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Fearless (Mirrorworld 2)

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Reckless smiled.

Oh, Nerron, you are a fool.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

RUN

Fear. And more fear. Too short the peace in between.

She was so tired that even the fur gave her no comfort. Fox had drunk her own fear, but she could still feel it. Like a tremor deep inside her.

Places, clinging to her heart like mould . . . the shabby house that smelled like the sea. The red chamber. They couldn’t just be left behind. No matter how fast the vixen ran. Jacob was the only one who protected her from them.

Fox wanted to sleep by his side. Just be with him and feel his warmth wash away the memory of the red chamber. And the house that smelled of salt.

But she had to run.

She was carrying his life around her neck.

Nothing had ever weighed more.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

CUNNING AND FOLLY

‘You should have let the dogs loose! My father puts vixens in their cages when they are puppies, so they learn to like the taste. You should see what they do with them!’

The same angry rant, every time they stopped for a break. The Snow-White apple had made Louis even more unpredictable – or was it the toad spawn? If it hadn’t been for Lelou, the princeling would have killed Reckless as soon as Nerron led him out of the stable. The future King of Lotharaine really was as stupid as he looked. No, Nerron, much stupider.

‘Foxes are smarter than dogs.’ The Waterman was sitting in the grass, examining his injured foot. He had smeared on it some ointment that he’d found in the Witch’s house, and now the scaly skin around the wound had turned as white as a mushroom.

‘You’re treating that filthy swine like a raw egg!’ Louis rammed his sword so hard into the flame that the sparks singed Nerron’s skin. ‘He’s been giving us the runaround for weeks. Have you already forgotten everything you learnt as my father’s bodyguard?’ he barked at Eaumbre. ‘He has you treat prisoners who think they’re smarter than him very differently.’

Eaumbre pulled the boot over his injured foot.

‘Fetch him!’ Louis ordered.

The Waterman got up quietly, but Nerron stood in his way.

‘He’s my prisoner.’

‘Really? Since when?’ Louis got up. He was swaying a little, but the arrogance on his face was truly regal. Every evening, Eaumbre tied Reckless to one of the carriage wheels. Nerron liked to picture swapping him for Louis and letting the horses have the whip.

The Waterman pushed past him and hobbled to the carriage.

Reckless was still pale from the Witch’s bloodletting, and the Bluebeard had cut a few bloody patterns into his soft skin, but his face still had the same infuriatingly fearless expression it had worn when he faced the wolves.

He even offered his tied hands to Nerron. ‘The Waterman ties the ropes so tight that my fingers are dying off. How about you take these off me? I’m not planning on running.’

‘And why not?’ Louis wiped some grease from his mouth with his velvet sleeve. The dog man had shot two rabbits, and Louis had eaten them both himself. ‘You know what my father does to spies from Albion?’

Reckless shot an amused glance at Nerron. His eyes were asking, Really? A spy? You owe me, Goyl.

‘Oh that . . . that’s just a sideline,’ he said out loud. ‘I’m actually a treasure hunter, like the Goyl. And I’m afraid we’ll have to join forces for this hunt. You have the head and the hand. I have the heart. And if that’s not enough, then ask the Dwarfs whether they know where Guismond’s body is.’

Oh, the cunning dog.

It took Louis a few seconds to comprehend what Reckless was saying. He was now swaying so much that he nearly fell into the fire as he staggered towards him. Lelou fed him toad spawn thrice daily (the Waterman was often gone hours to find it), but the effect always wore off towards the evening. And the princely breath again smelled of elven dust as well.



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