Road To Winter (Fae's Captive #2)(22)

“Tired of the twig toothbrushes I make for us?” Beth asks almost petulantly.

“No, of course not.” I think fast. “But in the plains, there won’t be any trees, so you can’t make fresh ones.”

She considers for a moment. “Good point.” Turning to Leander, she says, “We need toothbrushes.”

Gareth is still arguing with the shopkeeper, though he’s amassed a small pile of goods on the counter.

“Not here.” Leander leads us back to the door. “The inn across the street might have a few items like that. I’ll take you.”

“Leander, this son of a yakhound is trying to charge us double simply because he doesn’t like my face.” Gareth towers over the shopkeeper, who snaps his beak.

“I wouldn’t let my ugly sister sit on a face such as yours.” The shopkeeper has a row of green feathers along the top of his head that stand up in challenge.

Leander sighs. “Wait here.”

He strides to the counter. “We need supplies and are happy to pay a fair price for them. If you’d prefer to deal with me—”

“You winter realm fae aren’t welcome here.”

“I have coin. You have goods. Let’s discuss—”

“Come on.” Beth tugs me out of the shop and onto the dusty porch.

“Shouldn’t we wait for Leander?” I glance back into the shop, but it’s too dusky inside to see when the sun is so bright out here.

“It’s just across the street. We’ll be fine. They’re a couple of over-protective ninnies.” She steps to the edge of the porch as another buggy passes along with a few horses. “Come on, here’s our chance.”

I let her pull me off the porch and into the dusty road. We hurry across, avoiding all the creatures on the opposite porch as we step up.

“See?” Beth smiles.

“Okay, but let’s hurry. You know how Leander gets.”

“Insanely possessive?” she says brightly.

“Yeah, that.” I snug my hat down tightly on my head, mainly to ward off the prying eyes of the nearby fae.

“We can handle ourselves.” She leads the way into the inn. “Don’t worry so mu—” Her shriek cuts her words in half as a large fae grabs her and shackles her wrists.

“Let her go!” I rush forward as the creatures in the inn scatter, knocking over tables and chairs. Grabbing Beth’s arm, I try to pull her from the fae. He’s almost as large as Leander, strength rolling off him. He wears a bandanna around the lower half of his face. When I see his dark eyes, I suspect he’s a winter realm fae.

“She’s mine.” He keeps a hard grip on the chain between her shackles as she struggles to free herself, then he pushes up the brim of my hat. “Are you a runaway, too?”

“Run!” Beth kicks him in the shins, but he doesn’t seem bothered. “It’s the Catcher!”

“Leander!” I think my yell is loud enough to be heard all the way back at the summer palace.

The inn darkens, a chill blowing through the building so quickly that my teeth chatter. Leander enters behind me, his presence like a tangible fist of cold.

“Release her.” He holds his sword with lethal ease and softly maneuvers me behind him.

“Get him!” I pat him on the back. It’s pretty much the extent of my usefulness in this situation.

“The Catcher, is it?” Leander’s voice is coated with ice, though he lowers his sword.

The Catcher dips his chin just a bit in Leander’s direction. Was that respect?

Gareth rushes in, blades in each hand. The inn has completely cleared out, as if we’re having a showdown in a ghost town.

“Release the changeling.” Gareth advances, his ire even greater than Leander’s.

I peer around my fae warrior. No, not ‘my.’ I try to shake the possessive thought free, but it seems stuck in the net of my mind.

“She ran from her master,” the Catcher says, as if it explains everything.

“And she is now a citizen of the winter realm. Free.” Gareth stands just out of reach.

The Catcher palms a blade. “I hate to quibble, but you see, she isn’t in the winter realm. Therefore, she’s not free. Here, she’s just a runaway changeling.”

“Quibble all you want, but you will release her.” Gareth raises his daggers.

Leander reaches back and puts one hand on my hip, the other still holding his sword. Is he sitting this one out?

“Release her?” The Catcher lifts her chain, then drops it. His hand flies out, far too quick for me to see anything other than a blur.

I gasp, but Gareth easily deflects the blow, then counterattacks with a hard kick to the Catcher’s stomach. He flies backwards and out a glassless window into the street.

Gareth storms past, and I rush over to Beth.

“You okay?”

She rattles her metal cuffs. “Never better.”

“Leander, can you get these off her?”

He reaches for them, but his skin sizzles, and he frowns. “They’re enchanted. Only the Catcher can open them.”

“Great,” Beth deadpans.

A rough yell draws us out to the street, though Leander keeps both of us behind him.

Gareth is spinning and striking like some sort of murder dynamo. The Catcher stumbles back, though he puts up an impressive defense.