He nodded. “Some rumor of a Vampire lord lurking about. Most drained bodies have been found in the north. I suspect that’s where they reside. Still, their sickness tends to spread like wildfire.”
I let out a shaky exhale, and Immeron put a hand on my shoulder. “That’s enough talk of dangers for tonight. Get your people situated. I’ll fetch my children to help.”
I gave a thankful nod, then walked over to my group.
“Well, what did he say?” Elowen asked. She and Henry were holding Edmund up.
I smiled at him. “Looks like you will have a new arm and leg after all, Edmund.”
He looked at me in disbelief, then grinned, Elowen beaming as well. Merrick kept his arms crossed.
“And,” I continued, “his sons will be making weapons and armor for the journey ahead for us. His wife has agreed to supply our clothes.”
Viola’s eyes widened. “Enchanted weapons?”
“With the Prince’s gold, of course,” I smirked at Silas, who looked at me in surprise. I laughed. “I told him what Igon had told me. He’s given me an idea of where we should be headed.”
“And where is that?” Silas asked.
I tensed. “I am grateful for what you’ve done, what you’ve all done,” I stated, gesturing at his group. “But I still cannot trust you fully. Not yet.”
Erabella curled her lip. “He threw awayeverythingfor you, and this is how you repay him?”
Silas touched her shoulder, and she crossed her arms. She looked at Merrick, an uneasy expression on her face. I glanced at him, and his irises were swirling dark.
Merrick’s ability to read people could be…unsettling.
I sighed and looked back at Silas. “I will tell you where we are heading soon. I will say it’s south. Hitting the kingdoms you wish to will come first. But, for now, you will have to trust me,” I repeated.
Roland let out a laugh, and I glared at him. “I’m sorry, it’s just funny how you told him you can’t trust him fully, but he is expected to trust you.”
“Roland,” Edmund said in disapproval.
He put up his hands. “Continue, Ginger Snap.”
Silas shot a glare at him over my nickname, and I sighed again.
“Where we are headed is dangerous, and it will take them a while to make all of our weapons, let alone Edmund’s new limbs.”
“How long, exactly? And what dangers are we talking about?” Hendry asked. I looked into his mismatched eyes, his bright blue eye nearly white with the setting sun.
“A week, give or take,” Immeron cut in as he walked to Edmund. “I’ll need to do some measuring if you don’t mind.”
“Of course,” Edmund said politely, and Immeron squatted down and began using a tape measure while jotting notes on a piece of parchment.
“Where are we to shower? Use the…restroom?” Era asked shyly.
I glared at her. Pretty princess has probably never had to struggle in her life.
“There is a small waterfall on the eastern side of the mountain. It will be cold, but it will do. As for the restroom,” Immeron shifted uncomfortably. “There is an outhouse over there with a bucket,” he said, pointing to the outbuilding past their houses.
She looked at him in horror. “But…you have homes.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Hard to have plumbing on top of a mountain.”
“Did you not have to relieve yourself in unsavory locations when you traveled to the fort?Or anywhere else, for that matter?“ Merrick asked her with an amused look.
“No, the carriages I rode in had a toilet and a bed. I thought these past two days would be the end of it,” she snapped at him.
