stinging snow.
A melodic chorus of strings sang down the alleyway. A sign across the back door of Galen den’ Mora read Rehearsing in four languages. Climbing up the steps, we peeled back the curtains to reveal the quartet huddled around the table. They didn’t pause to look at us, all focused on the song they were playing.
Malou held something akin to a fiddle, though longer and narrower. Mina played another stringed instrument with her fingers, a deeper, resonant sound carrying across her twin’s melody. Ora played a long wooden lute, and Navin plucked a beautiful, gilded harp. Their notes flowed at a sweet, slow pace that made me feel a churning nostalgia in my gut.
I’d always loved this tune: “The Lone Rose.” It was a perennial favorite at balls and soirees, according to Vellia. It was also an easy, slow song to learn to dance to. Vellia had conjured these tunes for Briar and me, and we’d take turns being the leader and follower of the dances. I heard the sound of my laughter as I stepped on Briar’s toes as readily as I could hear the notes now. Briar had taken it so seriously, and her frustration had only made me laugh harder.
Grae put his arm around me and pulled me into his side, kissing the top of my head. He did it with mindless ease, as if it was something he’d done a thousand times before and would do a thousand times again. I welcomed his smoky scent and comforting warmth as the sweetness of my memories turned to ash, replaced by the image of Briar on that cold tomb.
Sadie leaned forward, her head in her hands, listening with the ever-present scowl on her face. To an outsider, it looked as if she wasn’t pleased to be there, but her stare never seemed to veer from one player in particular.
The song crescendoed to a flourishing close, the trilling lute singing its last sonorous notes. The group didn’t pause, flipping the sheets of music on the table and adding little notes in the margins. It was impressive, not only to see their skill but also their diligent preparations for that night’s performance.
Grae seized the opportunity to whisper to Sadie, “Where’s Hector?”
Sadie reluctantly broke her gaze from the harpist. “At the pub. Why?”
“We spotted some . . . people heading east.”
“Shit,” she hissed. “Do you think they’re going to Taigoska?”
Grae bobbed his head. “That would be my guess.”
“Good,” she hedged. “When they get there and the Queen has seen no sign of us, they’ll move on. Meanwhile, we’ll be rolling into town.”
“Let’s hope so,” Grae muttered.
“So long as we stay with the troupe, we’ll be fine.” Sadie unsheathed a knife from her thigh strap. I narrowed my eyes at the movement, her bravado undermined by her nervous habit of playing with her weapons.
“I’m going to find Hector and let him know. I could use a drink.” Grae’s arm dropped off my shoulder. “You want to come?”
“Nah,” Sadie said, even though Grae was asking me.
“Quiet in the wagon, please,” Ora called in a singsong voice, as if scolding small children.
I gave Grae a little nod, threading my fingers through his. He seemed instantly relieved that I agreed to come. After what had almost happened between us in that lake, I didn’t want to be away from him. It felt like any distance might undo the steps we’d made.
I know I was meant to be yours.
The hair on my arms stood on end. I’d relived those words again and again with every step down the mountain. I tried to tease apart all my thoughts like a ball of poorly wound twine, but they were too knotted together, and I prayed a drink at the pub would help.
Twenty-Three
“Aren’t you worried you’ll be recognized?” I asked, shuffling along the wooden bench beside Grae.
We found Hector at a rundown pub that reeked of old ale, sitting in a far shadowed booth.
“No one in Hengreave knows what the Damrienn prince looks like.” Grae blew out the candle in the center of the table. Even in our skin, we could see better than most humans and it would fend off any prying eyes. “Not unless they’ve traveled to the palace in Taigoska, and I doubt anyone here would’ve garnered an invitation.”
I twirled my fingers through the twisting trails of smoke. “You’ve been to the crater before, though?”
“From the opposite side of the ranges, the same way the Silver Wolves went. I’d stop there on my way to Taigoska.”