Page 14 of The Wolf and Her Shadows

Mariane

The first thing I notice as I slowly regain consciousness is the sound of a nearby crackling fire, followed by a rather delightful smell. Squinting one eye open, my stomach growls at the sight of several skewers of some sort of meat cooking over that same fire. It’s been quite a while since I’ve eaten anything more than whatever Kelv had tried to pass off as food. I’d made an attempt to cook myself once or twice, but the ingredients he’d kept on hand were…lacking.

Careful not to move too quickly, I rise up onto my elbows with a groan. I’d forgotten how awful the effects of magic drain could be. Which is why it’s also been a while since I’ve risked using any of the magic I still have access to. Hopefully the horse appreciated the effort. Either way he deserved a treat after saving me from an untimely end. Us…

Slowly swiveling my head from side to side, I scan our makeshift camp for any sign of my “rescuer”. It isn’t until I sit up further and my hand brushes against soft fur that I realize I’m lying on a bedroll made of some sort of large pelt. Hopefully not that of a wolf. That would be…unsettling, to say the least.

While I’m still frowning down at my current resting place, I hear Vannaria’s voice from behind me call out, “Don’t worry, it was from a bear.”

Craning my neck, I look over my shoulder and see her crouched at the base of a large tree at the edge of the fire’s glow. “Good to know.” I carefully turn to fully face her. “What are you doing?”

She holds up something much too small for me to see. “Foraging, what does it look like?”

I scoff, unable to resist the urge to roll my eyes. “From here it just looks like you enjoy staring at tree roots.”

“They are quite fascinating. But, no.” With a soft groan, she stands and begins walking my way. Once she reaches me, she holds out what looks like a mushroom. “I was collecting these.”

“I see.” I give her an unimpressed look. “And why exactly?”

Vannaria gasps, doing a poor job of pretending to be offended. “Because they’re fucking delicious, that’s why. Keep it up and I won’t be inclined to share.”

Holding my hands out in an equally exaggerated display of surrender, I give her an innocent smile. “I sincerely apologize for insulting your precious mushrooms. Please forgive me.”

She huffs out a laugh. “That’s more like it. Once I add these onto the skewers it shouldn't take too long before the lovely meal I’ve prepared for you is ready, Your Majesty.”

My smile turns a touch more genuine as I lower my eyes to my hands. “Thank you, Vannaria. For… Well, for everything you’ve done for me today.”

A canteen appears in front of me, held in the woman’s gloved hand. “Ah. No thanks necessary.”

Taking it from her, I force myself to meet her eyes and slowly shake my head. “But it is. If it hadn’t been for you, I’d most likely be swinging in a noose by now. If not worse. And concerning the bounty…” Swallowing down my sudden wave of emotions, I force my lips to twist up into a smirk. “I’m glad I didn’t have to kill you too.”

With an airy chuckle, she turns back to the fire, and the food cooking above it. “My knee-jerk response would normally be ‘I’d like to see you try’, but…” Violet eyes meet mine again when she briefly glances over her shoulder. “I have a feeling you’re a lot more capable of holding your own than I’d originally assumed. You’d have to be, to have survived on your own this long.”

I’m grateful that she begins to busy herself with the food once more, because my cheeks heat up in a rather embarrassing way at her praise. Which is entirely ridiculous for a number of reasons. Especially considering I still have so many unasked and therefore unanswered questions about our current arrangement.

“Why did you cut that man’s hand off?” I blurt out, hoping to get at least a few answered before… Before what?

Her shoulders lift in a shrug, not taking her eyes off her work. “He put his hand where it didn’t belong, he deserved to lose it.”

Fighting back a chuckle, I ask another. “How did you know I’d need rescuing from Kelv? You had already left the tavern before our conversation.”

She taps a finger against one of her long ears. “I’d been listening from right upstairs. Had slipped in through an open window.”

“Did you know of my true name before or after he mentioned it?”

“Before.”

I suck in a breath, the next question coming out quieter. “Had you intended to ambush me, before he’d beaten you to it.”

“No.” She turns to grin at me, a bit of playful tease in the expression. “My original plan had been to seduce you, but I had to improvise when I realized that likely wouldn’t go in my favor.”

The laughter I had held back a moment ago breaks free now. “No. No, it likely wouldn’t have.” For some ridiculous reason, I add, “Although you would’ve had a much easier time of it than any of those men.”

Clamping a hand over my traitorous mouth, I curse myself for being so foolish. For all I know, Vannaria could still be planning to lure me into a… My thought trails off when I realize her own eyes are equally as wide as mine, and her mouth is slightly agape. Her cheeks have turned a bit darker as well.

Perhaps not then?

Busying herself once more, she clears her throat and mutters, “Ah. Well, good to know.” She had choked on the words, and they’d been a bit…squeaky.