Page 4 of Rite of Blood and Secrets

"Finally," he mutters.

"I'm ready on time," I protest.

He looks me up and down and gives me a nod of approval until his attention reaches Pip. "You're not bringing the dog."

"I am bringing Pip," I counter. "You said you didn't intend for us to come back here after tonight, I'm not leaving her." I have no idea what exactly the Golden Moon has in store, but I'm not risking leaving Pip behind.

"Fine. Just don't let her get in the way. If she ruins this for us..."

My fingers tighten around the makeshift lead. "She won't."

Pip presses herself against my legs as if she knows she's being talked about. I hope she doesn't understand how unreasonable Bastian is being.

A knock on our front door makes me jump.

"It's the carriage," Bastian says. "Count yourself lucky that we don't have to ride in the stagecoach with all the others going up to the castle tonight."

"Why don't we?"

"Because I arranged better for us," Bastian responds as he opens the door.

A sallow-looking man on the other side bows to each of us in turn. "I'm here to escort you to the castle."

Bastian simply nods and strides past him to climb into the carriage. I follow, offering the man a smile. "Thank you."

He nods. "It is an honour, my lady."

I resist the urge to point out I'm not a lady, and that his cravat is probably worth more than the dress I'm wearing. Instead, I focus on getting Pip into the carriage. She lets out a whine as she looks at it, which I assume is because the steps are too high for her to jump up by herself.

I bend down and scoop her up into my arms, placing her on the floor of the carriage. She still doesn't look particularly happy, but at least she's in.

My skirt catches on one of the steps and it takes me a moment to unhook it so I can climb up to join Bastian and Pip. My hand shakes as I take my seat and the footman closes the door behind me. An odd feeling settles within me, but I'm not sure what's causing it.

Bastian leans back in his seat, looking as if he's been taking carriage rides like this his entire life and not as if this was the first time. Pip doesn't look so sure. I lean down to stroke her gently, hoping it'll soothe whatever nervousness she's feeling.

"I don't know why you insisted on bringing the mutt," Bastian mutters.

"She's our family, I couldn't leave her behind."

"She's a dog."

Pip growls at him.

"Shh," I tell her. "He doesn't mean that."

From Bastian's expression, I'm not so sure, but while he's chuntering about the fact I've brought Pip, he hasn't actually stopped me from doing it.

She finally settles down, putting her head beneath her paws and watching us both with wary eyes. I take the chance to look out of the window, watching the town as it passes me by and fades away until it's replaced by the darkness of the woods.

Nerves worm their way through me the further we get from our home. I don't have many possessions, but I have none of them with me besides the combs in my hair. I hope that when Bastian says we won't go back there, he doesn't mean that we won't be able to collect our things, but he's acting strange tonight.

The moon appears between the trees and I gasp. There's a yellow hue to it that almost looks like it's shimmering gold. I don't think I've ever seen it look like this before, but as it's been five years since the last Golden Moon, it's possible I've just forgotten.

There's something magical about it, which does something to dispel the nerves. How can anything go badly wrong on a night like this?

We pass through the woods and head towards the winding road up to the castle. Without the trees in the way, it's possible to see all of the other carriages making their way to our destination. The gold light of the moon bounces off the gleaming wood and materials of them all, making it a wondrous sight. I try to count how many there are, but it's impossible to. Every time one of them goes out of my range of vision, another one is replaced. It's strange to think that other people may be looking out of their carriage windows and seeing ours the same way I can see theirs.

Bastian isn't anywhere near as interested in the journey as I am, seeming as relaxed as when we first set off. It does make me wonder whether he knows more about what's going to happen when we get to the castle and it's putting him at ease.

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