Page 43 of Winter's Edge
I crossed toward them and threw my one good arm around him and the pup both. As soon as I did, the embarrassment faded some, and all I felt was the two of them wrapped up tightly against me. Archer pressed me in close, careful of my shoulder, his big arms able to hold Sasha and me both. If he’d seen me with Grady, he didn’t say a word.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered into Archer's coat.
"Grady told you." He didn’t sound mad—not that he would—just his usual good-natured self, which made me wonder yet again at his strength.
"Yes." It took me a long while to be able to work up the courage to say anything more than that just yet, so I kept standing there holding them. Making Archer relive this again and again by talking about it weighed heavily on my shoulders, but of course we needed to. If we were going to go get the other wolf pup, then we were running out of time before winter.
Grady brought it up first though. "It could be Ronin, Archer. It could be that Faust took her with him so he could use her to find the ruby caves.”
Archer dropped a kiss on the top of my head and stepped out of my arms. "Even if that's the case," he said, his voice low, "what do you propose we do about it? They know our faces. They know our scents. If we step foot in Old Man’s Den, that's as good a declaration of war as any. A quick one that won't do anyone any good, least of all Sasha and Ronin."
I stepped back toward the couch, my legs slightly wobbly, and dropped onto it. "I also need to go back to Old Man’s Den to get Jade and Lee. I have a funny feeling the town won't accept me, either, but…unless someone locked it again, the window to the tavern where I saw Ronin would be a great way to slip inside."
"Well,” Grady started, “if we make a big enough distraction that's away from where we need to go…"
I snapped my fingers. "A fire. A big one. It would draw the men out of the brothel and the tavern. And that's when we would sneak in. We could cover our scents with star anise, since it smellsreallystrong, and wear some kind of disguise."
"And then what?" Archer asked, incredulous. "Where do we go so Faust and Gabriel won't find us? Where does Aika go so the bald guy won't find her?"
"You're right.” I blinked toward the door and mentally kicked myself since I hadn’t even thought of that. “He could come back here any second." Probably was already on his way. If he’d been smart and gone back to town for someone to sew up his missing finger first, that is.
Archer plopped down next to me with Sasha, nearly squishing me between him and Grady. Sasha blinked up at me, and I crushed my eyes closed at the frightening sight.
"Not to mention we also have winter to worry about," Archer said.
"What if you go south?" I took Archer's hand and squeezed. "With me? We could probably make it to Margin's Row before winter hit."
"Doesn’t that bald guy know you live there?" Grady asked.
"Yeah, but Margin’s Row is farther away than here. If he's stupid enough to come get me just for revenge in winter, he's not going to last long anyway."
"Aika," Archer said softly, "even if we do this, what about Hellbreath?"
The pit of my stomach dropped out because I didn't know. She could barely stand, let alone travel. I'd felt okay leaving her with Archer and Grady, but if all of us left, then what?
"I know someone who might take her," Grady said. "He knows a lot about horses."
"So…give her away to someone." I swallowed hard. Losing her would cut me deep, but if it meant she could be taken care of, then I had to do it. After winter, I could get her back. If… Well, I’d leave it at that. If.
Sasha wormed her way into my lap, and I held her with my good arm so she and I could see the two shifters.
Grady sighed as he pushed to his feet. "If we're going to do this, then we can't just sit here with winter only two days away. We need to pack this place up. We need to have a foolproof plan. We need to be ready for what comes next."
"War," Archer said simply. "If we take back Ronin, there will be war. Maybe not right away with winter, but Faust and his packwillcome for us."
I nodded. "And the bald man will come for me. The man who took over my baba's poison business. Maybe now or maybe after winter. But he’ll come for me." Of that, I was sure. The viciousness behind what he said he would do to me wasn’t the kind of thing that would just go away. I’d be ready though. I’d have to be.
"Twice the war, then.” Archer bent with his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands, and his black hair curtaining him off. “Honestly, I'm not sure about those odds. Do we even have a chance?"
"Do we have a choice?” Grady asked him, his tone as soft as I imagined it could ever get.
Archer didn't immediately answer, and I didn't blame him for his hesitation. He had already lost so much. They both had. Doing this could mean risking more than they should.
Archer released a long breath."Ronin belongs with her pack."
Grady slapped his hands on his thighs loud enough to make me jump. "That she does."
"You two are finally agreeing on something?" I asked in mock awe.
