“You’re right, of course.” Above them, the warehouse ceiling beams sloped toward their peak, hidden in shadow. This little loft was a lovely safe haven, but it wasn’t home. They couldn’t stay here forever. And Charm wanted a future with her. That was worth fighting for.

  “Besides,” Charm said, “we have a lot of hours left until morning, so let’s make the most of them.”

  3

  Charm did some of her best work tiring Aspen out, but the woman was somehow still awake at an unnatural hour. When Charm grumbled and tried to keep Aspen in bed, Aspen chuckled and brushed her lips against Charm’s forehead. She lingered long enough to say goodbye and to kiss Charm’s mouth.

  It was a soft kiss, more like the kisses they’d exchanged at the end of their lovemaking last night. There was something of a promise in it, a promise to return. Charm blinked her eyes open and woke up enough to catch Aspen’s wrist in her grip. She tugged Aspen in for a firmer kiss, not an answering promise but a demand that Aspen stay alive.

  And then Charm let Aspen go, because if she followed Aspen to the main floor of the warehouse, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to watch her leave. That, and Charm was too proud to be jealous of a horse, and if she had to watch Aspen ride off with only Mouse, it would reveal unflattering things about Charm’s character.

  It helped that Charm had a task of her own. She had something to think about, first packing her things, and then joining Strength and her crew for their own departure. Joy, who still looked intimidating even early in the morning, was tasked with rounding up the others who’d volunteered to journey to Harstead.

  Strength and her people would accompany Charm to meet up with the troupe as Charm gathered her own allies. How different the two groups were—hardened fighters from Ainbridge and Charm’s actors. They’d all chosen to come together for Aspen, who, despite everyone willing to assist her, was on her own right now.

  Would she be all right?

  Charm knew that Aspen could hold her own in a fight, but she wasn’t going to Harstead to fight. She was going to surrender, or at the very least, play at it.

  If Aspen didn’t fight, her survival depended on Pike. At least they could count on Pike’s vindictive streak. He wouldn’t kill Aspen until he was able to use her for his purpose, whatever it was. There would probably be some long, taunting monologues in there as well.

  Still, Aspen’s days were numbered once the Scale delivered her to Pike. They couldn’t afford to dawdle. Charm packed her saddlebags the way Aspen had taught her and then secured them so they wouldn’t bounce.

  Charm took her first meal on the road, eating bits of bread and cheese as she and her companions set out to cross the Ain River. There were several bridges, but Strength took them to an overgrown part of the riverbank. They dismounted and led the horses down to a rickety dock where a tall, broad-shouldered person waited with a boat just big enough to take one horse at a time.

  “Guards question everyone at all the bridge crossings, and they deny people passage more often than not,” Strength explained as she handed a few coins to the ferry owner. “This’ll take some time, but we’ll get there.”

  The ferry owner, who had a beard to rival Joy’s and a small axe clipped to their belt, grinned, showing a mouth under the bush of hair. They were a person of few words—certainly no names—and they worked in efficient silence to get the party across the river.

  When her turn came around, Charm wondered if Aspen would hate this little ferry trip the way she’d hated their time on the ship.

  Once across the river and away from the entangled bank, everyone mounted again.

  “Oh, you were such a good, good girl, weren’t you? Not scared of that water at all.” Mercy patted their horse’s head. “My brave girl, Beauty.”

  Soar scoffed, and Charm recognized the start of a familiar argument, even before Soar and Mercy began bickering over how Mercy supposedly spoiled their horse and how Soar didn’t give hers enough love. Strength stayed out of it, except for an occasional fond glance at the two teenagers that made Charm’s heart clench in sympathy.

  It made her doubt, for a moment, the wisdom in recruiting allies. Yes, it certainly made it more likely that Aspen would survive to enjoy her life, post-Scale, but it put so many others in danger. Charm was selfish enough that she cared about Aspen’s future more than the futures of people she barely knew, but Aspen wouldn’t see it the same way. If anything happened to either of these kids…

  “Ride up with me,” Strength said, breaking through Charm’s dark thoughts. “I could use some adult company.”

  Naturally, Mercy and Soar abandoned their playful bickering to heckle Strength. Charm laughed softly at their teasing and obligingly guided Ruby up to ride beside Strength.

  “You have the look of a new recruit,” Strength said.

  “Young?” Charm asked.

  “Spooked,” Strength answered. “Aspen wouldn’t hold it against you if you stayed with your troupe while we wrapped this up.”

  It was tempting. Charm had played the heroine in more than one play, but it was different doing it on stage than in real life. But even if she wasn’t the bravest or the strongest, she didn’t abandon her friends when they needed her.

  “Did Aspen put you up to this?” Charm asked. On the one hand, Aspen was overly concerned with Charm’s safety. On the other, she was far more likely to talk to Charm directly than use a go-between.

  “She told me not to,” Strength said. She hummed and then amended her statement. “She told me not to involve her in it. She said you had your mind made up. And maybe you do, and I’ll respect that. But I’ll also respect you if you sit this one out.”

  “I’m not a fighter like you and your crew. I don’t have the history with the Scale that Aspen has, but Aspen is important to me. That makes this my business. My troupe can cause a distraction, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve if we need them. I’m going to help.”

  Strength didn’t try to talk Charm out of her position. She grinned and shook her head. “She has a charisma to her, doesn’t she, our Aspen? She doesn’t even realize it. Integrity was molding her into his successor. Everyone could see it except for her. It’s why Pike never liked her.”

  Our Aspen. Charm expected to feel at least a stirring of jealousy, but there was nothing—except fondness and perhaps even a bit of comradery. Aspen was theirs. In different ways, but friendship was at the base of both their relationships.

  “Do you think that’s what she wants?” Charm asked. “To remake the Scale?”

  “If you had asked me a few years ago, I would have told you Aspen would give her life to the Scale. What she wants has changed.” Strength gave Charm a knowing look. “She’ll always want to help people, and she’ll never lose her knack for getting herself in over her head, but she’ll do it in a different way.”

  Charm wondered what shape that might take. Rescuing more women from handsy drunks in taverns? Breaking up other protection rackets? Keeping the law from forcing women to share their homes and lives with men who’d mistreated them? Reuniting lost kids with their parents?

  It didn’t matter if Aspen herself was in danger or if she was trying to enjoy a well-earned break, she always offered whatever aid she could. Charm couldn’t promise Aspen a network like the Scale, but she could offer Aspen a place in her wagon. The troupe traveled enough that Aspen would be able to scout cities and nearby villages for trouble. And Charm would be there to lend a hand.

  In the early days, Charm had wanted to be around Aspen, but hadn’t believed their lives were compatible. There were ways to make it happen, though. It would take work, and it wasn’t the perfect solution, but it was close enough that Charm would make the offer.

  But all her plans would have to wait until they ensured there was a future for the both of them.

  Strength noticed the smoke from the fire before Charm did. She looked over at Charm and asked, “Friends of yours?” even as she tapped her sword hilt to reassure herself of the weapon in easy reach.

  Charm nodded. She’d spoken with Flick the night before. They’d agreed the troupe would act as if everything was normal, circle the wagons, have a bonfire, and that was how Charm would find them.

  As they approached the wagon circle, Charm could hear the loud singing, another signal that this was Charm’s troupe and not another group of travelers. It was a bawdy drinking song, the kind made to be sung off-key. Most of the troupe could sing, so the mess assaulting Charm’s ears meant they’d been carousing.

  “Oh, I know this one,” Mercy said as the lyrics became clearer. “This is illegal in Rispland.”

  “You’ll be hard pressed to find anything about my troupe that is legal in Rispland,” Charm said and then she dismounted and led Ruby on foot the final distance.

  Joining the wagon circle felt like coming home. The bonfire was larger than usual, impossible to miss, and Charm could feel the heat from the flames even from a distance. She was greeted by her fellow actors, each of whom wanted to hug or kiss her and then fuss over her or demand to know everything that had happened since the last time they talked to her.

  “Flick is stingy with details,” Essi complained after hugging Charm tightly.

  “Am not,” Flick countered. Her scales glimmered green today. They caught the light from the flames and glittered like precious gemstones. She was the first to greet Charm, and she circled back for a second hug, this one longer than the first. “We’re glad you’re back.”

  No one mentioned the lack of Aspen, even though Charm could see a few looking around for her. Flick must have shared some details, then.

  “Are you going to introduce your friends?” Sorrel asked. His antlers jutted out from his forehead and then branched off into what Essi teasingly called an impressive rack. He glanced at Mercy and Soar and gave them a friendly smile before he turned his full attention to Strength.

  The smile he gave her was far too heated and lingering to be described as friendly. Essi came up beside Sorrel and linked her arm through Sorrel’s. She angled her body so she wouldn’t accidentally get hit with Sorrel’s antlers. The look she gave Strength was no less heated than Sorrel’s.

  “This is Mercy, they, and The One Who Soars to Great Heights, she,” Charm said, motioning to each teen in turn.

  “Soar is fine,” Soar said with a little smile. She tucked her wings close to her body.

  “And Strength Dyer Lark, she,” Charm said with a flourish. She gave the woman a pointed look as Strength gave a little bow. “That is how you do an introduction.”

  Strength’s smile turned mischievous as she straightened and then stretched, calling attention to the muscled lines of her body. “If you’re jealous I didn’t roll around with you at our first meeting, we can fix it now.”

  “In that alley? I would have figured out how to land a punch if you ruined my dress with rotting cabbage and mud.”

  “Ew.” Sorrel wrinkled his nose. “Let’s hear this story with a little less realism.”

  “Fine, fine.” Charm sighed as if the request was a burden, but she brought her companions toward the bonfire so she could retell meeting Strength in the alley. “I thought we were under attack. This dark shape descended from above and began attacking.”

  Strength played her part and scoffed as she relaxed near the fire. She stretched her legs out toward the flames and tipped her head back. She put herself on display, but there wasn’t a single threat to be seen in her posture. “If I had been attacking, you wouldn’t be here.”

  “It was a friendly ambush, then?” Charm asked.

  Strength turned to give her a smile. “I like to think of it as foreplay.”

  Mercy groaned. Charm guessed this wasn’t the first time they’d endured Strength flirting in front of them.

  “Strength and her crew operate out of Ainbridge, but there’s trouble here in Harstead they’ve offered to help with,” Charm said seriously. The mood of the troupe shifted accordingly. “Do you remember the people who were giving the local farms a hard time?”

  “The protection racket,” Flick said.

  “Run by the Scale,” Amity added. He looked pointedly at Charm’s side, where there was a distinct lack of Aspen.

  “They’re causing trouble all through Falland,” Charm said.

  “We don’t know how to fight,” Essi said as if Charm had somehow forgotten.

  “Strength and her crew do.” Charm smiled to ease her troupe’s skepticism of Strength and the people she’d brought with her. “They’ll help us in Harstead, at least, those of us who choose to participate. Yes, this is voluntary, and no, we won’t be fighting. We’re going to cause a ruckus.”

  “That we’re very good at,” Amity said. He wasn’t swayed yet. While the troupe operated as a group of equals, Amity’s age and experience lent his voice more weight. If he considered helping, others would consider it too.

  “I know Rennell Manor, where the Scale is based, inside and out,” Strength said. “They have the advantage of numbers and a stronghold. And their leader is a self-interested coward. What we need is a distraction. If we draw out his protection, if we can scatter them and then attack, they lose their advantage.”

  “What kind of distraction are you thinking about?” Amity asked.

  Strength grinned, and her teeth were too sharp for it to be friendly. “Charm was very insistent on not stifling your creativity. If you come up with a few possibilities, we can discuss them and pick the one which will work best.”

  “I play a very sloppy drunk,” Sorrel said.

  Essi smacked his shoulder. “That isn’t acting, that’s just being yourself.”

  “Not if I’m sober when I’m doing it!”

  “A lover’s spat?” Tamarind asked. She wound her lemur tail around one of her hands and sighed. “Essi and Sorrel could fight over me. Ooh, I could be the secret mistress. We still have those costume jewels from The Marriage of Patience, right?”

  “Star-crossed love?” Pine offered. “We were preparing to make The Feuding Families our next play. Young lovers whose friends try to help them get together while their families try to keep them apart.”

  “Whatever we choose, I want fireworks,” Honesty said.

  “We can’t set off fireworks in the middle of Harstead,” Liberty argued. “We’ll end up setting the whole city on fire.”

  “Small fireworks?” Honesty countered.

  Charm laughed and leaned against Flick’s side as her troupe threw ideas out. She didn’t want to put any of them in danger, but if they were hapless citizens in over their heads and not a fighting force, she hoped they’d be able to get away with it. And if it looked like real trouble was brewing, she’d make sure Honesty had a few fireworks to set off to cover their escape.

  4

  Aspen didn’t realize how accustomed she was to Charm’s presence until she was traveling on her own. Well, not completely alone. Aspen patted Mouse’s head absently. But Mouse was a different kind of traveling companion than Charm. Once, Aspen had thought she could live her life as a wandering sword for hire with only Mouse for company.

  Things had changed.

  She could have evaded Pike and the Scale, kept her distance from Harstead, and ignored her past. It would be less risky than her current plan.

  But Aspen wanted a life with Charm, and Charm’s life was with her troupe. The Traveling Harstead Players. Aspen couldn’t have a gang of mercenaries who operated out of Harstead hunting her if she was living with a bunch of actors who stayed close to Harstead.

  It would put them in danger. Of course, she knew Charm planned to ask the troupe for help with their fight against the Scale. That would also put them in danger.

  “How did we get into this mess?” Aspen asked Mouse.

  Aspen had been a typical Wood child. She’d been raised by a loving family, knowing the Silverglade like she was born with a map inside her head, able to find her way home blindfolded, which she often did as part of the games she’d played with the other kids.

  She’d wanted more than the Silverglade, though, and it had been easy for Frugality to uproot her. That had led her to Integrity and the Scale and now that little girl who’d once chased squirrels through the trees was a fighter. A killer.

  Wanting more had put her in danger before. The current plan put others in danger. She was tempted to pull her half of the shard necklace out of its hiding place in her boot so she could contact Charm and call this entire thing off. It was a bad idea. Selfish.

  But she wasn’t the only one who would benefit if the Scale were gone. Yes, they were hunting Aspen, but how many times had she found them causing trouble around Harstead? They were hassling farmers and disrupting local communities, and she’d bet that there’d been an increase in crime in Harstead itself since Pike had taken charge.

  She had to trust Charm and her troupe to do what they were comfortable with. And she had to trust Strength and her crew to take down the Scale.

  That part of the plan worried Aspen the most. She was bait. She wasn’t going to storm the house. She was going to be captured and thrown into a cell. Helpless.

  Aspen was sure Strength knew there was a possibility that Aspen would be killed instead of captured. She wasn’t sure if Charm knew.

  Aspen should have kissed her again before leaving.

  She never should have pulled Charm into this mess.

  An arrow flew at her. Only Mouse’s quick reflexes kept it from hitting either of them. Unfortunately, Mouse’s quick reflexes also threw Aspen from her back. It had been years since Aspen had been unseated by a horse. She hit the ground hard and groaned as the impact drove various weapon hilts and handles into her skin. She’d have more than one bruise after this.

  Two more arrows flew, and Mouse reared and then ran, doing a good impression of a scared horse. Aspen rolled to her feet and pulled her sword from its sheath. Further down the road, where there was the cover of a few scattered trees and some large boulders, four fighters stepped out of hiding.

 

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