The Blood Forest (Tree of Ages #3)(30)

The animals backed away, frightened more by the fire than they ever would be of a blade.

“Stay near me,” the man with the torch said, and Bedelia realized with a start that it was Iseult.

He herded her behind him, keeping the wolves at bay with his fire as they backed toward the castle where their friends slept. The wolves snapped at the flames, urged on by their hunger. Bedelia’s breath hissed in and out through gritted teeth. She had just come so close to death. After all she’d endured in life, it almost seemed oddly poetic that it could have ended that way, with her nothing more than a meal in a wolf’s belly.

When they reached the snowbank in front of the door, she stepped back and her foot sank. She lost her balance and began to fall, but Iseult’s free hand darted back and caught her wrist, holding her steady. Her breath caught in her throat as she noted the wolves’ hungry expressions, made menacing with shadows from the firelight. If she would have gone down, they would have pounced, fire or no.

“Keep moving,” Iseult ordered.

Nodding to herself, Bedelia trudged backward through the deeper snow until her icy hands hit solid wood. Keeping her gaze on the wolves and Iseult, she pushed the door open and stepped into the hall. Iseult followed her, keeping the torch between himself and the wolves until he was inside, then quickly pushed the door shut and slid the iron bar into place.

Scratching, whining, and a few thuds could be heard as the wolves tested the door, then all was silent.

Iseult turned toward her, torch still in hand, lighting his face and the hall around them. The snowflakes that had gathered in his black hair and on his shoulders began to melt, leaving dark stains of moisture in their place.

“Always have a source of fire at hand when wandering the wilds at night. It will do more for you than a blade,” he explained.

Bedelia nodded as she slowly relearned how to breathe. She tried to keep her thoughts out of her expression, especially the guilt. Did he know she’d only gone outside to stalk him? She would have killed him had she been given the chance . . . and he’d saved her. Perhaps she did deserve to be eaten by wolves.

He stared at her, and she had the feeling he was somehow reading every single thought in her mind.

“I-” she began, then cut herself off, unsure of how she could ever explain.

“Go back to sleep,” he ordered. “I’ll watch the door.”

Bedelia looked down at her feet and nodded, then shuffled away. Halfway down the hall she turned to find Iseult still watching her. “Thank you,” she muttered.

He did not reply. He was clearly suspicious of her now, or perhaps he had been from the start. She would have to step much more carefully from this point on. She didn’t look back again until she had reached her bedroll. She curiously noted that two other bedrolls seemed empty, but did not take time to investigate who was missing. Instead, she noted that Finn was still peacefully sleeping, then quickly climbed back into her bedding. Still half-sitting, she gazed at the illumination of Iseult’s torch at the end of the hall. A moment later, the light went out, leaving her in darkness.

She was beginning to realize that darkness was a place where Iseult was far more comfortable than she. Sure, she’d tasted darkness at Keiren’s side, but it was not where she would choose to live.

Perhaps once, but not now.





Chapter Seven





Iseult watched the lumps that were his companions bundled up in their bedrolls, secretly hoping the lump that was Finn would wake first. He hadn’t missed the two empty bedrolls at the other end of the room. They’d belonged to Tavish and Rae. Either they’d gone out while he was escorting Bedelia back to safety, or they’d somehow snuck by him while he was in the hall, which he doubted.

He’d slept little during the night, and what rest he did allow was spent leaning against the wall near the door. He’d never needed much rest. He’d always thought perhaps it was due to his curse, but Maarav seemed to sleep just fine. Or perhaps he simply pretended in order to feign ignorance about his missing men.

His gaze moved to the lump that was Bedelia, near Finn. What had she been doing wandering out in the snow? Had she entered into a plot to distract him from the other men? If she’d only needed to relieve herself, she could have stayed much closer to the door. He’d been watching her since she walked out, noting the way she moved, how she favored her right leg, and had seen the wolves stalking her. He’d almost debated stepping in.

He knew it was too great a coincidence that they would happen upon her on the Sand Road after she and Finn were separated in Migris. His suspicion was only increased by the fact that she knew Maarav, and that he had been the one to deliver the potion to cure her ailment after Finn was kidnapped by Anna. Was she somehow affiliated with the secret city, or did she simply know Maarav as in innkeeper in Migris?

One of the lumps stirred, drawing his attention. A clump of fluffy blonde hair came into view. Only Ealasaid.

He shook his head. What an odd group they had gathered. He at least trusted Ealasaid, and her magic was useful.

Next rose Finn, then Kai. Slowly the others awoke and sat up. Last was Bedelia, likely tired from her late night exploits.

“Has the snow stopped?” Finn asked of the room in general as they all struggled out of their bedrolls.

“Yes,” Iseult replied, stepping toward her to offer her a hand up.