Page 34 of Realm of Thieves

“Feral,” Vidar warns him. “Behave.”

I’m not too worried. Lemi is big, even compared to the wolf dog, and a lot of alphas see his size and think they can take him on to prove something. But Lemi has a trick up his sleeve that the rest of them don’t.

Feral barks, ignoring his master, his hair on end, and Lemi bounces on his front legs, ears up and tail wagging, wanting to play.

And play in his own unique way.

Feral lunges for Lemi just as Vidar shouts at him to stop, but Lemi simply disappears into thin air, leaving Feral extremely confused.

And he’s not the only one.

“What in bloody blazes was that?” Steiner yelps as everyone else—aside from me and Andor—lets out gasps of shock.

Suddenly Lemi appears again behind Feral. The wolf dog whips around and Lemi goes low into a play crouch. By now Feral is a little nervous, even taking a step backward.

Lemi barks, loud, the kind of bark where I’d normally tell him to be quiet, but I decide to do no such thing here. Let the Kolbecks be disturbed.

“How did he do that?” Kjell demands, but I pay him no attention.

“Lemi, leave Feral alone,” I warn him. “He doesn’t want to play.”

Lemi ignores me and tries to get closer to Feral, but the dog ends up running out of the room with his tail between his legs.

Lemi is about to follow, but I tell him to stay put. “I’m sorry, boy, he doesn’t want to play with you for now. I’m sure he’ll come around later.”

Lemi looks at me and barks, his tail still wagging.

I sigh and put my napkin on the table, looking at Andor. “I think I should probably take him outside. He might be like this for the rest of dinner.”

“A ploy to escape,” Kjell grumbles.

“Mmmmm,” Torsten agrees. “Andor, you’re going with her. Shame you’ll be missing dessert.”

Andor doesn’t look bothered in the slightest. He gives me a nod, relief on his brow, and we get to our feet. We quickly leave the room and Lemi trots right beside me. I barely had enough to eat, but I feel bad that Lemi hasn’t even had anything. Hopefully Margarelle will have scraps from the kitchen.

“But, seriously, how did he do that?” Steiner asks me, mouth still agape at Lemi’s disappearing act.

Andor gives his younger brother a look that says he’ll explain it all later and then leads me down the hall, past the kitchen, bakehouse, and storeroom, to the very end where there’s a large wooden door beside a staircase. He pushes it open and we step outside, and I’m immediately engulfed by cool, fresh air and nightfall. I stop on the gravel path outside the door and breathe in deeply through my nose,not realizing how shallow my breaths were before, how hot I was getting in the dining hall. I feel like I can actually think.

Andor grabs a torch from the wall beside the door and stands beside me as Lemi trots off.

“Lemi,” I call after him as his black body disappears into the shadows beyond the flame.

“He’ll be all right,” Andor says. “There’s a fortress wall around the back here. This is where we have the vines, the orchard, and apparently where the cook’s future vegetable garden will be since Steiner has taken over the current one.”

“He’s a curious fellow,” I comment.

“You can say that again,” he says. “But don’t let his youth fool you; he’s the brains of this family, of the whole syndikat, and I’d argue the monarchy as well.”

I walk toward the faint shapes of trees. I can only just make out their shadows in the dark, but as I step closer I see round fruit hanging from their limbs. I reach up and touch them gently, feeling their weight.

“Apples,” Andor says, bringing the torch closer so that I can see better. “You can’t see in the dark, can you?”

I shake my head, noting how the fruit shines in the light. “Apples were one of the few fruits the higher classes had in Lerick. I never stopped to question where they got them from. All this time there was trade between Esland and Norland.”

“They trade with our neighbors, the territory of Altus Dugrell,” Andor says. “Many of the inhabitants there worship the dragons instead of the goddesses. One of the many reasons why they split with Norland.” He pauses, seeming to think that over for a moment before he says, “I should apologize for my family this evening. They’re…suspicious of outsiders.”

I laugh. “I can relate. I don’t think your father would have gottenvery far in life if he wasn’t.” I give him a sidelong glance. His high cheekbones look carved from stone in the shadowed light. “Besides, I am still your prisoner. I should be grateful that I’m treated as fairly as I have been.”

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