Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Er, thank you for your offer,” I said, not sure what else to say. “It’s…very kind of you, I’m sure.”
“I’m sure, too!” she laughed again and squeezed my arm in her claw-like grip. It was really beginning to hurt!
Just then, Liath finally extricated himself from his conversation with the spider seamstress and came to find me. He had a soft, twilight blue cloak over one arm.
“Oh, there you are, little bird,” he rumbled. “Aunt Acosta, we must go now,” he added. “I have something important to show my new bride.”
“Well, I hope it’s the shaft between your legs, my boy!” she exclaimed and cackled while I blushed helplessly. “Look at her—turning pink as a rose in bloom,” she added, pointing at me. “You’ve got a proper virgin for your bride, Liath. Best break her in easy but don’t wait too long—you’ve got to plant a babe in her belly as soon as you can!”
What was the old woman’s obsession with Liath breeding me, I wondered indignantly? It was so embarrassing!
Liath must have seen my pink cheeks because he laughed as he sent his great aunt on her way.
“Don’t be so shy, little bird. Aunt Acosta means well.”
“Does she?” I muttered, watching her bent back retreating. She was shuffling away with surprising speed—apparently she could really move when she wanted to.
“Yes, she does,” Liath said firmly. He held out a hand to me. “Come on now—forget about her. I have something important to show you and then we’ll have your first magic lesson.”
Doing my best to forget Aunt Acosta’s odious words and offer, I took my new husband’s hand. I was interested to see whatever it was he wanted to show me but as for giving me a magic lesson, well…I was still convinced he was going to be gravely disappointed.
There was no way he could teach what I didn’t have.
11
“Those won’t do at all,” Liath remarked, surveying the little black shoes I had on which were clearly only for indoor or Summer wear. “The snow is fucking deep in places—I don’t want you freezing your pretty little feet off.”
He had already tied the new cloak and hood, made by the Spider seamstress in the time it had taken to eat breakfast, around my neck. But now he stared in consternation at my footwear.
“I’m sorry—I should have thought to wear something else,” I apologized immediately.
Liath shook his head.
“No, don’t say you’re sorry for something that’s not your fault. I should have told you to wear boots. Here.”
He pulled out his dagger, pricked a finger, and a moment later I was wearing thick, comfortable leather boots with warm, woolly socks beneath them.
“Oh!” I gave a gasp at the sudden change. I was used to magic being done all around me, but as always, when Liath did it, I could feel it so clearly. In this case, the soft fur rubbing against my most delicate parts seemed extra intense.
“You all right, little bird?” He arched an eyebrow at me. When I nodded, he said, “Good. Then let’s go—the Pool of Seeing is a fair piece from here and you can’t reach it by magic. You must go there physically.”
“The Pool of Seeing? What’s that?” I asked, frowning as we stepped out the doors of the palace. The Winter weather was cold and crisp and I could see my breath puff out in a cloud in front of me—something I had never experienced in the eternal Summer of the Seelie Court.
“You’ll see,” Liath said mysteriously. “Come on.”
And he led me into the woods surrounding the Winter Palace, despite the fact that there was a perfectly good road leading in the same direction we were going.
“Hey, why can’t we use the road?” I huffed as we tramped through the snow.
“Because the Pool of Seeing cannot be found by following any road,” Liath said over his shoulder. “You simply have to get lost in the forest around the Winter Palace and eventually you’ll come to it.”
I wondered how long “eventually” was. Traveling through the forest in Winter was much more difficult than it had been in Summer. There were roots and tangles of dead vines and underbrush, all of which were hidden by the snow. These kept tripping me and since I have never been graceful like a Fae maiden is supposed to be, I kept having to catch myself by grabbing tree trunks to keep from falling. This was hard on my hands, which were already numb with cold. Still, I tried to keep going—I didn’t want Liath to think I was a burden or too weak to keep up with him.
But keeping up with his long strides really was beginning to be a problem. I was falling further and further behind and I was too proud to ask him to wait for me. Meanwhile he kept on tramping tirelessly—his enormous boots simply crushed the vines and tangles that tripped me—so he was able to go more quickly.