Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Early morning, I woke to someone knocking on the door. Ashera was still asleep, so I picked up my dagger and edged my way toward the door. I tried to peek out the window next to the door but it was snowing so hard that it was difficult to see. Finally, I called out, "Who is it?"

There was a brief silence, then a woman's voice rang out. "My name is Fenling?—"

I let out a long breath. I knew her voice, but when I opened the door, I was still cautious. Given Karehl had managed to fool me with an illusion, I wanted to be absolutely sure.

Sure enough, there stood Fenling, along with Quen, Bran's oath brother. Behind them were five more of the Lorani. I recognized them as San, Trin, Lanlan, Exis, and Forth.

"Come in. Get out of the cold." I stood back, opening the door for them. They pushed through, all seven of them. Fenling strode over to me and grabbed me in a bear hug. There were tears in her eyes.

"I'm so glad I found you. I can't believe it," she said. "Last we heard, Karehl had captured you. Then two nights ago, I had a dream that we had to search this area of the forest. It was so strong I couldn't ignore it. I thought we might find Bran, but…I'm so glad you're here!"

I hugged her back, relief flooding through me. "Let me wake Ashera, then I'll get dressed and we can have breakfast and talk." I turned to the others. "I'm so glad you're all here. Especially you, Quen. How are you doing?"

"Healed up. Alive, thanks to you." He bowed, taking my hand and kissing it. "Blessings on your head, and I'm grateful you're safe and free of the dog ."

Even I knew that "dog" was a pejorative for a wolf shifter.

"Sit, rest. I'll be right back." I grabbed my clothes and headed for Ashera's room. After tapping lightly, I peeked in. She sat up, squinting. "Fenling's here with some of the Lorani! But given the illusion Karehl pulled on me, is there a way you can check to be sure?"

"Aye, yes. There is." She smiled, laughing. "It's good to know my magic still works. Well, then, I'll be out in a moment. Do you need to dress in here?"

I nodded, and she motioned for me to get on with it. I quickly changed and hurried back out to the others.

"Ashera will be here soon," I said. "Please, sit down." As they gathered around the fire, holding their hands out to it, I asked, "Seven of you. Where are the others? Where's Bran? I heard he broke free."

"He did, with a group of Lorani who were also imprisoned. We don't know where they are. We think they went above the Eiralpine Line, into the wilds. We were heading that way to look for them, but then I had the dream about you." Fenling leaned her head back against the chair. "Oh, it feels so good to warm up."

Ashera joined us.

"Ashera, meet Fenling, Bran's cousin. She and Bran saved my life. And this is Quen."

Fenling introduced the others in turn. "We're sorry to intrude."

"No problem at all," Ashera said. "But hold a moment. I need to make certain of something." She was holding a large smoky quartz and now she walked through them, touching each one on the shoulder. After she was done, she turned to me. "They're who they say they are. No illusions here."

Relieved, I let out a long breath. "Good."

Ashera turned to them. "You must be hungry. I'll make breakfast."

"I'll help—" I stood, starting to follow her, but Quen jumped up.

"No, you talk to Fenling. I'd be happy to offer my service."

Ashera accepted Quen's offer with a smile. As she led him out to the pantry, I curled up on the settee. I glanced at the men who were gathered around the hearth.

"Can you help Ashera refill the wood box?" I asked. They got the hint and vanished out to help her with the chores. After a moment, I turned to Fenling. "What happened after we parted? Did you know that Giselda is in cahoots with Karehl? Sparrow was the prince in disguise."

I told her what happened and how he had trapped me in the tower and that I had found a hidden exit. "I'm lucky I found Ashera's house. I believe I was meant to find it, because she has it cloaked with so many wards that you could trip over it in broad daylight and still not see it."

"Yes," Fenling said. "We found out so much after you left with Karehl. Giselda answered every question we asked. There are ways to make people talk."

I caught my breath. I wasn't sure what I felt about that. But then, I was in the company of soldiers . And this was a fight for our lives. I nodded. After a moment, I asked, "Do you know if the real Sparrow is all right?"

Fenling hung her head, her expression grim. "No. Or rather, no, he isn't all right. Karehl killed him to keep him quiet."

I felt inexplicably sad for the young man. "I didn't know that. I do know that the prince told me that he paid Giselda to help him. So she's under his control. Tell me what you found out."

"Apparently, Karehl summoned Bran and the Lorani back to Eleago in order to arrest us all. Thanks to the spy in the group, he also knew that you were with us, and that he had to capture you."

"Why, though?" I asked. "What's so special about me? He could snap up any woman who caught his eye. I'm no great beauty."

"Oh, it's more than that," she said. "Giselda foresaw that you are the key to helping Bran overthrow Karehl's rule. You're destined to help Bran take the throne and exile Karehl."

I stared at her. " Me? How?"

"I don't know, but Giselda also told Karehl that if he kills you, Bran will slay him." Fenling gave me a long look. "If you die, Karehl dies."

"So that's why he didn't kill me. I'm a danger to him, dead or alive." The words sounded odd on my tongue. But a little voice inside whispered, This is true. Do not discount it.

"Right. I guess he felt his only option was to imprison you and hide you away where Bran couldn't find you."

"It's not just lust, then," I said, oddly relieved. But the next moment, her words fully sank in. "How can any of this be true? How can I be the key to helping Bran oust the prince?"

"I can't answer that, but you know it's true. I can see it on your face. If you live free, you endanger Karehl. If you die, Bran will retaliate."

"Crap," I whispered. "I never expected to be a political pawn." I paused, then asked, "How did you find out that he was masquerading as Sparrow?"

"Tonyah found the real Sparrow's head outside the pigpen. She fetched Quen and me, and we realized that Giselda had fed most of him to the pigs. Right then, we knew we had to bind her and force her to tell us everything."

"Poor Sparrow," I said. "Why him?"

"Giselda told Karehl we were going to escape. And she knew that Sparrow spent a lot of time with my maid, and that Tonyah treated him like a son. So she and Karehl formulated the idea to entrap you—and they thought that by separating us from the rest of the Lorani, they could take us a lot easier." She winced. "I don't think Tonyah will ever recover."

I didn't think I would either, if I were her. "So Sparrow…the Sparrow I met…was always Karehl?"

Fenling nodded. "Yeah, they orchestrated our journey to her place. Karehl intended for his men to capture the rest of us at Giselda's after he separated you from us. But we happened to find Sparrow's head shortly after he—disguised as Sparrow—left with you. We forced her to talk, then immediately got out of there. I'm not sure when they returned, but all they would find was her body."

"I imagine Karehl knows I've escaped his tower by now."

"I agree. And make no mistake, if he catches you again, he'll throw you in the dungeons and leave you there. I know my cousin."

"How did he transform into Sparrow?" I asked, thinking once again of the innocent young man who had lost his life. "And how did you convince Giselda to talk?"

"A transfiguration spell. She must have given Karehl a scroll. As to how we forced her to talk, well…it's best that you don't think about that. Leave it at knowing that we forced her to answer our questions, and then we dispatched her. Never leave your enemies alive. It's too dangerous."

"I guess I really don't want to know how you made her talk, but I'm grateful that you took care of her. Especially after what they did to Sparrow. With Giselda's death, that makes one fewer ally in Karehl's corner. Ashera hates him. And I gather a lot of the people around here do as well." I sighed. "So, what next?"

"We have to find Bran and regroup. Also, as far as we can tell, Karehl is searching in this area. Ashera needs to strengthen her wards again. We've been taking as much care as possible on the road, and I trust every one of these men, but there's always the chance that he'll stumble over someone who saw us. We should leave come nightfall. We've been traveling during the night."

"Do you know where Bran is?"

She shrugged. "Not really, but I have an idea, so we're heading toward a place that Bran's father took refuge in during a horrible storm, long ago. Bran was with him, and so was I—this was when we were young. Karehl had chosen not to go with us." She paused, then glanced at the door. "Are you ready to leave here?"

I thought about the cozy house that surrounded me. I had the feeling Ashera would let me stay with her as long as I wanted to, but every day I was here, I put her in danger. And that, I could not do. "I'm ready. I have only one outfit, which she made for me, but that doesn't matter now. Maybe she'll have something more for me. I just wish I had Yaran." Again, my heart ached. "I hope to gods that Karehl didn't kill him. Or sell him."

"We have an extra horse. We should rest and eat, then get ready to head out." She stood. "I'm going to talk to the others."

I walked her to the door. "Yeah, I'll talk to Ashera. I wish I could thank her more."

"Here," Fenling said, fiddling with a small pouch strapped to her waist. She handed me three silver coins. "Give her this. It will offset the food and there's more than enough there to help her out."

I closed my hand around the coins, then gave Fenling a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

A few hours later, near twilight, we were packed and ready to go. I had given Ashera the coins and she insisted we take some meat and cheese with us, and had baked fresh bread for us to take on the road. Fenling, Quen, and the other men had rested and eaten. Now, I stood at the door as they waited on horseback. I turned to Ashera.

"Thank you so much," I said. "You've been invaluable. More than that, you've been kind to me. And I appreciate it more than you'll ever know."

Ashera pressed her lips together, staring at the horses. Then she said, "I wish you could stay with me, I'll not deny it. I've enjoyed having you here."

"I'll try to come back for a visit, if I can. Meanwhile, make sure to strengthen your cloaking spell, and…take care of yourself." Impulsively, I gave the older woman a hug. "I'll miss you," I whispered.

"Go on with you," Ashera said, a stern look on her face. "May the gods bless your journey, and may you fly with swift and silent feet." She adjusted the cloak on my shoulders. She'd given me a second outfit—one of hers that fit reasonably well. "If you are destined for greatness, child, then I wish you safety. Go now, before the darkness falls."

I hugged her again, then swung up onto Elbreth—the horse that Fenling had given me—and we turned to the thicket behind us. Silently, led by Quen, we rode single file into the oncoming darkness as the chill settled around our shoulders.