Chapter 6
TWO WEEKS LATER
Clover eyed the fennec fox in Amelia’s pocket, knowing exactly who it was from the letter she’d received from Amos the day before. The little animal had arrived last week and followed Amelia everywhere and, by default, Clover too.
After two days, Amelia had worried he’d freeze in the cold and insisted on carrying him in her pocket or bundled in her arms. She even snuck him into the orphanage at night and had made him a little bed hidden under one of the sofas because he refused to stay in her room.
Clover figured it was because the familiar didn’t want to watch Amelia undress or something.
The fennec fox, as cute as it was, ended up being the perfect type of animal to send to as a spy. Clover couldn’t resist reaching over and scratching between its giant ears.
“He’s cute, isn’t he?” Amelia asked, grinning down at the little animal. “I’m going to call him Eddy.”
His name was Roland, but Clover couldn’t tell her that without explaining how she knew.
“How do you think he ended up this far north?” Amelia mused.
Roland—Eddy—glanced at Clover, who smirked and shrugged.
The fox yipped, making Amelia giggle. “Sometimes I swear he understands me.”
It worked out in Clover’s favor that she didn’t speak much because lying did not come easy to her. She was terrible at it.
Later that night, as Clover and Amelia sat together in the orphanage living room, reading, Eddy, as she’d come to think of him to keep from saying the wrong name out loud, sat quietly, staring at her.
Is Amos watching? Eddy inched forward and sat at her feet.
“I think he likes you,” Amelia commented. “I’ve seen him looking at you a lot.”
A blush heated Clover’s cheeks. Could it be true? Did Amos really watch her through Eddy when she wasn’t looking? She smiled at Eddy, feeling like a flock of birds rioted in her stomach.
Clover sat at her desk, writing a letter to Amos, when a quiet scratching sounded at her door. Setting her quill in its holder, she crossed the room and cracked the door open to find Eddy waiting patiently on the other side.
She squatted down in front of the fox and grinned. “What are you doing here, little guy?”
His left ear twitched, and he scurried into her room. The little fox turned slowly, taking in her room as if committing it to memory. Very un-fox-like.
“Is Amos in there with you?” she whispered.
Eddy nodded, and Clover tried not to show how much that unsettled her. She glanced around, wondering what he thought of her room. It wasn’t much—just a bed shoved into the corner opposite her window, a small bookshelf, closet, desk, and bedside table. She didn’t even have a rug.
He’d given her brother money to give to Clover to buy anything she wanted, but it’d be strange for an orphan girl to have luxurious things or even things not given to her by the orphanage.
“I know it’s not much,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. Eddy cocked his head to the side. “I don’t know what to say when you can’t talk back.”
Eddy turned from her and trotted to her bed, jumping onto the mattress.
“I didn’t know you could jump that high,” Clover teased, earning a glare in return.
A laugh burst free before she could stop it, and the fox froze, staring at her as a warm sense of awe traveled down the bond.
Her eyes widened. She’d forgotten about the bond.
Had he felt how nervous she was knowing he was here? Gods, that’s embarrassing.
“I have a letter to finish,” she told the familiar, then sat at her desk to distract herself.
Eddy raced off the bed and jumped into her lap.
She laughed again. “You’re quick too.” He tried to put his paws on the desk, staring at her letter.
Amos’ anticipation seeped into her chest and she gasped.
“No peeking.” She bopped Eddy lightly on the nose and set him on the floor.
“Amos, you can wait to read it when it arrives.”
Eddy whined, and she rolled her eyes. “I wish you could tell me why you’re in my room.”
The fox turned away and hopped back on the bed, burrowing itself beside her pillow. Her brows rose. “You intend to sleep in here?”
Eddy lifted his head to nod, and giddiness spread through her chest. Clover struggled to force it down so Amos wouldn’t feel it. She needed to get a better handle on her emotions before she made an idiot of herself on a daily basis.
Once she finished her letter, she walked to her closet to grab her nightclothes. “I need to bathe. I’ll be right back.”
Slipping into the hall, she tiptoed into the bathroom the girls shared. Clover bathed later than the other girls, since she usually snuck out to train or see her brother and Franny, though she took tonight off.
Staring at herself in the bathroom mirror, she fidgeted nervously.
The long-sleeved flannel nightgown couldn’t have been more unflattering if it tried.
The thought of Amos seeing her like this made her stomach twist, but she didn’t have a choice.
Had she thought of it before she left, she would’ve made Eddy close his eyes until she was under the blankets.
Breathe. It doesn’t matter if he thinks your nightgown is ugly.
Tiptoeing back into her room, she held her dirty clothes in front of her like armor. Eddy lifted his head to look at her. “Close your eyes. I don’t want you to see my nightgown.” He whined, but she shook her head. “It’s hideous.”
Why did you say that? Now he’s going to know you care what he thinks. She glanced down. Maybe the gods will take mercy on me and open the floor to swallow me whole.
No such luck.
Eddy huffed and laid his head down, closing his eyes. Quickly tossing her clothes into her laundry basket, she crossed to the bed and slipped under the blankets. The little fox opened his eyes and stood, maneuvering himself until he was under the blanket and snuggled against her side.
Grinning to herself, she slipped into a dreamless sleep.
Amos cut the connection with Roland and grinned so wide his cheeks hurt. Getting to see his mate and sister almost daily had been the best thing to ever happen to him. He spent his days looking forward to alone time so he could see them again.
It took a lot of coaxing to get Roland to agree to go to Clover’s room tonight, and getting to see her private space made Amos’ night.
Well, not as much as seeing her blush and insist on hiding her nightgown. He didn’t know why. She’d look pretty in a potato sack. He’d bribe Roland with whatever he had to, to convince the fox to sleep in Clover’s room every night.
And Amelia… Amos couldn’t put into words how relieved he was to know she was happy.
Seeing her had been a shock. They looked as alike as a boy and girl could.
There was no denying her lineage to anyone who had seen her father, and Amos worried someone from the Desert Kingdom might travel to her village and spot her. The odds were low, but not zero.
Her bubbly personality reeked of innocence, something she never would have had in their kingdom, and it wouldn’t take much to trick her.
In a way, sending Clover to be by her side worked out in more ways than one.
Though, if he hadn’t been worried about his mate’s safety, he’d never have parted from her.
Checking the clock beside his bed, he climbed to his feet to ready himself for what he needed to do. When his father told him about the dragons’ orders, he’d been elated. Being out from under his father’s thumb and in the same place as Clover’s family was a dream come true.
But his elation vanished when his father told him he was to lead the sacrifices, and that they were now once a month instead of twice a year. The thought made him sick. Lining women up on the edge of a cliff and shoving them into the dragons’ den would kill another part of him.
Unless his plan worked. He’d only arrived this morning with his father, so there hadn’t been time to meet up with Rainer or Ruth to let them know his plan, but he’d sent Alice with a letter to them, asking them to meet him at the den’s entrance tomorrow at midnight.
His father said he’d leave after the sacrifice ceremony, wanting to return home as soon as possible, and that he wouldn’t be back until the solstice when the traditional sacrifices were held. Small mercies.
Glamouring himself, Amos left the royal estate and snuck to the stables. He pulled out a sack he’d hidden in the back of Iris’ stall and loaded everything onto the horse’s back before climbing on. He might be forced to push the women over, but he’d do everything he could to ensure their survival.
Once at the cave to the den’s opening, Amos tied Iris to the tie rail, gathered his sack of supplies, and walked into the cave, praying a dragon didn’t show up and burn him alive.
The cave wasn’t deep, but neither was the moon bright, and he had to backtrack to pull out a lantern, oil, and flint to light his way. Armed with light, he ventured back into the dark and got to work.
It took forever to make the rope harnesses and attach them to the ropes.
Next time he’d do that beforehand. He carried the ropes with the harnesses, a mallet, and a pile of stakes to the cliff’s edge.
Then, he tied one end of a rope to a stake and the other around his middle before hammering the stake into the ground.
Lying flat on his stomach, he scooted to the cliff’s edge and prayed he didn’t fall over or come face to face with a pissed off dragon.
He got to work, leaning over the edge and hammering stakes into the cliffside where no one could see unless they leaned over.
Each rope had two harnesses attached. One higher up that the women could hopefully grab, but if they missed it, there was another farther down.
Five ropes, spaced evenly apart for five women. He’d be sure to line them up as close to the ropes as possible without being too obvious. Gods, he hoped this worked.