Page 13 of Fortress of Blood and Power

“Come in,” I called.

Garrick stepped through the doorway, pausing when he saw me. A strange look flickered over his face, gone too soon for me to read it. “We shouldn’t delay any longer,” he said, and I nodded, watching regretfully as he put out the fire with a bucket of water. When he offered me a hand, I didn’t hesitate to accept his help. “Another servant or soldier could already be nearby.”

Before we left the cabin, Garrick strapped a sword and a series of hunting knives in leather sheathes to his belt, shoved another knife into his boot, and hefted a bow and quiver full of arrows to his back. “Best to be prepared,” he said, flashing me a smirk and leading me outside.

I inhaled the fresh mountain air, studying the thin, sparkling layer of snow that had fallen sometime in the early morning hours. The sun shone brightly, but fluffy clouds were gathering, promising more snow. A chipmunk scurried up a nearby tree, scolding me for being so near its home. Nearby, the stream burbled along merrily, clear and glistening in the daylight. Everything seemed normal and cheerful, the terrors of last night dashed away as if they’d never occurred. It was a little disconcerting.

“You need to be prepared too,” Garrick said, drawing me from my appreciation of nature. He handed me another knife I hadn’t seen him clutching in his palm.

I blinked at it, studying the marking of a wolf silhouetted against the moon etched into its hilt, and thinking of how hopeless I’d felt with a blade last night, not having a clue how to wield one. Or even if I’d have the courage to defend myself. “Ladies aren’t exactly taught how to fight,” I said at last.

Garrick’s piercing eyes never left mine. “I’ll teach you. For now, take it, and if an enemy gets too close, do your best to shove the blade into anything tender. Eyes, face, torso, hand...whatever it takes to stop or slow them.”

I took it, shoving it into my coat pocket and praying I wouldn’t have need of it.

Studying the clouds overhead, I kept my head down as I trudged through the growing piles of snow, my breathing turning shallower the higher the trail climbed. We’d only been traveling a few hours, but I was already exhausted and sore. My toes ached and blistered in my borrowed boots, each step arduous when my stockinged feet slipped around inside them. I’d tripped and nearly fallen so often I’d lost count. Garrick had stayed by my side, faithfully offering a hand each time to keep me from injuring myself.

“I wish I could offer you better-fitting gear,” he’d said with a frown, but we were in the wild, with no towns nearby. We had to make do with what Garrick had.

Now, I paused to catch my breath and wipe the sweat beading on my brow with my mittened hand.

“We’re not far,” Garrick said, but that encouragement only made me want to groan. He’d said that a few times already, and I was starting to think his definition of far and mine were very different things.

“I can scarcely breathe.”

The hunter reached into his pack and withdrew a canteen, passing it to me. I sucked down the water greedily. “You’re unused to this elevation.” When I finished and handed him the canteen, he took a gulp. I tried not to watch as his lips pressed against the same place mine had just been, tried to ignore how intimate sharing a canteen was. I knew it meant nothing and was silly to be scandalized when my life was in danger, and yet, I couldn’t ignore the uncomfortable squirm in my belly each time one of the careful boundaries polite society had erected was challenged.

“Is it...too soon to stop?”

A teasing glint entered Garrick’s eyes as he replaced the canteen in his pack. “I could carry you.”

My face burned. “I’ll walk,” I gritted out, trudging onward before he could embarrass me with further flirtations.

“Forgive me,” Garrick said, holding out his arm. I hesitated before taking it. “I’m making you uncomfortable. Your human formalities are unusual to me.”

I didn’t respond.

“To distract you as we walk, I could tell you about the time I outwitted a cantankerous troll.”

“A troll?” I scanned the trees surrounding us, imagining a bulky troll lumbering out and threatening us. So far, the only creatures we’d encountered had been harmless—squirrels, rabbits, birds—but I couldn’t banish my fear of every story I’d heard about fearsome creatures living in the fae world.

“They’re too thick-headed to be much of a danger,” Garrick said, brushing aside my concerns as if trolls were simple pests. “This particular one was no exception. I’d tracked a deer to a pond with a nearby cave. A foul-tempered troll stalked out, swinging a club and threatening to crush in my skull for waking him.” While my eyes widened, Garrick merely laughed. “Trolls aren’t known for their cheery dispositions, Starlight. Most seek the solitude of the mountains and threaten death when anyone is unfortunate enough to stumble upon one of their lairs.”

I missed another step, sliding through snow, but Garrick’s hold on me tightened, propping me up. “Thank you,” I murmured.

“Rather than take on the lumbering giant, I proposed something else: a challenge. If he won, he would have the pleasure of killing me. Well...he specified eating me.”

I couldn’t help but cringe, making Garrick’s smile broaden at my reaction.

“If he lost, he’d be forced to tolerate my presence near his cave until I was finished tracking my own quarry.”

This wasn’t the first story Garrick had told to keep me entertained. His liveliness and zest for adventure seemed to know no bounds. I also knew he preferred it when I humored him by asking questions, because each time, his eyes lit up. It had been so long since someone truly enjoyed my company, so long since anything I did brought joy to anyone, that I couldn’t help myself. “What was the challenge?” I asked, glancing sideways so I could see his dimples flash and his gold eyes sparkle.

“Tracking.”

“What?”

“I don’t know how many stories you’ve heard about trolls, but they’re excellent trackers. Many consider them to be the best, with their keen sense of smell and animal instincts. Naturally, when I told the troll whoever was the first to track down and kill the buck I’d been hunting would be the winner, he laughed and agreed.”

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