Chapter 139: Sharing is Caring

Squirt stared at the man kneeling before her. “Don’t be stupid,” she whispered, her voice hoarse and rough with emotion.

He let out a huff, too small and tired to be a laugh. “Athereon would become a fey title. A title granted to greenlings who accept the Hunt’s favor, likely as it was intended.”

He paused before adding, “It was the Chief Huntress of Norland that suggested it. As she is a Priestess of the Hunt, we’re inclined to follow the suggestion.”

“How would that even work?”

The lines around his eyes tightened. “Your accolades would be shared amongst all greenlings who follow the same path. One identity and title shared amongst many.”

Squirt blinked rapidly, breathing out, “All for one, hiding in plain sight.”

He nodded, his expression solemn.

She paled. “Skye would go after all greenlings, then.”

“Yes.”

Her anger surged in the wake of all these other vulnerable emotions. “Then why—”

“Because then at least the people of Fer’ich would be willing to fight for your people. We can see it here, in Everwinter, already. The world knows of the fall of Riverlands, and even if they were not motivated by worship or respect, the fear of crossing the Hunt would motivate many more.”

Her expression flattened. “Even post Riverlands, I still had people try to kidnap me.”

His eyes flashed with his wolf, his lip curling unconsciously as his canines briefly elongated. Then he shook the instinct from his head and sighed, sitting back until he was cross legged on the floor, his shoulders hunched and arms drooped over his knees. Like this, for once, he was shorter than her.

He rasped out, “It is… not my first choice. As it is, I do not like the idea of your accolades going to your brethren. Even your patents and funds are tied up in the name Athereon, and to change them over would bring additional scrutiny to your true identity.”

Squirt waved him off. “I don’t need the money.” She had been intending to make it the greenling mutual fund, anyway, and the patents were a headache. She wanted to invent, not rub elbows and do politics.

Frustration briefly crossed his face before he muttered, “Tobias will keep your funds separate. You deserve some nice things for yourself.”

Squirt raised a brow and then gestured at the outfit she wore—custom made leathers that fit her like a glove and moved with her, boots that had been custom fitted and enchanted, and even the secondary dimensional pouch at her hip. Dryly, she said, “Why do I have the feeling that if I wanted nice things for myself, I wouldn’t need coin to get it?”

Kenna added softly, “Because you’ve got a host of people who want to shower you in affection you rarely let us give you?”

Squirt’s eyes narrowed at the unrepentant she-wolf. “You shower me in plenty of affection.”

“For you, maybe. You haven’t been back to the den in a while.”

“Fine, I’ll sleep in the den when I get back. But I don’t need gifts.”

“Not even plum fey wine?”

“… that’s different. You bought that with my funds.”

“The first crate, yes.”

Squirt’s eyes narrowed. “You do realize there’s a food shortage, yes?”

“If money could buy us food, we would burn down the rest of the fields before Skye could get to them. The wine has to be aged; it’s not from this year.”

She almost continued to argue but a sudden thought had her then shoot Qzi a look over her shoulder. His bloodred eyes were filled with intense glee as he stared at her, so she glared. “No.”

He wilted with a pout, his bottom lip pushed out and guileless eyes wide. “No, what?”

“I better not find out you got me a fuckton of wine.”

“Not a fuckton, then.”

“Qzi…”

“What?”

“Don’t buy me wine.”

His pout intensified, a scowl overcoming the plead. “As you wish,” he muttered between pursed lips.

Squirt held her glare for another second before shooting a second glare at Kenna’s entirely too innocent face. The woman absolutely said that on purpose. Her apparent dislike of Qzi was fading to amused but begrudging acceptance.

Regardless, Squirt’s love life wasn’t the topic up for debate.

Wiping a hand down her face, Squirt brought the conversation back to the lord and what actually mattered, muttering with no small amount of annoyance. “I don’t care about the patents or funds or accolades. I don’t mind sharing those things with my people.” It had been the plan, anyway.

It would make it easier for them to pull funds out of her accounts, which would mean she wouldn’t be made to manage the money, something she would rather pull off her own fingernails than do, anyway, but the danger of Skye Kingdom’s bounty on her head being shared amongst all greenlings left a sour taste in her mouth.

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“What I don’t understand is why would we risk the others by giving them all my name?”

The weight on his shoulders appeared to press him down just a touch further, from the tiny bit more his frame sank down over his lap to the way his expression withered. “If it were just Skye as the threat, that would be one thing. But I’m concerned about these rumors of the Queen’s favor. We’re not the only territory to have our food stores hit. While we’ve been fighting constant attacks, other territories across Fer’ich have faced a few big ones, blowing up a third of all their winter stores since Autumn began.”

Squirt paled.

He held her gaze with his own, and for once, his lord persona slipped. Once more he was the tired, young man, only instead of the boyish smiles from pack night, he looked… grieved.

His words were rough with sorrow. “Fear is seeping in across Fer’ich. I don’t want to risk your people being targets. Not of the kinds of mobs that fearful, hungry fey create.”

“The greenlings in the Capital…” she whispered, horrified. Two thirds of their population that hadn’t left would be experiencing increased attacks.

He gave a solemn nod. “Aye. The Queen wishes to create the Athereon title, and to extend it to any greenling in the Capital. She is already setting aside a quiet place in lowtown for them to stay and train overwinter, using the training tips that Hawke has written up for an instructor, and Dusty’s suggestions for security. It would become a temple to the Hunt and thus protected from fey rage.”

Because none felt fey rage like the gods themselves, and after Riverlands, only the stupidest would risk it.

His lip twitched. “The Chief Huntress and a certain Korga from Norland are already on their way to the Capital for the winter. As both are priestesses of the Hunt, their rank and power would prevent others from taking their frustrations out on your people.”

That had hit her second concern—namely, envious worshipers of the Hunt dismantling this from the inside.

Also, Korga was that psycho bitch who chewed on her fist while grinning at her in Norland, and Squirt had no doubt that she’d gut anyone who attempted to harm the greenlings. Gleefully, too. She’d been overtly friendly to Squirt in a way Squirt hadn’t known how to deal with, never once questioning Squirt’s place as a hunter or leader.

Squirt’d never admit it, but it had been mildly refreshing of the madwoman.

“The protections we’ve extended to you would be granted to all greenlings who take the mantle Athereon.”

Squirt scoffed. “And what will you call me now, giving my name away like that?”

Kenna giggled by her side. “Athi is already pretty good, don’t you think?”

Squirt exhaled sharply. “… this is going to blow up everything.”

Qzi did not need to sound so excited, but he did. “Really? Excellent.”

Lord Everwinter returned to his solemn expression, giving her a nod. “It is not our first choice. Nor our second.”

“What was your first choice?”

His eyes darkened considerably. “One that would make me a very bad ruler.”

Despite the seriousness of the statement, Squirt couldn’t help the tiny huff, too small to be a true laugh, that escaped. “Glad you have self-control.”

The darkened expression eased, his lips curling up into the smallest hint of a smile. “I do.”

“Now use that self-control to self-control yourself right into a fucking nap. You’re making me tired just by looking at you.”

He winced, his eyes flickering to Kenna and away, leaving Squirt in no doubt that the she-wolf had been scolding him over just this.

Squirt hesitated before saying, “I’ll give you an answer later. You’ll do what you need to do.”

Kenna added, “And whatever you do, it can happen after a nap.”

He rubbed his eyes, muttering, “I’ve got letters—”

“And? Get on that couch and go to sleep before I have Zhadin force you.”

Surprised, Squirt turned her head to the she-wolf. “Zhadin would do that?”

“For me, yes. For you, doubly yes.”

There was a dark chuckle from Zhadin as they slipped back into the shadows, the sound reverberating in the room.

Kenna pointed at a couch, her glare soft and unyielding as her focus remained on the lord.

Realizing that she wasn’t going to budge, he dragged his long form up and over, all but collapsing onto the couch. He muttered, “Wake me… after your vote…”

Kenna got up and moved to sit on the ground next to her head, her fingers dropping into his hair and rubbing gently. Within moments, he was fast asleep.

Kenna waved her hand over his head, a wisp of her magic in the air covering his ears in what had to be a silence spell before she murmured, “Finally.”

“He listens to you better than me, at least.”

Kenna shot Squirt a sly smile. “He’d listen to you just fine.”

Squirt’s eyes narrowed at the implication. She was more than aware that Tobias and Kenna were both deluded into trying to set her up with the lord.

She just didn’t get why. “Just like I’m sure he’d listen if you just told him.”

She gave a delicate shrug of her shoulder. “He’s not ready yet.”

Squirt bit back her retort that no one was ever ready for a confession of love, and that the longer that confession was left to fester, the worse it became.

She was also conscious that the redcap’s arm was still firmly around her shoulders, and frankly, she’d done enough internal growth in the last hour to last the next year. So, instead, she grunted in a noncommittal answer and finally pulled away from the redcap’s arms.

He didn’t immediately follow when she pulled the statue to open the library entrance.

She turned, considering the happy redcap, a flush of happiness to his cheeks as he smiled at her, and realized that somehow, someway, she’d put that smile there.

Clearing her throat, Squirt said, “I need to go address the greenlings. We’re leaving tomorrow for…” Did she even tell him that part?

No, no she had not.

Her fingers touched her temples. It was growing late, and she needed to go down to the caverns for the greenling vote to happen before the lunch hour was finished. “… follow me, Qzi. You might as well hear the address, yourself.”

He bounded up like a puppy, his eyes practically glittering as he followed her into the library towards the greenling den. She paused before unveiling the entrance and realized that she should probably set some kind of example. Zhadin and the Pest were already coming and going as they pleased through the greenling tunnels, but…

The Pest created the tunnels through Lord Everwinter’s title, powering the magic involved, and had already weaseled his way into been an honorary greenling by the time they were created. Zhadin was never seen coming in and out of the tunnels by the other greenlings and rarely appeared unless Squirt was alone.

But Qzi would be seen coming and going. These tunnels were greenling secrets. Squirt trusted him with her life, but…

She reached into her pouch, turning to Qzi with a sigh. “I’m going to blindfold you until we get down there.”

The fucker dropped eagerly to his knees like she’d just offered him the world.

She couldn’t help the tiny giggle that escaped. Less than a second, but it was accompanied by a rare smile. “Down boy. Not for that.”

He grinned and shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me. It’s a surprise either way. I like surprises.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“You have?”

Even his hat stood up taller in his surprise.

She really shouldn’t have been worried. It’d only been a flicker. But now he was the one blushing at the implication of her knowing the barest thing about him.

Instead, she flicked his forehead with a tilted smile that set his heart ablaze, and muttered, “Idiot. I do see you.”

“I know, pricklebear.”

She tied a strip of cloth around his eyes. She didn’t know if this should be the policy or not for non-greenlings, but that at the very least, she was trying to lead by example.