“You night owls enjoy yourselves,” they said. “Five hours of playing has us shattered and my mind is halfway in the stars already. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” we replied as Ora pulled the thick velvet curtain across the stairs, giving us some privacy.
Sadie leaned into me, watching the curtain just in case Ora returned. “Grae told us about the unexpected visit.”
“It was close,” I whispered, reliving the horrifying moment Aiden fell on his blade. “It ended . . . badly.”
“I heard them heading out of town,” Hector said, keeping his voice low. With our hearing, we could speak at a faint whisper, soft enough that the humans wouldn’t be able to eavesdrop through the curtains.
“They nearly took us,” I murmured. “That one, Hemming?”
Sadie’s lip curled. “I’ve always wanted to sink my knife into that one.”
Hector held open his hands and Sadie chucked him the flask. “He’s the king’s right hand. I’m surprised he was sent at all. King Nero must be pretty desperate to get to you.”
And now he’d be desperate to kill me, just for robbing him of his son. I rubbed the back of my neck, every muscle in me suddenly sore after multiple bouts of running. “He’s never going to look at me again,” I muttered, more to myself.
“We both know that’s not true.” Hector twisted and lay down across the far bench.
The wagon shuddered, then jostled to life. I thought about Grae and the long night he’d have riding toward Taigoska.
“How can you be so calm?” I asked, looking between them. “You’ve lost your pack, your family.”
“We knew that the moment we stepped out of the palace.” Sadie kicked off her boots and let them tumble to the floor. “Besides, we’re not losing family. We’re going to rescue family. I know Maez would’ve severed all ties to the pack to save us, too.”
“But Grae and Aiden were friends.” Hector tipped his head back into his pillow, slinging his arm across his eyes. “And he is probably drowning in guilt right now for what happened. It’s one thing to walk away from the pack, it’s another to watch your friend die.”
The words punched into my gut. “Yes.”
“Give him some time,” Sadie said, her knife flicking like the tail of a hissing cat.
As the wagon rocked, my senses reached out to the front of the wagon, trying to feel Grae there. I so desperately wanted to hug him, to throw my arms around him and absorb the grief that must be coursing through him. But he didn’t want my comfort. Not yet . . . maybe not ever. And I knew the best way to support him right then was to leave him alone, even if it made my soul feel like it was shredding in two. Was this how he’d felt the day I’d run away? I remembered his pleading voice in my mind, begging me to let him come with me.
Sadie passed me the flask, but I shook my head once more. Smoothing down the legs of my trousers, I stood and stumbled back toward my bunk. My hands reached out to the cabinets above my head, instinctively knowing now where to place them to steady myself should the wagon teeter. I prayed the gentle rumble of wheels over gravel would lull me to sleep . . . but I knew I’d be replaying that evening over and over in my mind.
I ran my hand across the soft mattress of my bunk and frowned. Lying there would feel like a punishment. I rubbed my eye with my palm and let out a long sigh. My shoulders drooped and I turned around, back down the steps, and plopped onto the bench beside Sadie.
Without missing a beat, she slung her arm around me and said, “Have you ever heard the one about the juvleck and the thief?”
I let out a groan as I lifted my head off Sadie’s shoulder, blinking against the white morning light. The wagon had stopped at some point in the night.
“You’re going to have a wickedly sore neck.” Sadie chuckled, stretching her arms over her head.
“Thanks for being my pillow,” I said, my voice scratchy with sleep. I wiped my face with the back of my hand. “Sorry if I drooled on you.”
Sadie shrugged. “No problem.”
Hector slept across the bench, his back turned to us and a blanket tucked under his chin. I realized I had a blanket covering me as well.
“Knock, knock.” Ora’s voice floated from beyond the velvet curtain. “You awake?”
Sadie chucked a pillow at her brother. “We are now.”
Hector grumbled, trying to bury his face further into the couch.
Ora pulled back the curtain, already dressed in a heavy velvet shift. They held two steaming mugs and carefully tiptoed down the steps to place them in front of Sadie and me.