AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve never seen such an efficient thing as that. Do the shadow fae make them?”
“No. They’re a beast fae invention. Though the beast fae prefer natural fire over the blue coal.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
He stepped around the fire and handed me the bundle of cloth. “The beast fae prefer the natural over magickal elements.”
“What is this?” I stared down in my lap, seeing lacings. They were clothes.
“Those will suit you better and keep you warmer on our travels. I hope they fit. Change into them. I’ll be back shortly.”
Then with another whoosh, he was gone. Gwenda’s eyes blinked sleepily, so I didn’t bother her.
I unfolded the clothes in my lap. There was a pair of dark blue trousers made of a finer cloth than I’d had access to in our village. It was a thicker fabric, as was the beige blouse that laced in the front. There was also a black leather belt and a heavy coat.
Standing, I held out the coat that would hit my calves when I wore it. It was made of a deerskin pelt that had been smoothed into the softest leather, the color a pale brown, like cinnamon bark tea with the heavy cream I cherished whenever we could afford it.
We? There was no more “we,” Papa and I. Tessa had been gone for almost a year, and it had felt less and less like home every season without her.
I’d always pretended that one day Papa would see me as his daughter and treat me as a cherished child, the way he had treated Tessa, his true-born daughter. But that had never happened. If I needed further proof of my worth to him, I only needed to remember that he had gambled me away like a piece of property.
I sniffed at the sting of it, blinking away the tears. I suppose it was only natural that a new life would garner me new clothes. Though I wasn’t sure who this Vallon was, I was certain he had no intention of hurting me. Not only had he given me no reason to believe he would, but I sensed it with that inner whisper that sometimes spoke to me.
It didn’t speak literally, but there had been moments when I simply knew something to be true. My magick, latent though it had been, would ripple along my skin and warm my body when it was trying to tell me something.
Gwenda said that I was under his protection. It was more than Papa had ever given me. So maybe this wasn’t a terrible turn of events, but a new start. The thought of going back to the inn to Papa now made me nauseous.
Gwenda was now asleep, and I was sure Vallon had left me in privacy to change, so I stripped down to my shift, even removing the leather strap for my dagger, which was still missing. I was suddenly eager to put on these new clothes, to remove my old ones—my old life. When I picked up the shirt, an undergarment fell out.
It was made of the gossamer material of a chemise, though finer than my own. Removing my well-worn shift, I pulled the new one over my head. It had lacings at the bodice that tightened the chemise and held my breasts firmly in place. Not that mine were very big, but it felt good to have an undergarment that supported me there.
My old one was little more than a thin barrier so that I wouldn’t chafe against the harsher wool dresses I owned.
My new chemise fell just past my hips. There were no other undergarments to wear beneath the trousers. When I pulled them on, they were of a thick material, but soft. I liked the feel of my new clothes as I added each layer.
When I saw my scabbard laying on the ground, I removed it from the leather strap and fitted it onto my new belt at my waist. When Vallon returned, I’d demand my dagger back.
By the time I pulled on the long coat, I was smiling and wishing I had a looking glass to see myself. The new clothes didn’t only fit my body, they fitme.They made me feel stronger somehow, more confident.
The tell-tale flapping of giant wings warned me of his arrival. This time, I prepared for his overpowering presence.
When he landed, his gaze skated over me again, another inspection, but this time it was a slow perusal. When I glanceddown at myself, I realized how well the clothes fit my petite figure and wondered where he’d gotten them.
“Where and how did you find clothes like this so fast? They fit perfectly.”
“I see that,” he drawled, standing very still as he continued to drink me in.
Heat flared in my cheeks. That was an expression I’d seen before on men. Many looked at me in such a way, some even offering gifts to seduce me. One traveler had outright offered coin for a night in my bed. But I’d avoided all of them, even the admirers I liked.
I was aware that as a half-breed, I wasn’t an enticing catch as a wife. The males I’d admired in our clan never saw me that way.
The only time I’d ever let myself believe it was when Dellyn, the smithy’s son, had started courting me. It was right after Tessa’s disappearance, and so I’d gravitated toward his company and attention easily. I was lonely.
Dellyn had come to the inn often for that month, staying much longer after a meal and a pint of mead. We’d talked about our days, about the weather, about the war and hoping it would end.
One night, he’d left me a ring. It was fashioned from iron, not a precious metal, but it was intricately engraved with a vine of leaves. I remember that tender feeling that someone cared about me blooming in my chest.
I’d risen early the next morning before we opened the inn and tavern and gone to the blacksmith shop to thank him. I’d met with his father, who asked why I wanted to see his son. I remember the disapproving scowl he’d given me as I stood in his open doorway.
