“Whose home is this?” I asked.
“A friend.” Gerda pushed the plate of turnovers closer to Brigette’s hand. She snatched a pastry and nibbled at one crispy corner. “He was your father’s gamekeeper until he retired just before your father’s death. I’ve been looking after him for the last few months.”
“Where is he?” I glanced around the room as if I might’ve overlooked an unfamiliar old man, but the hut’s only occupants were my companions, Gerda, one extremely hostile member of Le Poing Fermé, and me.
“He’s staying with my family for a bit,” Gerda said. “My boys love him. He’s been teaching them how to set traps and snares. I’m not sure they’ll let him leave when it’s time for him to go home.”
“How did my friends know where to find you?”
“I found her when I was here, before,” Gideon said. “When I was reconnoitering while you were in Varynga.”
I blinked at him, eyes wide. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“She asked me not to.”
I glanced at Gerda. “Why not?”
“It was safer for everyone if you knew as little as possible, just in case things went... badly.” Her face darkened. She removed a handkerchief from her bosom and swiped at her eyes. “There are a many who have been hoping for your return, my lady. Your people are going to be thrilled to welcome you back.”
“I’m not back yet.” I frowned and locked eyes with Jackie. “Not until Le Poing Fermé has been well and thoroughly removed.”
Gerda passed around the tray of turnovers, which turned out to be meat and gravy pies that tasted like home and paradise at the same time. She also uncovered a plate of sweet biscuits dotted with cinnamon and dried apples. We all ate until our bellies groaned. Then she cleaned up and promised to return with breakfast in the morning.
“We can’t stay here that long,” I said. “The Council has surely figured out that Jackie and I are on land now. They’ll be hunting for us.”
“They won’t find us here,” Brigette said. “I’ve warded this hut and clearing so it appears invisible to outsiders. If they happen to come by here, they’ll walk right past us.” She slipped off her spectacles and pinched the bridge of her nose. “It took a lot of Magic to do it, but I’ll stake my life on the quality of my wards. We need time to rest and recuperate.”
“How can I trust you won’t sell us out to the Council if there’s some benefit in betraying us? Or if things get hard, how do I know you won’t cut out and save yourself?”
She paused, brow furrowed as she seemed to consider my question. “I guess you can’t trust me, but what other options do you have?”
Though it made me uneasy, I agreed we should stay for the night. She was right. If we weren’t at our bests when we faced Le Poing Fermé, we’d lose the fight before it began. “If we’re lucky,” I said, “the Council will get to Fallstaff first and do some of the heavy lifting for us.”
I urged Brigette to take the bed. The purple circles beneath her eyes had returned, and her complexion was pasty. Dark curls sprang loose from the knot at the nape of her neck, and a smudge of dirt stained her cheek.
I wished we didn’t need her Magic, but perhaps I was greedy or selfish because I refused to ask her to go. At this point, I wasn’t sure she would go. Malita had said it was my right as queen to ask them to stay, and it was their right as individuals to refuse. I would give them the opportunity again to exercise those rights. If they wanted to leave, I would let them, even if it ensured Le Poing Fermé defeated me.
There was one person in my group, though, who would never refuse me, and the word “forever” echoed through my heart, warming it, making it feel a little less mechanical and a lot more human. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the feel of forever on my tongue. If we managed to survive the battle awaiting us, I vowed to speak the word aloud to Gideon and find out if he agreed.
Without offering a single argument, Brigette sank onto the bed, leaned back, and closed her eyes. She lit a djageesh cigarette, inhaled, and blew out a stream of blueish smoke. She flicked a finger, and Jackie climbed off his stool, slid to the floor, and stretched out his legs. He’d be tired and sore in the morning if he slept like that, propped up against the wall. Not that I cared.
I tapped Gideon’s shoulder, motioning for him to follow me outside.
Wallah, Kosha, and Adaleiz must have heard us and ambled closer, nipping at tall grass as they approached. I rubbed their velvet noses, feeling guilty for not wondering about them sooner, but I was glad to see they’d survived the trek from Isolas.
“What is it?” Gideon asked after we’d moved far enough beyond the hut to talk without disturbing the others.
“Nothing urgent... or perhaps it is.” I stepped against him. Reflexively his arms folded around me. “We might not have this chance again any time soon.”
“The chance for what—”
I pressed my lips to his, and he responded, turning soft and hard in exactly the right places at exactly right times. His grip tightened, fingers digging into my lower back, clutching me closer. His kiss was warm at first. Eager. But as quickly as his passion erupted, it receded.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I can’t stop thinking about what’s to come and how everything will change.”
“How do you mean?”
“I’m the son of a poor, homeless drunk. I’m not even Inselgrish. You’re a goddess. When we win this battle, you’ll reclaim your throne and be queen.” His throat bobbed. “I’ll still be only me.”
A harsh sound of derision escaped my throat.
He flinched.
“Captain of the Guard isn’t good enough? We can find you a grander title if you prefer.”
“You are thunder and lightning, Evie. No matter what title you give me, it won’t make me anything more than just a regular man.”
My fists clenched as the cold in my veins heated into something volatile. “Do regular men do the things you’ve done? Sacrifice the things you’ve sacrificed? Given up everything to keep me safe and alive, working nonstop to ensure our survival?” I snarled at him, full of mockery. “Oh, yes, how very ordinary of you, Gideon. How mundane. How regular.”
He huffed. “I’m being serious.”
“You’re being ridiculous.” I slammed my fist into his shoulder.
Startled, he blinked at me, mouth agape. He was lucky I didn’t send electricity coursing through his idiot brain to shock some sense into him.
“A Stormbourne man has ruled Inselgrau for centuries without challenge,” I said. “But for the first time ever, a Stormbourne woman has been borne to the throne, and she’s had to fight tooth and nail, bone and blood, heart and soul to prove she deserves to wear that crown. What comes next will be something that’s never happened before, and that means we’re making it up as we go along. We’re writing our own rules, and we can make the future anything we want it to be.” I narrowed my eyes. “I refuse to do things the old way anymore. And that starts with you. Specifically, me and you.”
