Not until we have no other choice.
In my silence, footsteps crunch through spring undergrowth near this clearing, and Otto emerges, trailed by two of Brigitta’s other guards and Cornelia.
“Perimeter set, wards up.” Cornelia sinks against an oak tree near the fire. “We left two of the Grenzwache to take the first rotation. We move at sunrise?”
“No,” Otto and I say simultaneously, and I blink up at him. The invisible ribbon stretches between us, connecting our intent. His eyes meet mine, and a whole conversation passes through us without words, without thought, and I see my awe reflected in his eyes.
If this is how the bond is when it’s been manipulated by Dieter, I cannot fathom how it will be when Dieter is disconnected from us.
“We’re an hour outside Trier,” Brigitta says, sheathing her blade. “The sooner we can get to the city and scout his location, the better. We are not even sure if he is in Trier—he could be anywhere in the country chasing after these stones now.”
Otto lowers to the ground next to me, and I lean into him, absorbing his warmth as he faces Brigitta. “I don’t argue that,” he says. “But the city is too dangerous for all of us. You”—he eyes Brigitta, Alois, Cornelia, and the two present guards—“especially. We have been lucky with the lack of hexenjägers on our route. But if they are not spread across the countryside anymore, then it is most likely that they have all been recalled to Trier, and if that city is now beset with them, it would be beyond foolish to bring you lot in there, looking as you do. Our cover as pilgrims will only hold so far.”
Alois leans over to Cornelia and whispers loudly, “He’s saying we’re too good-looking to pass as pilgrims.”
She scowls at him, but her eyes glint.
“You propose that you and Fritzi go alone?” Brigitta asks, her brows lowering. “I do not like that idea.”
“We’ll only scout,” I say quickly. “Just see if that is where Dieter even is, or if it is safe for all of us to go in. It’s for the best.”
“And you two won’t be recognized?” It’s odd for Alois to voice objection. But he’s frowning at Otto, then at me, and I have half a mind to tease him for caring, but his serious tone puts pressure on the situation, pushes and pushes until I feel the heaviness of it anew.
Otto cuts a smirk that doesn’t reach his eyes. “I know Trier better than anyone. We won’t be caught or seen unless I want us to be.”
“So you’ll scout in the morning and return with a report,” Brigitta tells us. “If you aren’t back by nightfall, we’ll come in for you.”
“Can Holda pass messages, do you think?” Cornelia leans forward. “She woke me when you needed me nights ago. It was simple, an undefined urge to get to the library, but if you fall into trouble in Trier, do you think she could do something like that again?”
Yes, Holda says instantly.
I nod, eyes slipping from Cornelia, fixing on the dirt beneath my fingers, the few strands of vegetation trampled soft and broken over the course of this site being used by travelers.
If we get to Trier. And Dieter is there.
If he has taken the city and holed up in it with his hexenjägers, then…
I see Baden-Baden, overrun with witch hunters. I see my brother, sneering in the dark, telling me how it wouldn’t matter if I ran this time; none of his soldiers could be coerced into helping me. They all wanted me to die. Tosuffer.
The way Dieter made me suffer.
The way he made Mama suffer. Our whole coven.
Otto’s hand closes around my shoulders, yanking me out of the encroaching dread, and he pulls me into his chest. I release a breath, coming back to the present with Alois laughing at something Cornelia said.
It’ll be different this time. My brother doesn’t have access to his magic anymore, and whatever he can use of mine, it will be paltry in comparison. He can’t affect the minds of everyone beneath him to be just as consumed by hatred as he is. Whatever we meet in Trier,whoeverwe meet, will not be under his control.
It isn’t as comforting a thought as I want it to be.
Otto squeezes my shoulder again. “Come. Let’s get some sleep.”
“You two take the full night,” Brigitta says as we stand. “We’ll cover the watches. You’ll be doing the hard work tomorrow.”
Otto leads me to bedrolls near the edge of the clearing, close enough to the fire for warmth but far enough to have some darkness. He arranges himself in his, and I drape myself over his chest and nestle into his arms.
I feel the rumble of his huffed laughter where my cheek rests on his chest, but he says nothing, merely shifts onto his side and curls his body around me.
“A far cry from our first night of sleeping in the woods together,” I murmur into him.
