Page 39 of The Wolf and Her Shadows

She slowly places her hand in mine, eyes still narrowed. Shifting so that I’m gripping her wrist, I guide her hand down into our bag. I can’t help but to laugh at her startled gasp, or the way her arm completely disappears into the bag as she no doubt attempts to reach the bottom.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing before,” she mutters, pulling her hand free with obvious reluctance. “It’s truly remarkable.”

“It is.” I nod, a wave of nostalgia washing over me. “Another former acquaintance of ours made it for us many years ago in exchange for helping him to build his shop. He was an enchanter.”

“Where is his shop? If you don’t mind my asking.” She tilts her head, picking up the shirt I’d sat on the bed next to her. “I don’t believe I’ve ever met an enchanter before.”

I wince, already knowing she won’t like my answer. “Um. Cyrel, actually. Towards the center of town.”

As expected, a dark look crosses over her face. “I see.” Her expression shifts to one of consideration and she purses her lips a moment before taking a deep breath. “Vannaria, I–”

“Oy! The two o’ ye best be hurryin’. Ye foods gettin’ cold and I’m gettin’ sick o’ waitin’ on ye sorry asses!”

Glancing towards the closed door and the staircase beyond it, I call back, “Just a moment!”

Giving Mariane an apologetic look, I pick up the soft sleeping pants and kneel on the ground in front of her. “We’ll have to finish this conversation later it seems. I did warn you that Slivo would be cross if we didn’t come down for dinner.”

Making sure not to let my eyes stray to the cunt I’m now eye-level with, I begin helping her into the loose cotton pants. Mariane grits her teeth, lifting herself up onto trembling arms so I can slide them over her ass. “That you did.”

Tugging the shirt free from the white-knuckled hold she has on it, I help her into it as well, keeping my gaze on her face. As soon as I’ve finished pulling the shirt down her torso, her head lolls forward to rest against my chest.

Taking several deep breaths while fresh beads of sweat slowly trail down her temples, she growls, “This is ridiculous. Can’t even get dressed by myself. How pathetic.”

Frowning, I gently wrap my arms around her in a loose embrace. “Please don’t say that. Nothing about you is pathetic, Mariane. Being in pain and needing a bit of assistance because of it is nothing to feel ashamed of.” Hoping to lighten her mood a bit, I add, “It is my greatest honor to serve you in such a way. In fact, I would be quite content helping you to change every night, Your Majesty.”

She scoffs. “I’m sure you would. But for now, I simply need my most loyal subject to carry me down to dinner.”

“Anything for you, Your Majesty.”

After I’ve gathered her into my arms once more, Mariane and I make our way back downstairs. It’s a bit awkward, her having to open the door for us and the staircase being so narrow I have to go down it sideways, but we manage. Mariane’s laughter at me anytime I stumble makes it all the more worth it, however. A glorious sound in comparison to her cries of anguish.

Slivo greets us at the bottom with an unimpressed frown. *Vann, ain’t anybody ever teach ye te save the fuckin’ ‘til after dinner? De poor girl starving, didn’t need te be wastin’ no energy without a proper meal first.”

Mariane barks out a laugh, but I shoot them a scowl, clutching the woman in my arms a bit tighter by reflex. “I assure you, no funny business was had. Her shifts are a bit…” I trail off not wanting to reveal a painful part of Mariane’s situation without her consent.

“Agonizing,” she finishes for me, dropping her head back against my shoulder.

Slivo’s narrowed eyes give Mariane a slow once-over, then the goblin gestures towards the curtain in the back of the room. “Carry her through der, got de table all set for ye.”

With a nod, I do as they say and carry Mariane into what turns out to be a rather large kitchen, complete with a small square dining table set up in its center. Rosaline smiles at us as we enter the room, a far cry from her parent’s annoyed grumbling the entire time they’d followed us through the shop.

I offer the devilkin a smile in return before hooking my foot around the nearest chair to pull it out from under the table so I can carefully set Mariane down onto it. Rosaline’s brows furrow, but she doesn’t ask any questions, instead continuing to busy herself with placing basket after basket of baked goods on the table.

As I move to pull away from her, Mariane grips my arm, holding me in place while she places a gentle kiss on my cheek. “Thank you,” she whispers, before letting go and turning to Rosaline. “This all looks quite delicious, thank you for your hospitality.”

Slivo lets out a huff, but Rosaline smiles wider, gesturing to the large cinnamon roll I’d originally intended to purchase from her, already on the plate in front of Mariene. “Vannaria said you might enjoy that. Why don’t you go ahead and have dessert first, the main course is just about ready.”

Mariane’s eyes widen, seemingly noticing the monstrous pastry for the first time. “Oh my. Well, don’t mind if I do.”

I can’t help but smile when she forgoes using the fork left next to her plate, instead grabbing it with both hands. As soon as she takes a large bite, her eyes slip closed and she lets out a loud moan. Arousal pools low in my belly while I watch her lick her lips to wipe away the sugary frosting smeared all over them. Forcing myself to look away, I drop down into my own seat, hoping my reaction isn’t as obvious as I fear it is.

My mouth waters as I take in the large pastry on my own plate. Doing my best to ignore the nearly-obscene sounds of pleasure from the woman beside me, I grab my fork and knife so I can cut the cinnamon roll into bite-sized pieces. I fear that if I’m not careful, I might end up choking on it, due to both my current distraction and from attempting to eat much too fast. It’s been far too long since I’ve had Slivo’s baking and I have no doubt their daughter is just as skilled.

Sure enough, when I take my first bite, my reaction is no better than Mariane’s.

Once both our plates have been scraped clean, Rosaline chuckles, breaking the relative silence. “Well then, I take it that’s as a five-star review from you both?” Mariane and I both nod, our faces now completely covered in sticky frosting and cinnamon. “Thought so.” She sets a large plate down in the center of the table, piled high with a small variety of steaming meats. “And here we go, here’s your real dinner. Only the best for my PaMa’s only friends and their traveling companion.”

I look over at Slivo, only now noticing they’ve taken the seat next to me. Their eyes are locked on Rosaline, lips curled into the softest smile I’ve ever seen on their wrinkled face. Warmth spreads through me knowing that our oldest friend has found the family they’d so desperately longed for back in our youth. That we’d both longed for.