Page 22 of Apples Dipped in Gold

“You don’t really think she killed the prince and the thieves?”

“Have you seen her gut a pig?” Michal asked.

Lore gave a quiet laugh that almost sounded like a scoff. I glanced at him. He seemed amused. Maybe he found it hard to imagine I had gutted anything.

“Well, the prince wasn’t gutted, and neither were the thieves, were they?” asked Hans. “They were sliced clear in half!”

Hearing that sent a shiver down my spine. Hesitantly, I glanced up at him again. I don’t think his gaze ever left me. He didn’t speak, but he lifted his hand to my face, brushing my cheek with his thumb. I held my breath. His touch was gentle, as if he were telling me in a different way that he would never hurt me.

I hated that I didn’t believe him and turned away from his touch. He dropped his arm from around me, letting me lean closer to the opening.

Outside, my brothers still argued.

“If she didn’t kill them, who did?” asked Michal.

“Perhaps she has had a secret lover who helped her escape,” said Hans.

“But we have only her footprints and those of a fox,” said Michal.

A heavy silence followed, and then suddenly, Michal and Hans looked up, as if they might find me in the trees. Only Jackal remained still and quiet, eyes narrowed and searching, and as I peered between the crack in the tree, his eyes met mine.

Fear ricocheted through me, and I inhaled an audible breath, which I immediately regretted. I covered my mouth with my hands and retreated, tripping over the fox, who let out a sharp yowl. Lore caught my arm before I could fall and dragged meagainst him. This time, his hold felt like an iron band around my back.

“Did you hear that?” Michal asked.

“It sounded like it was coming from inside that tree,” said Hans.

I could see my brothers begin to circle the trunk, and Lore unsheathed a small blade. I wasn’t sure what he planned to do with it, as it did not seem like a weapon that could take down any of my brothers but then again, he was fae and they were not. Still, I gripped his forearm, and he looked at me, his eyes searching mine.

“Please,” I mouthed, though I did not know why I stopped him. Did I want to protect my brothers, or was I too afraid of being discovered? Truly, I did not know, but I also could not think. The fear was pounding through my veins.

Lore continued to stare, studying my face with a frown.

Then there was a sharp blow to the trunk of the tree. It caused the wood to vibrate around us and the air to fill with dust.

Hans was using his axe to chop the tree.

“Who cares about a fucking fox?” Jackal hissed suddenly. “Who cares how the prince was killed or even the thieves? What matters is that the prince of Rook is dead, and his kingdom will likely offer a great reward to the one who brings his murderer to justice.”

“But we do not know who murdered the prince,” said Michal.

“No, but our dear, dear sister does, and once we find her, we will surely learn the truth, and we will either present her or her supposed lover to the king as the assailant. Either way, we will be rich.”

My brothers were quiet as they processed Jackal’swords. Hans chuckled and then Michal. Their laughter rose, echoing all around me, making my ears ring, but it grew fainter and fainter as they retreated, returning, I guessed, to hide the bodies of the thieves.

“Well, aren’t they pleasant,” said the fox.

His words broke through my fearful haze, and I released Lore’s forearm. My fingers ached from holding him so tight. I ignored the embarrassment I felt at having done so and peered out the hole in the tree, suspicious that my brothers were still near, waiting to pounce.

But then the tree disappeared, and I yelped as I fell to my hands and knees. I hurried to my feet and turned to face Lore as he sheathed the knife he’d drawn earlier.

He continued to look unhappy, and I wondered what I had done wrong.

“Your brothers are idiots,” said Lore.

“They are heroes,” I said. “Without them, my village would starve.”

His eyes flitted down my body. I didn’t like the way he looked at me, like he was frustrated with what he saw.

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