Wystwood

83. The little wooden box

Raeph carried Min back to the Stone Circle's compass, cradling her body with a gentleness Ada had never before seen him possess. He set her down carefully within an alcove, then stretched up and rang the copper bell. It gave its low chime, and a moment later, there came a distant rumbling from beneath the compass face.

Reaph turned to Ada. "Are you certain you'll be safe down there?"

"Yes, I think so. They'll know what to do for Min, and Armestrong and the others came back here after we left the Barracks." Ada sighed. "I need to tell them about Hester as well."

Raeph only nodded, but Ada could tell there was something greater churning in his mind, not yet ready to be spoken aloud.

"You could come with me, you know."

He gave her a ghost of a smile. "I'm not welcome here, nor do I wish to be. I think that I, too, must consider those other than myself today. There will be Hounds, young ones, who will not know what to do now. They may even have been injured during the night. I can help them back to their families, if they'll allow me to."

Ada bit her tongue. "Be careful, won't you?"

A truer smile at that, before a darkness shifted behind his eyes. "And there is still the matter of the ebony dagger. It fell from the tower with the Lady, though I did not see it when we passed her corpse. I should search for it before it ends up in the hands of another."

"Yes," Ada agreed. She untucked the dark box from beneath her elbow and held it out to Raeph. "The iron dagger, as promised."

He stared at it for a long moment, his hands almost lifting, before he stepped back. "Our deal was the knife for a name. I never retrieved the name of the Saltsworn for you, it simply... gave itself."

Ada frowned. "But you wanted the knife, so it's only right you should have it. Forget the deal, I'll give it to you freely."

Again, he stepped further away. "I won't take it. No fae should. It's too dangerous and I was foolish to demand it, I realise that now. Forgive me, Ada, if I leave it in your care. I feel that you will know better than anyone what should be made of it."

His words gave Ada pause, and she looked down at the little wystwood box and thought of all the horrors that it had held. Then, she gave a small nod and tucked it back under her arm.

The compass had finished its grinding now, and Ada could hear the echoes of footsteps nearing the top of the ladder. She was turning toward Min when a hand grabbed her elbow, pulling her back into strong arms and a broad chest. Raeph's face was suddenly desperate, the calm mask from before stripped away as he huffed, "Return to me soon? Take two nights to rest and pay your dues, but I shall be waiting for you here at the following sunrise."

His breath was hot on her face, and suddenly all the pains in her body were gone, the only ache remaining a sensual, smouldering want. She ran her hands over his shoulders and into his long hair, revelling in the glorious, living heat of him. Tilting her chin, she replied, "You're going back to waiting for me? I was beginning to think you rather enjoyed the chase, Raeph Vy Fenn."

He shuddered deliciously, and a deep groan stirred at the back of his throat, making her heart run frantic. His face was so close, his tongue swiping his teeth. "When next I catch you, Adalyn Kavanagh, I'll also be taking your lips for my own."

It was Ada's turn to shudder, her name on his tongue so searing it was as if he was speaking to the very core of her being. A little gasp opened her mouth, her eyes fluttering shut, and a voice called out from the compass.

When Ada opened her eyes, Raeph had vanished, and a new pair of arms were hoisting her off the ground.

"Ada! Oh, dear Ada," cried Armestrong, already sobbing. "We thought such terrible things when Lark returned without you. But Solen came back with Diane and she said you'd gone off into the darkness. What could've made you do such idiocy! Oh, my poor heart! And then Min! Ohh, Min!"

Another sob erupted from the woman and, trapped against her chest, Ada resorted to waving awkwardly toward the alcove.

Armestrong shrieked, and Ada gulped air back into her lungs as the woman dived across the cobblestones to bundle Min into her arms. More fae were clambering from the compass, and Ada kept an eye out for Yue, but the only face she recognised was Solen. In a second, they had embraced at the lip of the compass, and Ada could have cried for the smile on her thin face.

"You're up!" she said instead.

Solen narrowed her eyes. "Don't let anyone say I'm not a fighter, Ada."

"Stars help anyone that tries," Ada laughed wetly, grasping her hands fiercely.

The other fae helped Armestrong carry Min down the ladder and into the Stone Circle. They took her to the infirmary, insisting that Ada come also, even though she was loath to see Hester's old room so soon. The bottles still laid out along her table struck Ada with fresh grief, and even the mangy cat allowed her a headbutt to the shin before it tucked itself beside Min. 

They had settled Min on the bunk bed and dosed her heavily with lavender buds. Whatever they had done to the flower, it had settled the girl into a deep sleep. They had offered it to Ada also, but she had refused. The idea of a long and heavy darkness was alluring, but Ada doubted her sleep would be peaceful.

Nonetheless, she accepted a plain, but clean, cotton dress and dug around for her old pair of boots. There were several fae working in the infirmary, doubtlessly having studied under Hester's tutelage, and they treated the gash on her arm with poultice and gauze. When even the dried blood under her fingernails had been scrubbed away, they allowed her out of their care with her word that she would stay in the infirmary for a period of their discretion. Ada felt neither sick nor faint, but was grateful for the moment of peace.

She sank down on the floor next to Armestrong. The woman was sitting beside Min's bed, likely her vigil for the night, and together they watched over the child as she slept. Min's face had been wiped clean, though the salt around her forehead had long since worn away against Raeph's shirt. For a moment, Ada considered telling Armestrong, knowing that of all the fae in Wysthaven, she would keep the secret closest. But something in the back of her mind kept the words from her mouth.

"I want to thank you, Ada, for keeping Min safe." Armestrong's voice cracked. "She's like a daughter to me. I want you to know that. Even with Florentin gone and all, she'll always find a home with me. So don't you worry about her."

"I know that," Ada replied honestly. "Thank you, too. For everything you've done to help me."

"I should've never have been so rude to you when we first met," Armestrong said, mopping her eyes.

"It's ok," Ada began. "I know that letting a human into your pub was incredibly dangerous."

"It's not that." Armestrong shook her head, and as she did, her ears poked out from beneath her braids. There were many aspects of the woman that set her apart in Wysthaven; her fierce attitude and colourful patchwork apron only skimming the surface. But as Ada stared at her ears, which were rounded rather than sharply pointed, she began to wonder if they were actually hiding something far more treacherous. "There are... parts of myself that I used to be terrified of. But after meeting you, I think I'm going to be prouder in the future. I'm not going to hide who I am and what I stand for."

The mangy cat opened one sleepy eye as Ada reached up and placed her hand over Armestrong's on the blanket. Fae bustled in and out of the infirmary, but a tranquil quiet had settled between herself, Armestrong, and the girl lying beside them. The cat began to purr, nestling into Min's neck as it closed its eyes once again.