I wonder if the few tradesmen who traveled to town in recent years skipped it or knew that it was still alive with activity and kept their secrets. The more I learn, the less certain I am of who can be trusted, especially with how eager Henry was to learn about Rochelli.
Our group continues through the forest, Bryce and Carter leading the way with a contingent of four guards. Henry’s parents ride in front of us, and Gaven and three more guards follow behind us. Everyone else is engaged in quiet conversation, less tense than they were at the start of the journey.
“Feeling better?” Henry asks.
I bristle. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He leans down so his lips graze my ear as he speaks. “I’m talking about how you were crying earlier.”
I grind my teeth. “I have terrible allergies, but I’ve acclimated.”
He chuckles, and his arm tightens around my waist as if to taunt me.
Fine. Two can play at that game.
I subtly arch my back, pressing my ass into him.
“Harlow,” he hisses. His tone is low, warning.
“You say my name like I’m a thing you’re cursed with.”
He makes a sound between a laugh and a hum of agreement. “Divine deliver me—that I may survive such a curse.”
“If they’re merciful, you won’t,” I say.
We ride in silence for a few moments, until the question that’s been crammed in my mouth finally slips out.
“Is it safe for me at Mountain Haven?”
His hand flattens against my stomach. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I’m trying to ask what it’s like.”
“Well, it’s not wild like you think,” Henry says. “We follow meticulous rules because that’s the only way to survive. Now, I know this will grate against your very nature, lovely, but there’s an expectation that as my wife, you’ll listen to me.”
I straighten in my seat, and he chuckles.
“Yes, I thought that might be your response, but you’ll find that strength is prized above all else there, which means that in order to stay in charge, I must appear strong and my wife needs to appear both strong and obedient.” He leans closer. “And before you take a swing at me, note that I saidappearobedient. What you do in the privacy of our rooms is your business, but the easiest way to get killed at Mountain Haven is to belong to no one—and I don’t mean in a possessive way, though that’s part of it. I mean if they think you’re on your own, they will pick you off. While I have the support from most thanks to my exhaustive work securing our home, you know well that when you’re the ones risking everything and doing all the work, there are always people who think they can do a better job.”
That is something I am acutely aware of. I have no love for my father, but I have seen how hard he works to keep our people safe and the way they all think they could do better.
“What happened?” I ask. “During the attack ten years ago? How did the Drained get to you? Growing up, I always thought Mountain Haven was impenetrable—I heard the stories?—”
“Stone walls in front and mountain face behind?” Henry asks, his voice bitter. “Everything breaks eventually.”
I wait for him to say more, but he’s gone quiet and contemplative. I settle into the steady rhythm of the ride and the feeling of him behind me—solid, strong, protective. The arm he has wrapped around my waist occasionally tightens to draw me closer. I can’t tell if it’s out of discomfort or fear that I might fall.
At this point, he must feel my ease with the horse. My only tension comes from him behind me, breathing against the nape of my neck, crowding my space with his firm chest.
He sniffs the air just as Carter throws a fist up at the front of the group. Everyone slows nearly to a stop.
Carter holds up two fingers and everyone soundlessly falls into pairsalong the narrow trail. The path grows darker, the dying shrubs and ferns pressing closer.
We ride down the incline, and the temperature plunges. The hair on the back of my neck rises, like I stepped through a ghost.
“What is this pl?—”
Henry’s hand clamps over my mouth. The group has almost stopped, everyone holding their breath. A faint red tinge colors the air. I squint in the dim light cutting through the thick, leafy canopy, trying to figure out if it’s something about the trees above us casting the light a strange color.
