Chapter 7
SEVEN
THING
I stay close by the woman’s side as we trek back to the castle.
I think she is surprised at how close it is.
She thought she had gone further. But we did not lie when we told her she ran in circles.
The trees here are tall, and the sun is blotted out by a haze of foggy white in winter.
It is easy to get turned around if one does not know the land well.
She stands off to the side by the fire as Hannah races up to me, exclaiming loudly about the blood on me as she helps me get cleaned up.
Hannah beams at her husband when she hears that he healed me.
It still astonishes me that he found someone to love him.
Also astonishing are the changes that love had wrought in my brother, who, before her arrival, was still a mirror of our angry, hateful father.
She hands baby Raven off to me as Abaddon follows her downstairs to help prepare the lynx.
She might be happy to cook up whatever he brings back, but she still prefers that he does what she calls the “disgusting parts” of preparing the meat.
He takes particular pride in stretching and preparing the furs, as well.
Something Hannah has decreed he uses one entire floor of the upper castle for.
Mainly so it’s out of her sight and smell.
Little Raven gurgles and immediately reaches for my fingers. She seems constantly delighted that I have so many of them. I play peek-a-boo—a game Hannah taught me—with one set of hands while tickling her with another set.
She makes more giggle-gurgles. Naturally, she drags some of my fingers to her mouth to bite them.
I don’t mind. She’s teething, her little fangs just beginning to burst through, but I have hard, calloused fingertips.
Her mother always makes sure my hands are quite clean before giving me Raven since she knows her daughter’s curiosity about all my digits.
“She really likes you.”
I look up, only to realize that the new woman is curiously watching me. Her gaze is never straight on but always slightly to the side. She’s stood off to the side during the domestic reunion since Hannah-wife gathered to greet us at our return, only venturing closer now.
“He’s about to become her favorite pin-cushion if her teeth get anywhere near as sharp as her father’s,” Remus butts in from where he’s positioned against the wall. He pushes off and walks to us. “What did you say your name is again, lovely?”
The woman’s eyes narrow, not meeting his gaze either. “I didn’t.”
Remus only grins with what I think is his attempt at being charming. I can’t tell. I find him as obnoxious as ever.
“Then, by all means, beautiful lady. Grace us with your name.” He offers an elaborate bow.
I roll my eyes. Is she falling for that bullshit?
By the completely unimpressed glare she levels Remus’s direction, I’d say not.
“No,” is all she says.
I bend over and try to hide my smile in the tuft of black curls exploding from the top of baby Raven’s head.
“Well, what are we meant to call you? Unknown female?”
She stays stone-faced. “You don’t need to call me anything. I’ll be gone by tomorrow.”
But Remus just smiles and slinks closer. “Are you so sure? It’s not every day you stumble upon a castle full of mythical creatures. And we’re handy to have around. We can do favors for you. Our Creator-Father was known to make wishes beyond mortals’ wildest dreams come true.”
I snort-laugh at that. “Yes, before they met a violent end. Do not trust him.” I nod toward my brother. “His twin is a little more honorable but also tactical, so caution is also needed with him.”
Remus looks offended. “I would not have one so beautiful as this meet any violent end. Abaddon granted Hannah her greatest wish, and look how that has turned out.” He nods at the child in my arms, who rears up, apparently bored with my fingers, and bites my nose instead.
Calmly, I pry her off. She smiles wide, her little raven-black wings fluttering excitedly. My brother is going to have his hands full with this one. “Want to go play with Uncle Remus for a while?” I ask the baby.
Then, before Remus can complain, I’ve plopped her in his arms. She makes excited noises, but when Remus does nothing but hold her still, his arms extended from his body as far as possible, she starts to fuss.
His head rotates one hundred and eighty degrees, and Romulus appears instead, drawing the child close and smiling at her, ever the doting uncle.
I smile. It’s a trick of mine. Remus has no patience for children, even ones as adorable as Raven. It’s a reliable way to get Romulus back when Remus is being a pain in the ass.
“Sorry about my brother,” Romulus and I say at the same time to the woman.
She waves us away, eyes wide as she stares at Romulus. Her gaze flits around his face, everywhere but at his eyes. Oh, right. I forget how disconcerting it is when he does the head-swap thing around people who aren’t used to it.
Romulus draws Raven close to his chest and carries her to a box of toys and some seating set up beside the blazing hearth. I gesture for the woman to follow, and she hurries in that direction. I think to be closer to the fire than out of any desire for our company.
She warms herself by the fire, front and back, while Romulus sits on the rug with the baby.
She grew faster than humans typically do in the womb and seems to still be advancing quicker than human children in her development.
She’s only nine months old but is already big enough to sit up and bat at the blocks Romulus patiently and endlessly sets up for her to knock down, making a delighted noise each time she does.
The strange woman has warmed her frozen limbs enough because she eventually takes off the heavy coat, exposing only her blood-soaked shirt. She pauses, looking down at herself as if startled by the sight.
“I’ll go ask Hannah for clothing,” I say.
“No,” she says quickly, eyes lifting towards me. Then she looks in Romulus’s direction before her eyes return to the stone floor. “Can he go get it?”
Ah. I understand. As Romulus rises, I see that he does as well. She is not comfortable being left alone with him in case his twin should make a reappearance. But she’s comfortable being alone with me?
I blink in confusion as I move to take Romulus’s place by baby Raven on the rug. The baby’s happy because, with my many hands, I can stack three times as many block towers for her swinging arms to destroy.
Romulus quietly slips from the room.
Though we hadn’t been talking before, I feel the weight of silence heavier now that it is just the two of us and the baby.
“Where will you go tomorrow?” I ask. “Do you have a plan so you don’t end up in circles again?”
“Can I have a map?” Her voice is quiet in the large room. Timid.
I breathe out laboriously. “I can supply a map, but I am not sure it will help. This part of the earth is quite barren. There are not many landmarks.” And then a thought occurs to me. “But Abaddon or Romulus could fly you out. It is how Hannah came to us. Abaddon flew her in.”
The woman startles at that. “Fly me. . . You mean, they would just grab hold of me and—”
“Fly, yes. They are very strong and can go anywhere in the world quite quickly. They are efficient flyers.”
I’m attuned enough to her now to see her shudder, and I do not think it is because she is cold anymore.
“What about you?”
An old, unexpected shame rises. “I do not have wings.”
“No, I mean, I can see that. But could you—” Then she shakes her head. “Never mind.”
“What?” I ask, now more curious than ever. “What do you mean to ask?”
Just then, Romulus reenters the room, carrying an armful of Hannah’s clothing. She brought back much when she returned with Abaddon for the wedding and occasionally sends Romulus to shop for her, so she has plenty. Romulus has brought a good array for the woman to choose from.
Still, she looks a little overwhelmed by so many choices as he lays everything on the couch. She finally snatches a long-sleeved shirt and the closest pair of jeans.
I point her to a bathroom off the dining hall where she can get changed, and she hurries off.
As soon as she slips through the door, Remus is back.
“Did you see all of that blood? She is perfect. She’s my ideal consort.”
He looks so self-satisfied when I glance his way. Only the baby’s presence keeps me from tackling him and smashing his teeth in. A moment later, I sit back, astonished by the violent thought.
I focus on breathing in and then out. In through my nose and out through my mouth, repeating the process several times to bank my rage at my brother. Something I have not had to do in a long while.
Romulus taught me the technique several decades ago, and I practiced meditation during my long imprisonment.
I only exhibited monstrous rage when Abaddon came down to feed us because it is what he deserved for locking us up like that.
If he wanted to treat me like a monster, then a monster he would get.
But I often slipped to the nether realm, where the souls drift.
It is quiet there, and if not peaceful, well, it is at least . . . still. The stillness eventually crept inside me and quieted the madness.
Or so I thought. Now I am back in this world and find it more difficult than expected to find any equilibrium. Especially when provoked.
I narrow my eyes at my brother. “She is not yours or any others. She belongs to herself alone. And tomorrow, she will be gone.”
We would return to peace, and I to my solitude.