place, so Grae hopped out of the cart and carefully checked to make sure that nothing had moved.
The day had not noticeably warmed up as they traveled, even though no clouds obscured the sun. Grae muttered under his breath things like “sun’s not strong this morning” and “wish we could wait another hour” but he didn’t pause in dipping his leather flask into the brook and fetching water, so Siobhan assumed that in spite of his mutterings, he still felt it safe enough to continue.
Used to the routine, everyone that hadn’t already been riding in the cart climbed on top. This proved to be a little challenging as one small cart couldn’t really hold eight full-grown adults, much less two giants. The dogs, also used to the routine, jumped up at Denney’s urging and found a human to cuddle in with.
Sylvie, playing on the moment, batted her long eyelashes at Hammon and purred, “Mind if I do?”
“Eh?” Behind his glasses, his eyes went wide. “I-uh, pardon, what do you mean?”
“There’s not enough room to sit separately on the cart,” Denney explained, already sitting on Conli’s lap. “So to avoid trouble, the women usually borrow someone’s knee until we’re through the path.”
“Ahhh.” Hammon reverted back to his usual good-natured expression and waved Sylvie forward. “In that case, my knee is your knee, Waverly.”
Sylvie giggled in true amusement as she slid into place, putting both arms around his shoulders. “You truly aren’t the lecherous sort, are you, Hammon?”
Hammon gave a one-shouldered shrug as he answered, “I have a mother and three sisters who made sure of that.”
“Bless them for it,” Sylvie responded, only half-joking.
Siobhan stayed on the ground and watched to make sure that everyone had found a good spot and wouldn’t be knocked off if someone shifted unexpectedly. She did not want to repeat that mistake. It’d taken four days to find Denney in that gods-forsaken marshland.
As she oversaw them, Hammon asked why they were on top of the cart to begin with, and Sylvie explained that it was easier for Grae to transport them all at once this way. Not to mention avoiding anyone accidentally putting a foot in the wrong place. Kit had been trained to put his feet only on the stepping stones, and the cart would follow where the reinmal went.
Grae came around to stand at the front of the cart, flask at the ready, and called back to Siobhan, “We can go!”
Good. Siobhan put one hand on the cold wooden side of the cart and looked around in slight perplexity. Well, everyone else had settled, but where was she supposed to go?
Wolf, seeing her confusion, extended a hand and offered dryly, “Need a lap, Siobhan?”
“If you’re offering, I’ll take it.” She gripped the hand he extended and swung nimbly up and onto his lap. It felt rather like sitting on a carved wooden chair. Wolf didn’t have a spare inch of fat on him anywhere.
He put both arms around her waist to secure her better and complained, “You’re too light, Siobhan. You need to eat more.”
“Wolf,” she said patiently, for what felt like the thousandth time, “Anyone would be small compared to you.”
“She has a point,” Conli piped up. “And Wolf, I disagree with you. Medically speaking, she’s in the peak of health.”
How had they gotten on the subject of her weight, anyway? Hoping to cut the topic short, she called forward, “Alright, Grae!”
The cart inched forward, wheels bumping and clacking a little as it crossed the multitude of small pebbles forming the stepping stones. She had no pathfinding sense and never had, but even she could feel it when Grae worked his ability. The air became softer, more distorted, and it felt heavy and humid. The area to either side looked strange as two different landscapes mixed and overlapped with each other, their colors mingling into odd blurs. To the naked eye, it seemed as if they moved at a snail’s pace but, in fact, they were crossing spans upon each step. She preferred staring at the stepping stones the most, as they glowed under Grae’s power, sparkling blue-white and reflecting the light in a dazzling display.
She glanced at Hammon and found him staring with wide-eyed wonder, mouth slightly agape. “Have you never traveled by path, Hammon?”
“Once before,” he admitted without looking at her. “But I was a small child then. My memory is a little hazy.”
“Ahhh.” That explained his reaction. It reminded her that she still didn’t really know who he was. He had