8

It wasn’t exactly graceful, though, and the thought of Elias racing through the woods with a pack in his jaw was delightful. To think I’d thought he was a big scary wolf when I’d first met him. And to think I’d spent so much of my life not letting mine run free at all.

Elias pulled on a pair of trousers, then pulled the rest of the contents from the pack. He’d brought a blanket, a spare change of clothes for me, a heavy cloak, and a waxed cloth with a small spread of snacks and a canteen of tea inside.

After seeing the clothes, I shifted back into human shape, only a little reluctantly. Immediately the cold air stung my skin, and I shivered and hurried close to where Elias was spreading out the blanket. I tugged on the clothes he’d brought: a pair of thick trousers and a shirt of his own. He’d even brought me a pair of woven socks.

“Warm enough?” he asked as he placed the heavy cloak over my shoulders.

I snuggled close into his side. He always ran hot, and now felt like a furnace against me. He was completely comfortable with his chest bare in the winter evening. Surrounded by him, in his clothes too, I felt safe. Something about wearing his clothes made me feel even more cared for. I sighed happily and nodded. “This is perfect.”

“Good,” he said, pleased. “Here, eat.”

The spread wasn’t anything fancy, just cheeses and chocolates, but it was perfect to me. I sipped hot tea from the canteen and was soon warm down to my bones.

After a few moments of snacking, Elias combed his fingers through my hair. “Feel better?”

“Much,” I said. I tilted my face up and caught his lips in a brief kiss. “Thanks. I didn’t expect all these meetings would be so…”

“Challenging?” Elias asked.

“It’s exhausting,” I admitted. “In some ways, being kidnapped was a lot easier. At least I didn’t have to try to keep all the different pack leaders happy at the same time.”

Elias laughed quietly. “It gets easier with practice.”

“I hope so.”

“What’s bothering you, little wolf?” Elias asked.

I sighed. “I can just tell that Dawnguard and Daybreak aren’t happy with how the plans are going. Giles thinks I’m an idiot.”

“He doesn’t think that,” Elias said. “He thinks you’re young. Quite different.”

“It feels the same, though,” I grumbled.

“He’s stubborn,” Elias said. “I’ll get through to him eventually. What is it about Daybreak that’s bothering you? Barion seems to be accepting of the plans so far.”

“It’s just a feeling,” I admitted. “I worry about Daybreak in general. Barion has spent so much time here — what if someone back at Daybreak is getting ideas? What if they try to plan another coup?”

Elias stiffened slightly. “Has Barion suggested that’s a possibility?”

“Not exactly,” I said, “and he’d said he’d handle it, but…”

“Then you should trust him.” Elias relaxed again and squeezed me closer. “Even if someone does consider planning such a thing, Daybreak is vastly weakened now. You can’t lose sight of the real threat.”

“I suppose it’s easier to worry about Daybreak than it is to worry about the Fae,” I said. “It just feels so impossible to take on the Queen. Especially if we only have our wits and our wolves to rely on.”

“Well, that’s where you come in, isn’t it?”

I sighed again, dramatically heavy this time. “Unless Giles is right, and it’s all rumors and nonsense.”

“I don’t think it is,” Elias said. His voice was low.

I pulled away and peered at him. “What do you mean by that?”

“I had my own conversations with King Khainan while the jaguars were here,” Elias said. “I asked him what he knew about these rumors of alchemy in Cruora. He admitted the Askonians scouts at the border between Askon and Cruora had heard word of it as well. One of the scouts even claims to have met a rogue alchemist who attempted to sell him some enchanted goods, but it couldn’t be verified. If there’s rumors, there’s scammers. But to my ears, the story sounded plausible.”

“So you think it’s true?” I asked him. “You think the Eagles have alchemists?”

“I don’t know,” Elias said. “But it’s worth investigating.”

“Why didn’t you say anything in our meeting?”

Elias chuckles. “Because I didn’t want Giles to think it was too plausible. If there are alchemists in Cruora, we need to ensure that Nightfall reaches them first. Giles has an interest in growing the strength of Dawnguard. If he believed in alchemy, he might try to track them down first.”

I exhaled and flopped backward on the blanket. “Do you think I said too much at the meeting?”

“No, not at all,” Elias said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t step in more.”

“You really think he would do that?” I pushed up onto one elbow and peered at him. “Try to get alchemists for himself?”

“Not really,” Elias said. “He’s a bit risk-averse. But why introduce that possibility if I can avoid it?”

I nodded and chewed on that bit of insight. Diplomacy was like chess, and Elias was playing at a higher level than I was. I hadn’t even considered the fact that someone else might want to seek out the alchemists for their own purposes. And I was already so concerned about Daybreak attempting another coup! “I should’ve been more careful.”

“Reyna.” Elias slid his hand over my thigh and squeezed. “You did wonderfully. You’re at a bit of a disadvantage here.”

“In what way?”

Elias grinned. “I’ve been dealing with these wolves for most of my life. The more you get to know them, the more this will come naturally to you.”

“If you say so,” I said. But my gaze wavered, and Elias caught it.

“What is it?” he asked.