Luella didn’t look up. “No,” she said flatly.
Felix raised his eyebrows. “You don’t think some explanation is required by now?”
“No.”
“Come on, Lu.”
“My name is Luella.”
“Oh, now she gives a shit. Don’t change the subject,Skysinger.”
Luella leaned forward, resting her arms on the table, hiding her face in her hands. “It’s none of your business, Felix.”
“Not my fuckingbusiness? You’re getting called weird names, we almost got shot full of arrows and threatened by angry little forest men because of it. If I have to watch your back, you can at least tell me why.”
Isolde laid her apple down on her plate and sat up straighter. “Luella, if you don’t want to share, of course, that’s your right. But Felix has a point.”
“I don’t need you to watch my back,” Luella muttered, scowling at Felix.
He rested one elbow on the table and leaned his head against his upturned fist with a mocking smile. “No? Want to go for a nice walk through this lovely village by yourself? Meet some friendly locals?”
Garren sat quietly, concentrating on cutting an apple into small pieces. He looked disinclined to join the conversation. Luella rolled her eyes, then turned to Isolde.
“You saved my life,” she said, holding Isolde’s gaze so intently it made her a little uncomfortable. “So you deserve answers.”
“Very touching,” Felix cut in. “Now tell us.”
Luella ignored him, though a muscle twitched in her jaw. “I am from Gotvig. Among my people, sometimes one is born with an… affinity for animals. In my case, it is birds. I can see through their eyes, and communicate with them, in limited ways.”
Isolde pressed a hand to her breast, struggling to keep her mouth from hanging open in a very unladylike fashion. “That is… that is amazing, Luella. I had no idea. I have read about it, but… I always thought it was just stories.”
Felix let out a low whistle. “That’s how you knew about the bounty hunters. And the ambush, and the cave.”
Luella nodded, not looking at either of them. When Isolde chanced a glance at Garren, he looked unperturbed. She turned her attention back to Luella, her mind buzzing with a hundred questions.
“Is it magic? What are your people’s beliefs about it? Do they consider it a blessing from the Gods?”
Luella shook her head. “It’s not magic. Not like yours, anyway. And a blessing, hah. More like a curse. It isn’t looked upon favourably.”
“So quite like mine, then,” Isolde said with a small smile.
“I… in some ways, I suppose,” Luella answered, meeting her eyes. She was silent for a while. “I used to wish it away,” she finally said. “Tried to pretend I was the same as everyone else. But it’s a part of who I am, so I made peace with it.” She shrugged. “And it’s useful. So I will use it.”
“Well, now that you’ve bonded over your cursed existences,” Felix butted in before Isolde had the chance to reply, “Garren, doyouhave any secret talents?”
Garren calmly continued slicing his apple. “No.”
“Shame,” Felix said. “Anyway, what’s the plan?” He looked around at the three of them.
The sudden change of topic jarred Isolde. She tried to form a response, but Garren spoke first.
“I believe we should stay a day or two,” Garren said, his tone measured, “so Lady Isolde can speak with the… elder, but after that, we should be on our way. It would be unwise to test the goodwill of these people. This warrior, Elric, seems to be pacified for now, but it surely will not last.”
Felix frowned, then looked at Luella and Isolde.
“I’d like to stay longer,” Isolde said, her voice firm. “I believe there’s much I can learn here. The elder is a wise woman; she clearly knows a great deal about my magic, and –”
“Or she could be full of shit, Isa,” Felix interjected. “You’ve exchanged all of three words with her. And I thought you were eager to get to the Nexus as soon as possible?”
