Page 111 of Wingless Crow: Part 1

“What will happen to me?” I asked.

“Like I said, there will have to be a thorough investigation and a trial. But since the king isn’t dead, you cannot be tried for murder.”

“Promise?”

He worked his jaw, glancing aside.

“Promise me, Voron, that I’ll be safe,” I demanded.

“I promise,” he said, not meeting my eyes. “I promise to do everything within my power to keep you alive, Sparrow.”

The magic swirled around us, sealing yet another promise Voron had made. It was a simple one, but it guaranteed nothing.

“Don’t be assured by the shimmer of magic. Pay close attention to the words,”his earlier advice came back to me.

Voron might have a lot of power, but not enough to go against royalty on my behalf. I took his promise for what it was—nothing. I couldn’t count on Voron or anyone else for my rescue. If I wanted to live another day, I had to do it on my own.

I couldn’t allow Voron to lead me to slaughter. I had to find a way to escape. With Voron on my heels, it couldn’t be just one quick escape, either. I’d be running from him for the rest of my life. But at least I wouldhavea life.

But he was also right about my knowing nothing about this world. If it wasn’t for his intervention, I would be taking a nap on those deadly black weeds right now, never to wake.

Voron had always been an excellent source of information. Maybe I could get him to help me still? Only I had to find a way to do it without him realizing he was helping me.

I took a closer look at our surroundings.

“I’m hungry, Voron. Do we have a minute? I’ll grab some of those red berries over there.” I pointed at the bush with juicy red clusters, then at the mushrooms with orange swirls on their cups that grew under the bush. “Or those mushrooms, maybe? It won’t take long.”

He gave me a suspicious look.

“Stalling won’t help you avoid the inevitable, little bird.”

But it might get me another day to live.

“Am I to starve under your arrest?” I huffed at him from the height of the saddle.

Voron blew out a breath and reached into his saddlebag, then took out something wrapped in a piece of clean cotton.

“The berries will make you vomit for days. The mushrooms will kill you. Here.” He handed the bundle to me. “These have mushrooms, too, but not the kind you’ll die from.”

I lifted a corner of the cloth, finding a few stuffed pumpernickel rolls inside the bundle. The appetizing aroma tickled my nostrils. I took a bite of one and moaned in pleasure.

“Mmm. So good. They’re stuffed with mushrooms and lamb, aren’t they?”

He gave me an odd look, like he liked what he saw but wished he didn’t.

“Yes. That’s what Brebie said when she packed them for me.”

Suddenly, I missed Brebie, and Alacine, and my little room. Regardless of what the future held for me, I could never return to that life anymore. It was now firmly in the past, with everything that was good and bad about it.

I bit into the roll fiercely.

“Sparrow, do you want to see how snowberries grow?” Voron suddenly asked, his voice lifting. “Look.”

He crouched by a low bush under a nearby tree and plucked a plant from the ground. A pale blue berry, shaped like a glossy jellybean, dangled at the end of the plant’s thick stem.

“That’s the berries they use in Elaros to make the tarts that you like,” he said. “These must be some of the last ones of the season. The snowberries come at the very end of winter and are usually gone by summer.”

I took the stem with the berry from him, remembering our lessons with fondness. I’d managed to make him smile once or twice back then. We’d had tea and pastries. I never thought he’d noticed which ones were my favorite, but he clearly had.

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