The Valley of Lies (Lightkeepers #1)

Chapter FORTY-TWO: Zan

Zan didn't contemplate slowing until he recognized the shape of the sunlit forest speeding past, trees and streams and paths forged in his memory after a decade stuck in what was supposed to be a 'temporary' home. His body screamed in pain, but he refused to stop.

How pathetic would it look to Liss if he passed out now, less than a mile from his cottage?

But what would happen once they reached it---? Part of him wished they wouldn't. Then he wouldn't have to stand and face the undaunted girl holding onto him for dear life, clutching his fur with such fierce determination he was sure he'd have bruises when he Changed back.

Traveling for hours without a break had given him a lot of time to think. Too much time. Could Liss really accept him? Did she even understand what he was? Either way, he needed to know.

Reluctantly, he slowed to a trot. Why did it hurt more to move less? His antleoch limbs were strong, but his hooves had seen too many miles. His feet were numb, hardly able to keep his legs from collapsing under him. Liss must have sensed his struggle, as she started climbing down before he'd fully stopped.

"Where are we?" She gaped at the huge, knotted tree and its roughly carved door. Zan had tried to build a discreet entrance to his tree-hollow home to deter thieves and transients, but a door was a door. He dragged himself over to it and made a noise he hoped sounded like an invitation.

Her eyes widened. "Do you... live here?"

Zan snorted, raising and lowering his head.

"Wow. So we're close to the Coven." She ran a trembling hand along the leaf design he'd carved as a handhold, then turned back to him with flushed cheeks. "Do you need to go inside and Change? I don't really know anything about changelings. I've only met the one, and he was nothing like you... Well, I mean, I don't know for sure that he was a he. I'm only guessing because of his face."

Zan had to ask her about that changeling, but certain things took priority; and if watching him lick onyx eye juice off his fingers yesterday had grossed her out, he could only imagine how offended she would be if he Changed in front of her.

He released a tired whinny and limped a few feet away, pawing near the ground where he kept a painted stick hidden in a hole in the trees' knotted roots. After she helped him retrieve it-a difficult task without thumbs-he used his foreleg to point out the long wooden hinge on the door. Grooves matching the stick's nubs were carved into the hollow hinge, and once she fitted the stick into the hinge, like a bolt, the door swung open.

Great dragons, it was a disaster inside! The floor was a mess of leaves and nutshells and the tattered remnants of the shirt he'd torn up to make a satyr-sized loincloth. Ayer would be furious if she knew he intended to bring Liss into such a shambles, but he was too tired to clean. The moment the door shut, he Changed and staggered to his bed, face-planting on the rickety boards covered in moth-eaten blankets. It took every ounce of willpower he had to stay awake, light a candle, and dress himself before Liss walked in to find an unpleasant surprise.

But when he went to pull his shirt over his head, the burn in his chest intensified. His arms were about as useful as a pair of wet noodles. "Let me know when I can come in," Liss called from outside.

Zan gave up on the shirt, tossing it over a bedpost. He flopped onto his side and curled his knees to his chest, facing the wall. "Come in."

The breeze followed the Darkbane girl into his cottage, whispering autumn's chill against his back. It was a long minute before she spoke. "Did you build all this yourself?"

"Yes."

Why did she sound impressed? Everything he owned was half broken or 'borrowed.' The stove had been the most difficult project, taking him months of collecting pipes and lumber. He'd used the leftover wood to build an upgraded storage cabinet and lift his bed off the ground, but nothing he made was craftsman level construction. Zan worked quickly by design, never spending too long on mindless tasks that left him lonely and stuck in his head.