Page 152 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
“I’m sorry?” I blinked.
“Dear, you’ve already apologized once. Best not make a habit of it. Cecylia. Mrs. Thornbrew. She talked me ear off about you.”
She must have seen the surprise on my face, because she went on, “Only good things. Mostly.”
Honestly, after the way I acted, I deserved that mostly.
Mrs. Mallowmere leaned to the side, looking out the shop’s large windows. “You’ve attracted quite a crowd.”
As soon as I turned, the dozen or so people who had been clearly peering inside jerk at being caught, then quickly averting their gazes and flitting away. More than one of them carried a candle like the ones sitting in the windows.
“Yes, it seems I’m the day’s attraction,” I mumbled, watching as the stalls covered their goods in thick wool covers and the lights went out in the shops. In the distance, stars began to twinkle in the sky, no clouds or snow in sight.
“It’ll pass,” Mrs. Mallowmere said gently. “We haven’t had an outsider live among us in ages. Especially not one we’ve all heard about long before we’d ever seen your face.”
“Truly?” I knew my Huntress status had swept through Malhaven but this crater felt like such a different world. Almost as if it had no place in the mortal realm.
“We’re not that cut off.” Mrs. Mallowmere winked at me revealing a green shadow on her eyelids. “You’re theProtectorate heir, sworn enemy of the Blood Brotherhood, of course we knew of you.”
“That’s right, I was your enemy.” I cocked my head to the side, just like Sylvester had. “Why don’t you hate me, then?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “We’ve been Blood Brotherhood for a few years, not enough time for hate to penetrate. And The Dragon doesn’t go around spreading it, either. Unlike others. And we trust our Commander wholeheartedly, he’s never done us wrong.”
The barest news of this union had reached the Protectorate. One of the fearsome Northern Clans had joined the Blood Brotherhood in secrecy. Our best spies had only managed to discover that it had been a peaceful union. No annexation, no war, not even a suspicious poisoning.
None of the Northern Clans had retaliated at losing one of their allies, which I’d always found strange.
But before I could ask and scratch that itch in my brain, Mrs. Mallowmere said, “And, with all due respect, we have other things to worry about. Especially lately.”
She said it with no hint of vitriol or accusation, the same wayTantheIssa–may the gods have mercy on her beautiful, generous soul taken too early from us–used to talk about all the husbands she’d buried.
“Lately?” I asked, that scratch in my brain pulsing.
A long sigh seemed to deflate her, even as her thin brows furrowed. “There’s been a strange mood here lately. I could chalk it up to the wells drying up, the birds not chirping as much, the forest growling louder. I’ve seen them all before, only the gods know what they throw at us, but this time feels different.”
“Different bad?”
“Just…different.” Her eyes lingered on the changing horizon. The market began to light up with candles, little twinkles competing with the stars. “Then again, it might just be an oldwoman seeing ghosts where there are none. It was about time. My momma started speaking to the forest sprites around this age. You’ll see for yourself now that you’ll be living here.”
“I don’t just want to live here,” I muttered. The well of power stirred inside of me, unbeckoned. “I want to thrive.”
I hadn’t meant to speak the words out loud. But the craving was too great to keep keep hidden any longer.
If I would spend my life here, I had to. I’d kept myself to my thoughts and my plans so much, I hadn’t fully embraced that possibility–and I’d definitely not made an effort to do it.
So focused on trying to escape this place, I hadn’t taken the time to truly know it. Engulf myself in it.
That was the problem. I’d fought so hard to escape this crater that I hadn’t let myself truly discover it.
No wonder the civilians looked at me like I was some oddity. I hadn’t made an effort to make myself familiar and these people didn’t owe me anything.
I wasn’t one of them. I hadn’t earned that right.
I’d stared at this market for so long, mapped out the best routes and hiding spots, but I’d never seen this display, because I’d always be gone by the time the shops closed up, only interested in my goal. As the candles were being lit, the people drew together in one line, filtering down a road leading into the forest.
A low chant floated in the air, otherworldly and beautiful.
“What are they doing?” I asked, mesmerized.
