in their arrival, either.”
“And that’s without going into the strangeness of dogs, wolves, and bears all inhabiting the same area—let alone the same clearing,” he added.
“I feel like we would have an easier time naming what wasn’t odd about that scene,” I said.
Gabe chuckled. “Fair enough. I’m just thinking about the connection between all the animals—and the humans.”
I shuddered. “Seeing those men taking harnesses off those bears and wandering around among the wolves…”
“Did you hear those growls?” Gabe asked. “The ones when the bears with the carts were arriving?”
I nodded slowly. I vaguely remembered some growls.
“Did you see where they were coming from?”
“No, I was watching the dogs at the time, but they must have been from the bears. Those weren’t wolf growls.”
“No, they sounded like bear growls, but…” Gabe bit his lip. “A week ago I couldn’t have imagined suggesting such a thing but…I think they might have been coming from the men.”
My eyes widened as I immediately grasped his point. When I turned to look toward the distant black shapes of the swans on the dark lake, Gabe nodded.
“Exactly. It would explain how the men could move so freely among the animals. And how they could convince them to do unnatural things like pull a cart.”
“You think those men have been enchanted in the same way I have,” I said softly.
Gabe leaned forward, eagerness tinging his voice as he explained his theory.
“I’ve been thinking about it all the way back. It seems too great a coincidence for there to be two such similar enchantments in such a small area for them not to be related. Perhaps that’s why the animals are willing to co-exist—some recognition that they are bound in the same way? I don’t know, I’m just guessing, of course, but I would be willing to bet that some similar curse has been cast over them.”
“You think those men were trapped as I am?” Nothing about their manner had given me that impression.
“No.” Gabe sounded grimmer than I had expected, and my eyes flew to his. “They looked like mercenaries to me. I suspect they went into this arrangement willingly.”
Sick dread filled my stomach. “So Leander has built himself an army of dangerous animals under the command of mercenaries who answer to him.”
Gabe’s mouth tightened. “That’s the way it looks. And I suspect he’s been slowly building it for most of the time you’ve been trapped. He can’t create the creatures from nothing, so it must be taking him time to gather and enchant them.”
A horrible thought struck me. “Do you think he has more than we saw today?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me at all. We already know he gets his supplies for the Keep from somewhere other than Brylee—no doubt to isolate his servants and keep information of his doings away from anyone who might form a full picture of them—so who knows what type or quantities of supplies he’s sourced? If he gets them from far enough away, no one would know to question why he needs so many.”
“And what would he be planning to do with such an army?” I whispered, but it was a rhetorical question, and Gabe didn’t bother to answer.
In a kingdom immobilized by fear, an army of wolves, dogs, and bears would wreak havoc and destruction. Breaking Leander’s enchantment had just become about a lot more than just my freedom.
“We have to get into that Keep.” I sat up straighter, my aches and pains forgotten.
“Let’s hope Audrey has had success,” Gabe said.
My mind was still reeling from the day and the conversation, but I saw my opening.
“Yes,” I said. “We must hope she has. It’s dark, but it’s not too late. You could stop in at the haven on your way back to the inn and find out.”
Gabe frowned. “I already told you I’m not going to leave you alone out here.”
“You’re not leaving me,” I said, my voice coming out sharper than I had intended, “I’m sending you away. We’ve discovered the wild animals you were concerned about—and they’re not so wild after all. They’re also connected to my swans somehow, so I’ll be fine.”
Gabe’s brows drew together, his eyes focused on my face. “But—”
“I’ll meet you at the haven in the morning.”
Gabe’s face expressed his feelings on the matter, but he reluctantly rose to his feet.
“Very well.” He paused. “Addie—”
I shook my head quickly. “Not tonight. I’m exhausted. I just want to sleep.”
He paused again before sighing and nodding. “Tomorrow, then.”
He fashioned himself a makeshift torch from one of