Page 14 of When Ashes Fall

“Good.”

I glanced back at the closed door of the lodge, but they wouldn’t let me return. I was as trapped out here as I was in there.

“I’m here if you need me,” Gizzi said reassuringly.

“Thank you.”

Devnair and I set off down the walkway toward the road. Dromon trailed about fifty feet behind us; his gaze bored into the back of my head with every step we took.

“It’s very quiet here,” Devnair said as he studied the gray sky.

“That’s because most of the residents are roses.”

Devnair sighed. “Yes, that’s true. What about all the animals? The birds?”

“You don’t see many of them.”

I was sure the shadow dragon had something to do with that, as well as a lack of sunlight and food opportunities, but I kept that to myself.

“It’s good to see you again, Briar,” Devnair said.

His words, spoken in his melodic tone and with the refined accent of the elves, were somehow calming.

“Is it?” I murmured.

“I wish it were under better circumstances, but yes, it is. How have you been treated since we met?”

“I’ve had more freedom here than I did in Nightshade, so that’s nice.”

“Truly?” he asked.

“Not at first, but recently I have.”

“And why is that?”

“I thought Knox was starting to trust me more….” My gaze wandered away from him as my words trailed off. “I guess I was wrong.”

“Have you gone through your Needing?”

His question surprised me. “What does that matter?”

Amusement danced in his onyx eyes. Like the last time I saw him, he wore his long, pale blond hair in a braid that exposed his pointed ears and accentuated his narrow chin, high cheekbones, and handsome features.

“It doesn’t concern me; I’m merely curious,” he replied.

We strolled down the faded red brick road winding through the hushed town. He steered me effortlessly around any rosebushes sprouting from the lane and passed the small cottages set off the roadway.

Wilted and mostly dead plants filled the gardens that once bloomed in abundance. Here and there, a struggling rosebush would peek out amidst the sea of death.

After today, there was a good chance I wouldn’t remain in this kingdom, but I’d like to help with these plants.

“I did go through it,” I said after a while.

“And have you bound yourself to one of your gods?”

“I will never bind myself to one of their gods.”

“Aren’t they your gods too?”