Page 82 of Across an Endless Sea

Twenty-Six

Rhoswyn

For the first time since I arrived in Fellgotha, I eat a full meal and sleep like the dead. I have no idea how Bram tells the time, but I wake to him telling me he’s going to fetch breakfast. Then I watch in shock as he strips completely naked, before shifting into a gorgeous—if slightly tatty—black-and-silver fox. He carefully gathers a mouthful of feathers, taking extra care not to scare the chickens, which cluck at him as he slinks past them to the entrance.

He doesn’t return for hours, and with the venom completely out of my system, I’m no longer paralysed. There’s not much to do, so I amuse myself by watching the chickens while I think.

I’m not entirely sure what to do now. Before, I was going to wait to die, and then return to Elfhame that way. Now, I’ve discovered my brother is here, trapped. I can’t just leave him.

Bram is so isolated, it’s painful to watch. He clearly isn’t used to other people. I don’t think he slept at all while I was here, and he’s always wringing his hands.

Already, I feel oddly protective of him, though I’m not sure the emotion is warranted, given that he’s managed to survive a hundred years down here.

He shouldn’t have to be alone anymore, so I’ve made the decision that I’m not leaving here until I find a way to get him home. I just… have no idea how I’m going to manage that. So far, my best solution is sneaking back onto a boat—and even that is riddled with so many problems that it’s really not a solution at all.

Namely, the boats are made of steel, so neither of us will be able to use our glamour to hide.

When the black fox slinks back into the cave, carrying a mouth full of dried fruit, I smile hopefully at him.

Bram leaps onto his battered trunk and carefully deposits the food out of reach of the chickens before gently nuzzling them into two portions with his black nose. Ordinarily, I might be more cautious about eating something that just came out of an animal’s mouth—shifter or not—but I crush those qualms with the hammer of gratitude.

I have no idea what Bram had to go through to get this—probably dodging tunnel wyrms and Fomorians, at the very least—and I’m not going to snub his efforts.

“Are you… going to shift back?” I ask, when he digs in, still in his fox form.

The fox startles, almost choking on a berry before it leaps from the top of the trunk, becoming a male again before he hits the ground in a crouch. He doesn’t take long to shrug on his threadbare clothes, but I avert my gaze until he’s decent.

“Breakfast tastes great,” I whisper, just to break the silence.

He gives me a sharp, jerky nod and draws his knife, moving across to a bulky sack. He draws a piece of rope out of it, and starts creating a complicated system of knots, cutting it where necessary to create an even more elaborate shape.

“Are you fixing the trap I broke?” I ask, fascinated by the way his hands are moving.

He nods once, barely looking at me.

“Florian said your gift hurt people…” My voice gets quieter as I remember what caused that conversation. “Like mine.”

The memory of that fae’s head exploding in my grasp plays over and over in my mind. Suddenly, thoughts of slapping Caed into oblivion with Maeve’s gift seem more dangerous than funny.

Bram’s face contorts into a grimace. “Magic can cause pain,” he admits, and a shadow flickers through his bright eyes. “But it can also be fun. Florian didn’t tell you he once spent three days with his hair stuck to a cow’s ass because Dare and I combined our gifts, did he?”

I snort, and the shocked sound swiftly turns into a full giggle, before becoming a rich laugh. The idea of Florian’s gorgeous silver mane, stuck to the rear end of a stinky livestock animal is just…

My laughter cuts short at the sound of scratching from beyond the wall.

In a second, Bram has his feathers in his hand, and is in front of me, but this is no tunnel wyrm. No. I’d almost prefer it if it was. The familiar voice cursing and growling from the entrance can only be one person.

Caed.

I push past my defender and place myself between the entrance and my newfound brother.

“Maeve,” I hiss.

In a blink, my guide returns, grinning.

“Is it finally time to kick some ass?” she demands, holding her hand out to me.

I nod, taking it and reaching out for Danu at the same time.

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