Page 13 of The Wolf and Her Shadows

“Ah.” I absentmindedly scratch at the armor covering my chest. “As I believe Aren said, it’s a glamour.”

“Yes, but what kind of glamour? Do you have magic of some sort?”

Pursing my lips, I tip my head from side to side. “In a way. Aren does at least. They’re a pyromancer. But the glamour…” My words trail off when I find myself unable to tell the truth, yet not wanting to lie either.

“It’s not your magic then, is it?” When I shake my head, she takes a step towards me and quietly asks, “Is it…Blood-Rune magic?”

A brief hint of a memory flashes through our mind at the term. I instinctually squeeze my eyes tightly shut as our entire body tenses to the point of being painful. And yet, I force myself to nod. If Mariane was willing to tell me a piece of her painful past, it’s only fair that I do the same.

Then in a pained whisper, I admit, “Yes.”

There's a soft gasp, followed by a soft hand grasping the one I’m not still clutching the horse’s reins with. “I’m sorry. I know that must’ve… Did you… Or…?”

A watery chuckle slips past my lips at her inability to decide which question to ask. “No, we didn’t carve the runes. Our… Our father did.” When she lets out another louder gasp, I quickly clarify, “He wasn’t like your father. At least, I don’t believe so. He did it so that we could escape a fate such as yours, if necessary. Knew we would be safer if we could take on the visage of a man. We…” Again, I trail off.

*I believe that’s enough honesty for one day,* Aren mutters in our mind, clearly agreeing with my desire to not reveal more of our painful history.

Our eyes flutter back open when I feel soft fingers caress our cheek, wiping away a tear I hadn’t realized I’d unintentionally shed. In a tone equally as soft, Mariene says, “In that case, I’m glad you had a father who clearly cared for you.”

“Thank you. For not reacting harshly to my confession.” Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I once again tap my chest, where the majority of the runes are. “Most people don't take kindly to this sort of magic. Not anymore at least.”

She takes a step back, letting go of my hand. “If I’m not mistaken, it became illegal to practice in this kingdom around the same time as the Fall of Amzarath, right?”

It takes every bit of self-control I have left in me to not flinch violently at the question. Not trusting my voice to remain steady, I simply nod, turning to the horse to hide the despair threatening to show on my face.

Unaware of my anguish, Mariane also asks, “How old were you?” When I don’t answer, she adds, “Or is that too painful of a question?”

Shoulders tensing even further, I repeat Aren’s earlier words. “I believe that is enough honesty for one day, don’t you?” Risking a glance over my shoulder at her, I attempt a grin. “Besides, there’s a long journey still ahead of us. Plenty of time for more painful conversations when we’re not both dead on our feet.”

“You’re right.” Sighing heavily, she gathers up her skirts and all but collapses onto the forest floor. “I’m thoroughly exhausted. I’d intended to help you set up camp, but I fear you’ll have to do it on your own.”

With an only partially forced bark of laughter, I begin removing the remains of the harness off our stolen horse. “Don’t worry, Princess. I’ll take care of it.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I wince at the completely insensitive nickname I’ve foolishly been using for her and mutter, “Ah apologies again, Mariane. I’ll refrain from calling you that in the future.”

To my shock, instead of getting irritated, I hear her hum thoughtfully before saying, “At first I despised it. Since it reminded me of my intended fate. But now… I’m not sure. I find myself wishing I could have a bit of princess treatment. My feet are killing me.”

Chuckling, I slip the leather straps over the horse's head, then turn to face her. “Well in that case, would you like to rethink your previous dismissal of my offer?” My lips twist into a smirk without me meaning for them to. “I’ve been told I give marvelous foot rubs.”

Her response is to tug off a boot she’d only just put on and chuck it towards my head. Luckily, I catch it before it can strike the beast behind me. I deserved it, he doesn’t. Letting the boot fall to my feet, I continue unhooking the bit from the horse’s bridle to use it as a makeshift halter for the night instead.

While I’m in the process of loosely tying him to a nearby tree, I hear Mariane mutter, “You’re an ass, but as much as it pains me to say it, I do think I’m going to take you up on that offer.” She winces. “For more than just my feet.”

Biting my tongue to keep from laughing, I nod, still facing away from her. “Well, whatever Her Majesty wishes. Just give me a few moments to get a fire going and try to find something for this handsome fellow to munch on.”

“I…” I turn around when Mariane clears her throat, now back on her feet and walking towards me. “I’d like to try something…”

With only a bit of hesitance, I nod. She takes a deep breath before closing the distance between us and dropping to a knee in front of me. I instinctually open my mouth to make a likely inappropriate comment, but her scowl has me snapping my jaws shut.

Right, nearly forgot the promise I’d only recently made.

Eyes still narrowed, she places one of her palms flat against the dirt at our feet, and the other against her own chest. As she mutters softly under her breath in a language I’m unfamiliar with, both of her hands begin to faintly glow blue. A bead of sweat slowly trails down her temple and her eyes fall closed, her brows pinching together from the force of her apparent concentration.

Then, to my shock, grass begins to grow all around her, as well as myself and our equine companion.

A gasp slips out of me at the same moment a small satisfied smile curls at Mariane’s lips. Her eyes slowly flutter open and lock with mine for a brief moment, then those same eyes roll back in her head and I’m only just able to catch her before she falls flat on her face as she falls unconscious.

Unable to stop myself this time, I laugh.

Chapter Six