I woke with a start, gasping as I lay on my stomach in the snow. I was cold and wet now and it was hard to know how long I’d been out, or how many visions I’d had but couldn’t remember. Shivering, I dragged myself to my knees and crawled forward. My fingers curled around the hilt of Thom’s sword, breath rasping in my throat.
“Marin?”
I looked up to see Leinth standing over me, frowning in the light of a lantern she clutched too tightly. I sucked in another breath and got my feet back under me. “Leinth. What are you doing out here?”
“Watching the gates. I thought you were asleep.”
“You don’t have the watch tonight,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“Your husband didn’t say anything, then.”
I just stared at her for a long moment until she sighed and looked away. “Of course not. Bloody men.” She glared toward the gate for a moment before she looked back to me. “They’ve gone back to camp once to get some alcohol—Phelan probably told them to do as much, lest our guests get unruly.”
“Guests,” I echoed, peering past her. I couldn’t see anything thanks to the glare of the lantern. “Who’s here, Leinth? What’s here?”
“The bloody Wild Hunt,” she growled. She nodded to the blade in my hand. “With any luck, you’ll not need that. If we do, then all hope’s gone. They’d wipe us off the map as soon as they’d look at us.”
My heart began to beat a little faster. The Wild Hunt. The legendary band…
Oh, shit.
I swallowed hard, throat burning and sour. “How long ago did they get here?”
“Half an hour, maybe three quarters of an hour.” Leinth shrugged. “They told me to stay at the gate, didn’t invite me to join them. I wanted to when they came.”
I could just barely see Rory now that my eyes had started to adjust again. He held a flickering tongue of fire above his palm, light dancing across his face and casting shadows in strange places. He glanced toward us and gave me a tight smile that I could just barely see in the light of his tiny flame.
“Who’s out there with them?” I asked softly.
“Your husband, Thordin, Phelan, Jameson, and Sif.”
I nodded firmly. “Right. Let’s go see what’s going on.”
I took her by the hand and marched toward the gate.
This seems to be ll tangled. Too many things not known to a few people may cause misunderstandings. I certainly hope not,
Thank you for the new addition.
It’s very tangled, but with these hapless heroes, is anything ever simple?