Page 14 of A Sky of Emerald Stars

That past seemed too close to me now as we rolled through the outstretches of Durid and parked the wagon a short walk from the town proper. This was the location... the one only so many weeks ago Navin had taken me by the hand and dragged me through the muddy streets to find aquiet placefor the two of us—the one and only time he’d ever even kissed me. Sweet Moon, this wasn’t me at all to think such things.

I wasn’t a shining moonbeam. I was a thundercloud.

I sounded like such a puppy, reliving a kiss... But that kiss was brutally interrupted by King Nero’s inner circle of Silver Wolves. I’d watched as they nearly beat the life out of Navin. The fear still gripped me even now.

Humans were so fragile—too delicate and breakable to withstand Wolf brutality.Ihad shifted, and my wounds had healed while I watched Navin take weeks and weeks to recover. He’d take weeks and weeks from the injuries he sustained now, too.

Hector had been right. Ugh. I hated thinking about my older brother being right about anything, but it was true. I should’ve stayed away from Navin those many moons ago.

Wolves and humans couldn’t be together... not that I wanted to be with Navin anymore, with all his secrets and lies, anyway.

When we parked, Navin squeezed my hand and finally released my grip. I’d forgotten we were still holding hands long past the Sevelde Forest. It’d felt so natural to be hand in hand with him, and yetnothingwas natural about it at all.

“Thank you,” he murmured to me before hopping down from the seat with practiced ease.

He unhitched the oxen from the wagon and took them off to a distant pasture to graze. I sat on the driver’s bench, my legs numb and tingling as I watched the back of his head fade into the distance. He moved so confidently around these parts, clearly having traveled through Durid several times before. I wondered if Galen den’ Mora played in this little town even before Sawyn opened the borders. It seemed the eccentric wagon traveled to every corner of Aotreas.

“So?” Maez’s voice made me jolt. I hadn’t noticed she’d pulled apart the velvet curtain and was peeking up at me through the window. “What did you learn?”

Oh, right. Espionage. I let out a long sigh, finding my knives again. I was pretending to care about someone I actually oncedidcare about and mightstillcare about—a little—butshouldn’tcare about at all... Great. Nothing confusing about that.

“He said his brother had secrets and that he couldn’t let him die without knowing if he’d shared them.”

“Damn,” Maez said, watching as Navin’s figure dipped over the distant hill. “So if you killed his brother now, he wouldn’t mind?”

I cut Maez a look. “I still think he’dmindif I killed his brother.” I flicked my blade back and forth. “But perhaps not as much as he would’ve before he knew his brother didn’t spill these mysterious secrets.”

“Secrets he wanted him to take to the grave. Wow,” Maez said. “I’m actually impressed the sweet, lanky musician could be so cold.”

I clenched my jaw, wishing I had something to stab. “There’s more.”

“More than the suspicious, secret-keeping brother. Intriguing.” She grabbed my elbow and tugged on it. “You climb in. There’s no way I’m fitting through that window without looking like a drunken mountain goat.”

“A very cool, tough drunken mountain goat,” I said, and she rolled her eyes, half dragging me back into the warmth of the wagon.

It was only once I felt the fire she’d lit that I realized how cold it had become outside. Despite it being the tail end of summertime, we’d climbed high enough into the mountains that the air was brisk. Another few days of nearly vertical ride and treacherous paths and we’d be in the snowy landscapes of the Ice Wolf kingdom.

I rubbed my hands together as I wandered to the sunken seating area and dropped into one of the patchwork couches.

“It’s Ora,” I said.

Maez sidled over, flopped onto the couch across from me, and kicked her feet up on the low table between us. Her boots sat along the grating at the back door, and she wore only her woolen socks, making the way she anxiously shook her foot even more noticeable. “What about Ora?”

“Apparently they have a secret that could destroy the world,” I said mildly.

“Fuck.” Maez scrubbed a hand down her face. “Of course they do.”

“What could Ora possibly know that’s so catastrophic?”

Maez’s foot shook faster as she folded her arms across her chest. “If Ora has been taken by the Silver Wolves, I’d bet a thousand gritas that those bastards have already tortured every secret out of them.”

I shook my head. “Navin said Ora has a way of keeping their mind protected.”

“Mind magic, you think? What kind of human possesses such power?” Maez shuddered. “That’s so creepy.”

“We speak into each other’s Wolf minds through magic,” I reminded her, but she ignored me.

“So the Silver Wolves are hacking poor Ora up for answers to some secret that Navin won’t tell you...” She stared up at the ceiling. “What could it be?”

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