“She’s a dancer, huh?” Tobei said from Ben’s left, a grin crawling onto his face as he looked down at the girl, Belle, in the clearing below them.

The three boys were perched on a low branch overlooking the stream where Belle was now bathing her monster. Ben’s red Wolf, Drauge, was supposed to be keeping an eye on their newcomers, but as Belle coaxed a ribbon of water from the stream and drew it over the monster’s back, Drauge perked up, entranced by the dancing water.

Tobei bragged, “I knew it.”

“You saw her two seconds, when she was behind bars,” Daivad argued. He stood behind them, leaned against the trunk of their tree. “You knew shit.”

“Nah, I told Ben.” Tobei jabbed an elbow into Ben, who sat next to him, their legs dangling over the edge of the branch. “Didn’t I? Didn’t I name her Dancer?”

If Ben wasn’t trying so hard to process the very concerning story Daivad had just told them, he might have lied just to tease Tobei, as that was one of Ben’s favorite pastimes, but as it was, he simply nodded.

“See?” Tobei puffed his chest and leaned back on his arms, kicking his dangling legs like a child. “All I need is a two second look. That’s why they name me Best.”

“You name you Best,” Daivad said. “Not ‘they.’”

“Yes, ‘they.’ You among the they.”

“Name one time I—”

“This morning,” Tobei shot back. “When it was me you sent to question Jac to salvage your spectacular failure.”

“And she walked all over you,” Daivad countered.

Tobei looked down at Jac, who lay stretched out in one of the craters she’d created, arms behind her head and feet propped on her hammer. Dreamily, Tobei said, “Literally.”

Ben let the two of them continue their little squabble so he could think. Of course, it wasn’t helping matters that Jac was stretched out down there, her damp tunic clinging to her golden, newly-cleaned skin. From the moment she’d slammed through the door of Ike’s Tavern last night, Ben had been in love, and the way she’d wrecked this clearing and put a massive, blooming bruise on Tobei’s chest had only made matters worse. Not that he wanted Tobei hurt or the camp damaged, of course, but Mother Light was it impressive.

Focus.

“Her—,” the word caught, his throat stiff from lack of use, and he had to clear it and start again. “Her story. How do you weigh it?”

When Daivad didn’t answer right away, Ben glanced back to look at him. Daivad’s narrowed eyes followed Belle as she swept her hands, flowing and elegant, around the beast and the ribbon of water followed after them. She drew the water over the beast’s bony back, and the clear liquid began to glow faintly. A deep sigh rattled out of the beast and its head sagged in relief. When the glow faded, the water had turned a dark brown, and Belle swept the dirty water away, back into the stream. Drauge had wandered closer, watching all of this with perked ears and a curious, snuffling nose.

Ben glanced back at Daivad. His face was impassive, aside from those narrowed eyes, yet that hesitation wasn’t like him. Daivad had been their leader for as long as Ben could remember, and he led well. He read the dangers of a situation at a glance, made snap decisions with confidence, and adapted his strategy as needed. He didn’t waver. He didn’t hesitate.

Finally, Daivad said, “I don’t know.”

Tobei looked up at him. “Sweet shit.”

Daivad cut a glare at Tobei, but that hadn’t worked since they were children. Tobei just stared back, challenging.

Below, Belle called up another ribbon of water, grinning at Drauge as she guided it toward the Wolf. Drauge took several alarmed steps back, but after a moment, stuck out his nose to sniff at the water—until he sniffed a bit too close and snorted some up his nostrils.

Half-cringing, half-laughing, Belle waded out of the water after Drauge to help as he shook his head, hacked, and sneezed.

Ben sighed. His Wolf had never been the smartest of the three.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Bored of their staring match, Tobei told Daivad, “You know the smell of sweet shit as good as I do. Even when it’s wrapped up in a pretty blonde package. The only reason you’re handing out some of your own now is because you don’t want to admit you think she smells just fine.”

A growl bubbled out of Daivad, and Ben caught his glance at Tobei’s back. Ben could almost see the idea form in Daivad’s head—if he just planted a boot between Tobei’s shoulder-blades and shoved…

And maybe he would have, had he not caught Ben watching. Instead, he told Ben, “Even if I weighed her story heavy with truth, she knows where we are. And I did smell Richard on her.”

Tobei rolled his eyes.

Ben asked, “You think he could track her here?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Daivad said. “She won’t stay.”

“Does matter, if you decide to kill them.”

Ben expected another comment from Tobei at that, but none of them spoke. Below, Jac had drifted off to sleep and Belle led her monster out of the stream, toward a tangle of roots at the base of a tree. When the beast had folded its gangly legs into a space in the roots, Belle set about finding as many vines and foliage as she could to cover its hiding spot.

Finally, Daivad grunted, “Maybe.”

Ben rested his elbows on his knees and massaged his chin with his right hand. “You believe the Colonel’s coming after us?”

Each of them reacted to the words. Daivad flexed his hands like he was itching to let out his claws, Ben himself went so still he didn’t even breathe, and Tobei fidgeted, antsy.

Daivad said, “We always knew that would happen, we just couldn’t name the date.”

“We didn’t count it at the queen’s request. With her numbers behind him.”

“I did,” Tobei said. “Why else would she let him keep the Farm going after she realized his product,” he gestured to Daivad, “was rotten?”

“Hm,” Ben said. “If he does find our trail, a warning would help.”

“We’d survive without one,” Daivad said.

“We would,” Ben gestured at the three of them. He didn’t have to finish the thought—they could handle the Colonel. They’d done it before. The rest of the camp hadn’t.

“You think we should work with her?” Daivad asked. Though he sounded incredulous, there was something behind his eyes, behind the question.

“I just said a warning would help.”

“Mother Light, you two.” Tobei rolled his eyes again.

“What?” Daivad growled.

“You know you believe her. And you know you’re not going to kill her. And, most of all? You’re bored. For weeks you’ve been insufferable—you’d be climbing the walls, if we had any. Had you missed Belle last night, you’d be planning right now which work camp to hit next. Since you didn’t miss her, she’s named which ones are exposed. Every side I see of this situation reads up, so why are you suddenly acting illiterate?”

Daivad’s growl rolled out in full. “I’d be pulling this entire camp into a war. Against the queen.”

“This camp isn’t exactly the queen’s fanclub, brother.”

“It’s not an army, either. They didn’t agree to this shit.”

Quietly, Ben said, “They might.”

Daivad and Tobei looked at him.

Ben shrugged. “You haven’t asked them.”

After a moment, Tobei grinned and clapped Ben on the shoulder. “Ben, always with the quiet wisdom. He’s right. Call a meeting. You bitch and moan about how you never wanted to be leader, never asked for the responsibility that’s piled on your back, but then refuse to shrug even a bit of it off on anyone else’s shoulders.”

Ben nodded along. “They’ve all been asking after these girls’ names, anyway.”

“You want to deal with the panic that’ll follow after the knowledge that someone who lives in the castle found this place?”

Tobei started to say, “Technically, they didn’t find this place, you brought them—”

But Ben cut him off, before Daivad could finish lifting his boot, “Don’t they deserve to know?”

A scowl pulled at Daivad’s normally smooth face, and he crossed his arms over his chest. Daivad hated calling meetings. “And how do you expect me to explain…”

Ben saw something click in Daivad’s mind. The scowl slipped away.

Tobei leaned toward Ben and stage-whispered, “Mark down the date. Daivad’s first idea. A momentous occasion—AH!”

Daivad had finally given in to his urges and shoved Tobei off the branch with one foot. Tobei landed and rolled before shouting up at them, “May I remind you I am already injured!”

“She’s a performer,” Daivad continued as if nothing had happened. “She can have the village for an audience. They’ll decide if they want to help her.”

“One problem with that plan,” Tobei called.

Daivad waited, but Tobei made him growl, “What problem?”

“She took off on Drauge a few minutes ago.”

They looked at the stream. Sure enough, Jac was asleep in her crater, the monster was huddled in its makeshift shelter, and Belle and Drauge were gone.

“Shit.”

That empty-headed Wolf.