Chapter 30 Ginger
Ginger
I’d never seen Brambleby move so fast.
He zipped from wall to wall, unable to contain his excitement as he fluttered about the room, squawking up a storm.
It was adorable.
It was also destructive, wreaking havoc on my cottage, but that was a problem I would deal with later.
“I missed you too, my sweet!” I exclaimed as I chased behind the dragon with open arms, trying to catch him before he could barrel into my lantern and break the glass.
I just barely snatched him around the middle, squeezing him to my chest. He let me, wriggling around to press his snout to my throat and sniff wildly.
“I’m alright! I’m alright, I swear!” I insisted, trying not to let his body fall to the ground.
Not that he would mind at this moment—he was an absolute wriggling beast.
“Go easy, I’m still fragile!”
After lots of squeals, slobber, and reassurance, the dragon finally calmed enough for me to set him down.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I promised. “Didn’t you enjoy your time with Fiella and Kizzi? It’s fun at their cottages and shops, isn’t it?”
He let out a grumble that was somewhere between a growl and a purr. He had mixed feelings about the situation, I guessed.
“Mamma needs a nap,” I said. I sniffed under my arm and cringed. “And more importantly, a bath. Think you can behave yourself for a while?”
He chuffed.
Good enough for me.
After the most satisfying bath of my life and a quick snack of bread and cheese, I curled up in my bed. I didn’t even care that the suns were still high in the sky and that I should probably be checking in on my pub or writing in my dragon journal.
I let sleep swallow me whole.
Irealized three things simultaneously.
First, that I slept way longer than I intended—night had fallen, and the insects were chirping a happy melody outside my window.
Second, Brambleby wasn’t curled up in bed next to me.
And third, I was not alone.
I sat up in bed and scrubbed my fists over my eyes, trying to force my groggy brain to awaken fully. My muscles creaked in protest.
I sensed the presence of another, I was sure of it. Some baser instinct sharpened all my senses.
I rose from bed as naturally as I could with my heart thundering in my chest. My hands trembled as I pulled on my dressing gown and drifted to the nearest window.
It was open.
I hadn’t left it that way.
Night had fallen, but only just. The dual moons hadn’t reached their peak yet.
Morning was many hours off.
I cleared my throat. “I have a weapon, and I’m not afraid to use it,” I lied, hoping I was convincing.
I only had a measly kitchen knife. It would have to be enough.
The cottage was absolutely drenched in shadows—darker than I thought possible. I struggled to see the far wall. The darkness seemed to call to me, pull at my skin, burrow into my hair.
I was losing my mind.
I scrubbed at my eyes again. Must have been a side effect of the mushroom poisoning.
No folk revealed themselves at my threat.
“I mean it,” I insisted, whirling around and beginning a lap of the place.
I checked under the bed, in the wardrobe, and even under the chairs. I peeked in every crack and crevice.
I found nothing.
The uneasy feeling didn’t leave, though. It was as though eyes were peering directly beneath my skin.
“Hello?” I asked, beginning to feel silly.
Something brushed against my ankle.
I jumped, shouting a startled curse as I scrambled a few steps away.
A small black cat looked at me curiously. Almost angrily.
I braced myself on the counter as I caught my breath.
“Gods! You scared me!” I said to the small critter.
The cat’s tail swished back and forth. It hopped up onto the counter and began grooming itself, not sparing me another glance.
“What are you doing in here, little cat?”
It didn’t even look up, but its body language was tense. I didn’t dare approach to pet it.
Was that the presence that had me so on edge? It seemed the only logical explanation.
Grabbing a broom, I shooed the cat out the open window and then slammed it tightly shut. The room immediately felt a bit less ominous.
Brambleby would have to find another way in. He was smart enough.
Sleep refused to find me after that.
I ached to slip out of the cottage, to run through the woods to find some solace.
But after last time… that sure as Hell’s Realm wasn’t happening. Not for a long while.
I wondered idly at what happened to the red shiny mushrooms. Kizzi would have appreciated them, even if they were toxic. Especially if they were toxic.
Perhaps they were where I had left them. If I felt brave in broad daylight, I would go back for them—more carefully this time, and with my eyes peeled for dangerous beasts.
My body, more or less, felt back to normal after the rejuvenating sleep.
A little sluggish, a little sore, but nothing I couldn’t easily ignore. Nothing a cup of tea and a busy day at the pub wouldn’t distract me from.
I pulled out a book and settled in for a long, restless night, wishing for the suns to rise.
If I still felt I wasn’t alone, I steadfastly pretended otherwise.
“Wow! You look like shit!”
I snorted a laugh and glared at Fiella. I didn’t look that bad. I’d brought Brambleby to her shop as soon as the suns were at their peak so I could catch up on everything I had missed during my… coma.
“Thanks,” I said sarcastically.
She laughed and pulled me into a quick, hard hug. “I’m kidding. You look buckets better than you did lying on that cot at the clinic.” She shivered as if the image haunted her.
“You visited me?”
She released me from the hug but held me at arm’s length as she scanned my face. “Of course. We all did. Every day.”
“Every day?”
“Duh! We’re your friends, we were worried sick!”
My stomach warmed. “You were?”
She rolled her eyes and released me. “Of course we were. You were down for almost a week, you know.”
The blood drained from my face. I had almost forgotten how much time had passed. “Velline said it was five days.”
Fiella nodded. “Nearly six. It was a very stressful week. You should probably get Velline a fruit basket or something. She almost had to send a missive to Old Man Wilbur for backup, her healing skills were pushed to the limit.”
I rubbed at my forehead. A week. Almost an entire week. So much could happen in that time. Asleep. Nearly dying while life went on without me.
I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. That felt impossible.
“Gods,” I said quietly.
“Fucking right! It was a nightmare!”
“The mushrooms were that toxic?”
She looked at me closely. “You didn’t recognize them, did you?”
I shook my head.
“Widowmaker mushrooms are the deadliest in the realm.”
“Huh?”
“They shouldn’t be anywhere near here. Why did you touch them?”
“I thought Kizzi might like them,” I mumbled.
At that, Fiella laughed. “She probably would. Crazy witch. Do us all a favor and don’t bring them to her.”
“Now that she knows they’re here, she might find them herself.”
“Fates save us all if she does,” she deadpanned.
“I was just trying to bring her something nice—I didn’t realize I was grabbing a murder weapon,” I joked half-heartedly.
She patted me on the shoulder. “It happens to the best of us. Are you feeling okay now?”
“More or less. Just a bit groggy, but nothing I can’t nap away.”
“And Shade?”
“What about Shade?” I asked tightly.
She settled onto a stool. “You know gossip spreads like wildfire in this town.”
“I’m aware,” I sighed. “What is everyone saying?”
“That Shade tried to murder you. And almost succeeded. And now he’s locked up in the dungeon and will probably rot away and die there, if the King’s men don’t come for him first.”
I swallowed. “Gods.”
“Is that close?”
“Close enough, alarmingly.”
She grimaced, flashing her fangs. “That asshole.”
“Not that part,” I insisted. “He didn’t try to murder me. That was all me.”
“You tried to harm yourself?”
“No! I—”
“I swear to the Old Gods, Ginny, I—”
“Why don’t you just let me explain my side, and then you can ask your questions.”
She crossed her arms with a huff. “Fine. But do it quickly.”
And I did. I explained how I was on a run, and how I found the mushrooms, and how I woke up in Velline's clinic. And how Shade was locked up, but somehow, he had found me and saved my life.
Fiella’s jaw hung slack. “Shit,” she murmured eventually.
I nodded. “Shit, indeed.”
“So, he saved you?”
“Apparently.”
“And they still have him locked up?”
“You saw those missives from the King. Everyone is suspicious.”
“Rightly so,” she conceded. “But still.”
“It’s not right.”
“What should we do, bust him out of there?” Fiella asked.
“That's crazy.”
“You didn’t say no.”
I sighed heavily. “Let’s consult with the others. There’s got to be something we can do. Meet at my pub in an hour.”
It turned out that the group of us really liked to argue.
“So, it’s settled, then?” Fiella asked. “We’ll bust him out and then flee into the woods. We can stab him if he ends up being evil.”
“It’s absolutely not settled! I don’t trust that guy,” Kizzi grumbled. “There’s a dark energy about him. He feels wrong.”
“And you’ve felt him, huh?” Tandor asked as he lifted a heavy brow.
She shot him a glare. “You know what I mean. His energy is menacing.”
“But does that mean he’s evil? He did save Ginger’s life,” Redd interjected.
“He could have saved her for nefarious reasons,” Kizzi argued.
“Or to be nice!” Fiella shouted.
“He didn’t want me to die,” I said quietly.
The bickering stopped immediately.
Heat rose to my cheeks.
“What, Ginger?” Fiella asked.
I shrugged as I nursed a cup of tea. “He didn’t want me to die out there in the woods,” I explained.
“He told you that?” Kizzi asked.
“He did.”
“And what else did he say?” she prodded.
An unwanted flush rose to my face. I prayed that nobody noticed. “Not much else. Truly. Just that he found me in the woods, carried me to Velline, and then was locked up. He demanded to speak to me, to know that I was alive.” I set the mug of tea down with a clank. “And then I left.”
I left out Shade’s confession, that if I had died, he would have gone with me. It felt too private. Too… crazy. We hardly knew each other, after all.
“He swooped in like a knight in shining armor, saved your life, got locked up, and you just went home and left him there?” Fiella asked, aghast. “Have a heart, Ginny.”
“What else was I supposed to do?” I pleaded. “I just woke up from a gods damned coma. I almost died! And he was insisting he speak to me. So, I spoke to him. That’s it.”
Redd hummed something under his breath that had Fiella chuckling, but it was too quiet for me to hear. I ignored him—I wasn’t interested in his nonsense comments anyway.
“I still think we should bust him out of there,” Fiella insisted.
“It might not be safe, love,” Redd chided.
“For fate’s sake. That’s so fucking romantic! He saved her! And he obviously likes her, with the whole claiming her as his wife situation. I say we rescue him, and then let them run off into the sunset together.”
“I’m not running off into any sunsets,” I argued.
“Come on,” Fiella whined. “Let a girl live vicariously through your love story.” She glanced at Redd. “Not that our love story isn’t the best. Or you two,” she flapped a hand in the direction of Kizzi and Tandor. “I just love love.”
I stubbornly shook my head. “Not happening. I hate him.” The lie was surprisingly bitter on my tongue.
“Hate and love are two sides of the same coin!” Fiella insisted.
I clamped my mouth shut.
“I should talk to him,” Kizzi mused. “See if I can get a read on the guy. Figure out who, or what, he is.”
“If you’re talking to him, I’m coming,” Tandor insisted as he crossed his thick arms over his chest.
“If you two are going then I’m certainly coming, too,” Fiella said.
“I’m in,” Redd agreed.
I sighed and dropped my head into my hands. “You lot are going to interrogate him, too? I think Tommins has done that enough. With his sidekick Linc.”
“He’ll survive another round. If he deserves it.” Kizzi’s voice was surprisingly harsh.
I hesitantly rose. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”