\u201cIt\u2019s close, then,\u201d Matt said quietly, crossing his arms. \u201cAnd not in very deep water, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know how deep that water might be now, Matt. The lake\u2019s risen a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot that<\/em> much,\u201d he said, his gaze drifting toward the coals trapped in his forge. I stared at him for a long, hard moment, my brow furrowing.<\/p>\n \u201cLet him think, Mar,\u201d J.T. said before I could open my mouth. I looked at him funny, brow creasing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat makes you think I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause it\u2019s what you do,\u201d he said, tempering his chiding with a smile. \u201cI know you, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n I mock-glowered at him a moment before I remembered that Vasily was there, standing and watching us. He must have thought we were absolutely batshit crazy\u2014as if he and his companions in the Wild Hunt hadn\u2019t figured that out already.<\/p>\n After all, we were letting them make a home with us here. No one entirely sane<\/em> would choose to allow that to happen. Not only were they a band of hardened warriors\u2014killers, really\u2014they had more than a few enemies. When combined with our own growing list of adversaries, combining the two lists probably wasn\u2019t the smartest of ideas.<\/p>\n The price had been Seamus\u2019s freedom, though, and we couldn\u2019t deny him that, nor could we deny the weary riders of the Hunt a place they could finally call home again for the first time in a very long time for mos.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you think Phelan will know something?\u201d I asked J.T. after a moment.<\/p>\n J.T. shrugged. \u201cPhelan knows a little bit about everything, so I guess we just have to hope. Maybe he does and maybe he doesn\u2019t. Thordin certainly seemed to have an inkling.\u201d<\/p>\n I glanced toward the door, frowning. He certainly did.<\/em> \u201cWell, either he\u2019ll come back and share with the class or he\u2019s already gone off to either slay the dragon or raise the alarm.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you think those are out there now?\u201d<\/p>\n I startled at my brother\u2019s question. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDragons,\u201d he said. \u201cDo you think they\u2019re out there now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWithout a doubt,\u201d Vasily said, leaving the three of us to stare at him in shock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cIt\u2019s close, then,\u201d Matt said quietly, crossing his arms. \u201cAnd not in very deep water, either.\u201d \u201cWe don\u2019t know how deep that water might be now, Matt. The lake\u2019s risen a lot.\u201d \u201cNot that much,\u201d he said, his gaze drifting … Continue reading