Page 33 of Beasts of Briar
I glared at him.“You know why my magic is the way it is. The Wilds. Even though I was in my mother’s belly when Spirit Frost’s axe was used, it still affected me, the same way it did my brothers and father.”
“Well, why didn’t you just tell him that?” Driscoll asked.
Leoni rubbed her temples. “Tell him and reveal Spirit Frost’s axe? That we know who has it and where it is?”
“Ohhhh...” Driscoll trailed off. “Right. Well, now he’s going to be poking around in your business. That’s probably why he’s letting you stay here, harvest these nettles. So he can discover your secrets.”
Driscoll was right. The god and I were playing a dangerous game, one where we both were trying to discover the other’s secrets. Or in my case, kill him for what he’d done. For destroying my court. Not yet though. First I’d need to learn his weaknesses. First I needed to save my brothers. That was the priority above all else.
I got back to cutting another stalk. I gripped it, holding back my tears as the thorns jabbed me, then sawed through it with the knife. And to think, this would be the easy part.
“How many of those do you need to knit a sweater?” Driscoll asked.
I shrugged. I didn’t know. I would work on Jorah’s sweater first, then go down the list of brothers, finishing with Soloman’s. I just needed the sweaters to fit over the swans’ backs. They didn’t have to be perfect. At least I hoped not.
“How does a sweater fit over a swan?” Driscoll asked. “I’m trying to picture putting a sweater on a swan, and I’m having a hard time.”
Leoni sighed. “They’re probably going to have an open front so she can throw them over the swans’ backs.”
“Ohhh.” Driscoll stroked his clean-shaven chin. “Yeah that makes more sense.”
I wished they would go away. I didn’t like how they just hovered, watching me, talking and chatting like we were all good friends. They weren’t my friends. If anything, they were here to watch me, to make sure I didn’t use that bolt. My gaze flicked to the brush where my satchel was hidden. I didn’t dare check that it was still there, not when Kairoth could be lurking, watching. Though Goji had told us that he slept during the day. So Driscoll’s theory had been right. He was a creature of the night. I must’ve crept into his dreams just before he’d been ready to wake up the previous two evenings.
I sucked in a sharp breath as a thorn stabbed my thumb, going deep into my skin.
“I’ll check with Goji to see if there’s any way we can make a salve,” Leoni offered.
“No.”I winced as I signed, my movements slower than normal with my swollen fingers.“It’s okay.”
Leoni looked like she wanted to argue, but she didn’t say anything.
“So what’s the plan?” Driscoll asked. “Spirit Shadow is suspicious of you and your powers. So what does that mean? We’re just here indefinitely?”
I bit back a cry and dropped a stalk into my basket.“It means we have time to figure out what his plan is and stop him. He’s collecting those weapons for a reason. We have to know why.”
Leoni translated and Driscoll gulped. “Great. Spy on Spirit Shadow. That’s going to go over well,” he mumbled.
Leoni nudged him. “It’s what you signed up for. Signed us up for. You really will go to great lengths to run away from a perfectly good relationship.”
He scoffed. “That is not what happened.”
“If you hurt Aron, I will cut out your tongue and feed it to you,”I signed.
Leoni smirked.
Driscoll looked between us. “What? What did she say? Did she say something about Aron? Did she tell you how that man is hung?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“She doesn’t need to.” Leoni shot him a glare. “You’ve talked about it nonstop.” She raised her nose. “She just mentioned that if you hurt her friend, she’s going to hurt you. By cutting out your tongue.”
Driscoll turned wide eyes on me, and I flashed him a vicious grin. “Wait a minute,” he said. “Did you just make a joke?”
I made one simple sign that I knew he would recognize.“No.”
He made a face at me. “I’m not going to hurt Aron. I just... don’t know if we’re right for each other.”
I didn’t want to get involved in this, but I sighed and signed,“If Aron is considering becoming king of the frost court like you said, then you had more impact on him than anyone else in his life. He wouldn’t even entertain the idea when I brought it up. You’re the only difference. The only thing that could’ve made him change his mind. You gave him confidence to see himself in a new light, to see himself as a leader.”
Leoni translated as I signed, and Driscoll looked away. “Great,” he squeaked. “That’s great.”
