Page 49 of Cursed Shadows 3

Next to glamour is Dare as he comes jogging down the stairs. He moves for me, but his glittering gaze latches onto Aleana. His brow pinches as he takes in her appearance and I don’t quite know if he’s amused or offended.

He wears much the same as Daxeel, but his sweater is a cool grey and better suited to his pale skin and golden eyes; eyes that I darken into a muddy brown. The glamour is not terribly strong, the brown isn’t as dull as I aimed for, so there stays a golden hue to them. The result is an amber-speckled brown that’s passable.

Not everyone decides to come along.

Rune doesn’t join us, Samick—if he’s here at all—stays hidden from this little scandal of ours. But Eamon finds us after he sent out a crow for Ridge to meet us at the bridge, and I tend to his glamour in a way that compliments the contrast of his dark complexion with his plain white shirt. Like Dare, I tone down his goldenness. But like Dare, none of his beauty is erased, and I find we all make very attractive humans.

There’s only so much a glamour can do.

But it’s convincing enough to startle Kalice into a double take as we pile out of Hemlock House.

The carriage waits on the street.

Kalice’s wide gaze follows us the whole way.

Only Aleana and I offer her a smile before the carriage door closes on us.

Then we are gone.

In the carriage, the uneven stone of the roads has us swaying back and forth for the length of the town. The ride turns rocky when we reach the country roads packed with too much gravel and dirt. That’s when I grab the leather grip above my head and fight the stirs of nausea threatening to thrash too violently in my gut.

“How far away is this bridge?” Aleana asks, cradling a bottle of honeywine she’s supposed to be sharing with me, but hasn’t handed over yet.

I keep silent in the carriage. My breath is bated, as though just releasing it too strongly will trigger Daxeel and he’ll send me back to Hemlock.

“Another ten minutes or so,” Eamon says.

Wedged between Aleana and Eamon, I avoid the constant stare of Daxeel and, instead, I watch the toes of my black boots warp as I flex my toes. They better match the strappy black dress that is revealing enough to draw in the heat of his gaze.

Already, we have been in the carriage for too long. Just twenty minutes, but these hail-carriages are always too small, too cramped, too draughty, too hot.

Aleana swishes the bottle and groans, “Isn’t there one closer?”

In all my silence, I nod along with her complaint.

“A few.” Eamon reaches out to ruffle my loose waves. “But those bridges don’t lead to where we are going.”

Eamon knows the bridges better than I do, and he sure knows the human lands better than I ever will. It’s his duty to learn these details for his recruiter career. So I place my trust in him, because he would know for certain if the closer bridges to Kithe only took us to small villages or barren towns with no ice-skating for Aleana to enjoy.

The last time Eamon took me out to the human realm, I thought I was prepared. Maybe I was a little on the cocky side, as I was with Daxeel, who was clearly new to the world. But Eamon schooled me, fast, and he swept me into the heart of a town bigger than any I’d ever seen before.

I hated being on the outs.

This time, I’m a part of thein. I get to share this with Aleana. And it brings a smile to my face when the carriage finally starts to roll to a gradual stop.

She’s too quick to stumble out of the carriage.

Daxeel moves for her and snatches her forearm before she can go spilling all over the thick grass.

I shimmy out after him.

Carriage rides are the most perfect way to ruin a good dress, so not a moment after I’ve righted myself at the edge of the carriage, I swat at the short hem of my mine, attacking any wrinkles and creases in sight.

I glance up at the snap of a twig.

Ridge rounds a chopped tree stump across the clearing.

Guess he got himself ready much faster than we did.

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