"Greysi!"
I jolted awake with a gasp, looking around disoriented. It took me a moment to find and register the blurred form of a large man standing near me. When I did, I clutched my blanket to my chest and scrambled back into the corner of the bed. My back hit the walls where they met as I blinked the clinging sleep and nightmares from my eyes. They seemed to have followed me into the world of the waking.
Thick arms folded over a wide chest as my eyes darted over his face which was difficult to see with the dim light bathing the room and framing him from behind.
"So damn skittish," he mumbled, speaking under his breath.
The hushed words not meant for my ears helped his features come into focus. I felt my shoulders loosen.
Silas.
I breathed out a breath of relief. It was much better to find him at my bedside, glowering down at me with a look that didn't seem to appreciate my reaction to being woken by him than who I had thought it was in my state of semiconsciousness.
"Couldn't you have just knocked?" I asked, clearing my throat when my voice came out in a croak.
What time was it?
Exhaustion was trying to drag me back under, weighing my eyelids and limbs. Rubbing my eyes, I looked towards the window expecting to find orange and pink morning light through the thin curtains, but what I found instead was the black night sky darkening it. It was too early to be awake let alone have to deal with Silas and the hostility he wouldn't explain. Though it was evident it was related to the matching marks we both had that he dismissed as nothing.
And his anger problems.
At least when he wasn't shouting, he resorted to avoidance. Much better than stomping around and snapping at us. Or worse.
"I did," he scoffed. "You sleep like the dead."
"I thought you could raise the dead," I dryly remarked as I dropped my hand back into my lap. I had to try not to grimace at the way his face darkened. It seemed exhaustion and not getting much-needed sleep still had the unhealthy effect of loosening my tongue and letting things slip past my filter.
He dropped his arms back to his side as he turned to leave, shaking his head. "You're the last one I would raise," he shot back on his way.
Though I may have deserved it, it didn't stop the irrational part of my brain from taking his remark to heart. It only revived the fading sting of the words from that night.
"Get ready. We leave in an hour," he said over his shoulder as he made his way out the door, leaving it open with his departure.
Thumping my head back against the wall in a mixture of dread and wanting to use the dull pain to keep me from curling up and falling back asleep, I sat there for a moment before pushing the sheets off my body. A shiver coursed its way down my body as the cool air penetrated through the thin shift gown I wore, causing goosebumps to pebble across my skin. It would be a while before the sun warmed the air again, though it would only be by a fraction of a degree.
Curling my toes as I set them on the cold wood floors, I grabbed the change of clothes I had set out the previous night before making my way to the washroom to get ready. It didn't take long.
Feeling refreshed, awake, and warmer in the thicker clothing, I made my way downstairs where the temperature rose further. Though the second floor grew chilly at night, the fireplace lit by a fire stone that kept the flames steady and in control kept the first floor nice and toasty. No one was required to stay up to keep an eye on it to ensure it didn't go out and cause us to freeze in our sleep or burn the house down no matter how large it grew. An added benefit of magic.
I made my way into the kitchen which had mouthwatering scents wafting from it just as Silas finished eating breakfast, rising to place his plate in the sink. Hilda sat across from the seat scorched by flames that he had emptied with a feast spread on the table before her.
"I'll prepare Garvin," Silas said, referring to the dark horse with a horn whose favor I had slowly been attempting to win through fruit. It wasn't very effective. He still took every chance to intimidate me that he saw. "We leave at dawn. Any later and we'll arrive in Lissicus well into the night. I would like to get more than a few hours of sleep before we meet Nolik. I want to be well rested in case it goes south."
"It won't. Esta would have warned me if the possibility existed," Hilda remarked before taking another bite of her meal.
"Better to be safe."
I made my way towards the cupboard with the plates and grabbed one before making my way to the table where the tantalizing scents of the dishes beckoned me. The spread was more extravagant than most of the meals she, or Silas when he occasionally took over, had fed me since I got here. A farewell meal. She must have been up most of the night.
"Which is why I splurged for this," Hilda said as she finished chewing. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a phone. "Well, the glamour that I had placed on it. It's not traceable." She held out the device that looked identical to the ones they already possessed.
They had considered getting me one but decided against it. They were far more trackable than the ones on earth, their power connecting to nature that let anyone powerful enough trace its every use. All they had to do was venture out here to look at recent connection links that weren't visible to the naked eye to discover an additional one. Cedric's parting remarks to Silas had them both believing they had already been here and may return in the near future. It was best to leave as little of a trace as possible.
"Stop getting yourself mixed with the Hidden. For their sake and ours. Using glamours is as risky as hiding humans." Despite his words of warning, he still stepped forward to grab it from her outstretched hand.
"Only if we're caught," Hilda brushed off his concerns.
I couldn't help but feel my stomach fluttering nervously as I reached for the ring on my finger. How easy was it to spot one? Not only did it have me seeing pointed ears in the mirror, an illusion that a swipe of my finger over the curved shell shattered, but it also had Penelope forgetting for the most part that she had already met me each time we crossed paths when she stopped. It was a wonder how Hilda thought I could make friends with the glamour constantly making it a struggle to place where someone knew me from. Not that Penelope would be interested with her thinly veiled annoyance at discovering my existence each time.
The action drew Silas's gaze to my hands that rested on the table along with my elbows. His eyes narrowed on the ring I was fiddling with before snapping to my ears.
"Of course," he scoffed, dropping his head as he shook it. Turning, he made his way to the door and grabbed his coat. "At least this one was justified," he commented on his way out.
"He only just noticed?" I asked Hilda with a raised brow.
"He saw your ears before you put on the ring. It's easier for him to see through the glamour than it is to see it.
Just like it was easy for them to remember me because they had already met me prior to it. And were high fae. Otherwise, Penelope already meeting me before it would have put us in a precarious position. Now that I wore the ring, I was safe as long as I avoided High Fae with royal bloodlines that were found in the heart of the court's main cities.
That included Cedric and his men who were related to distant lines of royal blood and had already seen me, it was best if I avoided them too. Apparently, the captain was the Winter King's distant cousin.
Eating until I could feel the food beginning to weigh in my stomach like a rock, I cleaned my plate and the few others I found in the sink before helping Hilda pack away the excess food she had made. There was so much that a few dishes went untouched. At least she wouldn't have to worry about cooking for the next few days.
By the time we were done and had the rest of the dishes cleaned, the sky outside the windows had begun to lighten. It was still dark enough that I couldn't make anything out, but a faint shift could be seen where the black sky was shifted to a near-black blue.
Silas came inside to grab the food Hilda had packed for the journey last night and we followed him out to the muscled beast that now had a leather saddle secured to its back. The simple seat had the dimensional bag holding our clothes strapped towards the back while smaller bags hung on either side of it. He unbuckled one to slip the food inside.
As he buckled it again and checked if everything was secure, I shoved my hands into my pockets to warm my fingers which were already beginning to feel stiff from the cold. The relief I felt was instant.
"Greysi," Hilda softly called my came.
I dragged my eyes away from Silas's fingers that he was softly running through Garvin's mane which had a few braids of varying thickness to her as she pulled me into an embrace. After a moment of her warmth seeping into me where our cheeks met as I processed that she was hugging me, my arms rose to return it.
"I'm sorry for the burden I have placed on your shoulders, dear." She said, giving me one last squeeze before pulling back with an uncertain smile straining her lips. It was an apology I had heard numerous times now. "Remember," she continued, raising her hand to flatten her palm over the golden mark warming my chest. I had become accustomed to the sensation. "Never let anyone know."
Garvin snorted loudly by my ear, causing me to jump away and dislodge Hilda's hand as a yelp escaped my lips at the faint brush of his snout over my shoulder. Peals of laughter escaped Hilda's lips, melting some of the tension I had felt in her body.
A faint chuckle had my eyes narrowing on Silas who patted the steed rewardingly.
"Come, let's get you up," he said, gesturing toward the horned animal. I was lucky he hadn't tried to stab me with it yet.
Smiling at Hilda, I reluctantly made my way towards Silas, and the giant obsidian beast flicking his tail. He was so large that I couldn't see over his back towards the open barn doors that had light spilling out to illuminate us. I had no idea how I was going to get on top of him. It was going to be a struggle of its own to reach my foot up into the stirrup, let alone hoist myself on top.
I came to a stop beside the animal, afraid to reach out to touch him and dreading climbing atop. Before I could figure out a way to maneuver myself up, Silas moved to stand behind me and placed his hands on my waist. I shivered. It was like I could feel the heat of his palms through the various layers of clothing I wore.
"Grab the saddle," he instructed, his voice sounding strained. I barely had a chance to follow his instruction before he tightened his grip and effortlessly lifted me so I could swing my leg over Garvin and pull myself up.
Once seated, I clutched at the saddle with a white-knuckled grip in fear that I would be bucked off. Luckily, all Garvin did was shake his head and release a whine. Leaving me sitting on him, Silas stepped away, making his way towards Hilda who had her arm open for him with a worried uncertainty etched into her face that he would reject her. It eased when he stepped into her embrace.
I saw their lips moving as they spoke into one another's ears, but I couldn't hear a word they said. When he pulled back after the extended hug, a frown pulled at Hilda's lips, and it wasn't because it had ended. Not even the parting kiss he placed on her cheek had it easing.
Making his way back towards me and Garvin, he placed his foot into the stirrup and climbed up behind me with ease. My body stiffened as I felt his mold against my back. This was going to be a long journey.
Reaching around me, he grabbed hold of Garvin's mane and used it to steer the horse around to face Hilda.
"It may take more than three days, but I will return," he stated. There was no room for debate in his tone, but that never stopped Hilda from trying.
She looked as though she was about to protest, but before she could get a word out, Silas dug his heels into the sides of the steed and had him take off into the trees.
My hands instinctively reached out for the animal's neck for a more secure hold, pushing my ass back into Silas. At least my tight hold didn't have Garvin reacting. He continued on his way, his hoofs thumping heavily on the forest floor.
Over the noise of his thundering steps that had me jostling atop him and against Silas, I heard a nearby tree branch creak. Looking overhead at the sky that had shifted to a dark blue that was only growing lighter as the minutes passed, a black mass darted into the sky, and silently flapped its wings to follow us above the trees.
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