Page 24 of Lady Knight and the Thief

“Yourpeople?” Cypress drawled, cutting a look toward him.

“Yes.Mypeople. You think I’m the only one trying to keep the Old One sleeping?”

“You never mentioned them. How was a girl supposed to know?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Lass. I know ye better than that.”

Cypress huffed a laugh. “You see what you want, Thief. No more, no less.”

Torren laughed at her and shook his head, but said nothing more as they strode side by side.

Cypress watched the day turn into evening, the sun lazily drifting across the sky while they walked farther and farther away from the only home she’d ever known, and yet…

She couldn't say if she had ever felt so…calmin all the past years, certainly not more than she currently did, merely traipsing through the trees.

10

Swear It

Anothervillagecameintoview along the crest of a hill, tiny cottages dotting the treeline.

“Welcome to Ruckaway,” Torren said, dismounting his horse for the final stretch of road.

Cypress mimicked his movements, pausing to stretch her legs before marching on. “Ruckaway? Never heard of it.”

“I didn’t think you would have, Lass.”

“Why?”

“Ruckaway has more of the Fair Folk than they do humans. The crown doesn’t like that.”

“King Caelith has Fair Folk blood. Why would that matter to him?”

Torren chuffed a laugh at her, but didn’t deign to respond to the question. Instead, he directed her eye toward the center of town, where even smaller cottages lined the streets, glowing mushrooms dotting the roofs. “We need to visit the apothecary. This village is home to one of the best Fair Folk midwives. Whenever I can, I bring back her tinctures that help with births.”

“I’m impressed.”

“That I have compassion?”

“That you respect the midwifeandcare how difficult a birth can be, how dangerous.”

Torren nodded. “Humans have a rough go of it.”

“I’ve been told it’s worse than warfare.”

Again, Torren nodded. “It’s even worse for those who bore children of mixed blood.”

“What do you mean?”

“If a Fair Folk woman were to join with a human and bear children, there is still risk, of course, as there is with any birth, but Fair Folk women are a bit more… hearty in that regard. Human women, on the other hand, rarely survive the birth.”

Cypress sucked in a surprised breath. “So some of those tinctures…”

“Merely dull the pain and make the ordeal less… traumatic. Others help ensure the babe’s survival.”

“And what if the womandoesn’twant the babe?” Cypress questioned, pushing to see how far the line was for the Fair Folk.

“If it is early enough, the Midwife can also help with that,” Torren replied, smiling lightly.