Page 87 of Beyond the Winter Kingdom
“I’m not my father,” Damon said finally, voice low. “But sometimes it feels like I’m paying for who he was and what he did.”
I glanced over at him, but he didn’t look at me. Just kept his eyes on the path ahead.
“I know you’re not,” I said.
The corner of his mouth lifted, subtle but real.
We kept walking, the path uncertain, the Fold somewhere ahead. But with each step, the silence between us didn’t feel quite so heavy anymore. Maybe we were all just trying to unlearn what the world had taught us about pain.
Maybe, somehow, that was the point.
“In fact, as far as being stranded in hell with someone—so far, you’ve been pretty good company. There are a lot worse people I could have ended up here with.”
Damon glanced at me, the icy blue of his eyes thawing in that moment. “Same. I don’t have many ...”
“Friends?” I said quietly with a gentle smile and a playful elbow to his side.
He smiled, and the way it crinkled near his eyes felt true. “Friends.”
As we headed toward the Fold, I kept him close. While he operated with the idea he was going to keep me safe, I moved with another thought in mind. Evorsus had already taken Vareck and Sadie away from me. I wouldn’t let it take my friend too.
Chapter 23
Meera
“You should eat something.” Damon sat on a broken tree limb. He nudged me as I stretched in front of him, holding out a dehydrated survival kit and a canteen of water.
I scrunched my nose on instinct but accepted it all the same before I plopped down on the log next to him. I groaned in slight relief, but it was short-lived. My feet ached. My back was sore from sleeping on the ground or leaning up against a tree. My scalp itched. Damon and I hadn’t bathed in days. We wiped down the best we could, and I had deodorant in my backpack, but that only worked for so long. The one thing movies and shows never accurately depicted was how everyone looked pretty and clean, even when the world was ending. Sure, they had a smidge of dirt here, and a smudge of blood there. But they had clean hair and shiny lips, with just a touch of perfect mascara to brighten their eyes. The last time I saw my reflection in a pool of water, I looked like a swamp witch. I smelled like one too.
“What I wouldn’t give for real food,” I murmured. At this point, I’d eat a squirrel if I saw one. “Something that didn’t have ‘just add water’ as directions before eating.”
“You can always ask Corvo if he’ll bring you something else” he said while pouring water into his own before stirring. I followed suit, grimacing at the smell.
“He’s moody enough as is bouncing between the realms.” I sighed deeply before taking a bite. It looked disgusting. “What is this one?”
“Beef stroganoff,” he mumbled around a mouthful before swallowing thickly. “It’s not a food I’m familiar with, but if this is anything close to the real thing, I think we could serve this to the hounds at the castle and they’d be thrilled.”
“It’s not my favorite meal in my real life. I wouldn’t bother trying it once we’re out of here if I were you.”
“Hate to break it to you,” he began, pointing his spoon at me before gesturing to our surroundings, “but this is, in fact, real life.”
I grumbled, chewing as quickly as possible. “Believe me, I’m well aware. My body is done with it. Nature. Hiking. The outdoors. Fricken done.” I finished my food and set down my empty parcel before I ran my hands through my greasy hair. “We’ve been heading toward the Fold for about three weeks, and I have no idea when we’ll actually get there.”
“How do you figure it’s been three weeks?” Damon waited, curious for my answer. “I stopped asking how many days we’d been here after Corvo said time was a useless construct and he threatened to piss in my closet and shred everything I owned.”
“I didn’t need to ask him. I’m a woman,” I said, raising my brows to him knowingly and motioned with my hand in a circular fashion so he would connect the rest. He waited for me to elaborate, and it was obvious I needed to spell it out for him. “I have a period.”
Damon smiled softly. “I didn’t realize you could track the time with it.”
I shrugged. “I’m regular, so that helps. I mostly get cramps in the mornings. My body does other things throughout the six weeks in-between. Periods are the worst, but at least it’s good for something here.”
“Your scent changed a while back. I assumed it was your courses?—”
“What?” My stomach twisted and my heart shot into my throat as it pounded. I jumped up from the log we were sitting on and turned to face him. “You can smell when I’m on my period? Oh my god! Why didn’t you say something?”
Damon barked a laugh and rubbed his palms on his pants. “Would you have preferred me to mention I can smell blood in that exact moment? Really? That isn’t polite in Faerie, and I would think you’d be appalled if I said something.”
“I’m appalled now!”
