They Called My Father a Traitor, So I Learned Every Secret They Buried novel · Chapter 22 of 24
Chapter 22: Before the Thaw Takes Her
Maura struck the sole of Kestrel's boot with her walking stick. 'Up. The gate will not wait for either of you.'
Kestrel opened his eyes at once. He had slept in his shirt beside the clinic stove, one hand still resting near mine on the blanket.
The night had left us changed in ways neither of us had named. His coat was on the chair. My dress was folded over it. The rest belonged to the closed door and the silence afterward.
'I was awake,' he said.
'You were horizontal,' Maura replied. 'That is not the same thing.'
I sat up and found my body sore in places I did not intend to examine before sunrise. Kestrel's mouth curved once.
'If you are smiling at me, I will put you back on the floor,' I said.
'You have already done that once. I am attempting to learn from experience.'
Maura made a dry sound and turned toward the table. 'Wynn, your mother is not waiting while you two discuss the educational value of the floor.'
Her lungs had worsened during the night. I had heard it through the wall, each cough dragging longer than the last. The healer beyond the pass had agreed to receive her before the thaw. The next gate change was the last safe opening.
I dressed without wasting time. Kestrel fastened his shirt while I packed Maura's tinctures, wool wraps, dried roots, and the small tin of mint Marta kept for her.
The sealed leather packet stayed in my hand.
Hadley waited outside with Jory, Senn, Errol, Kellan, and three kennel boys. The wolves had saddled the old mountain mare and built a low sled from kennel boards. Maura's trunk sat beneath a canvas cover.
Hadley looked from my hand to the packet. She did not ask for it.
I gave her the folded allowance form instead, its duplicate receiving mark turned outward. 'If Corvin denies this crossing, show them the mark. If he denies that, show them the witnesses.'
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of They Called My Father a Traitor, So I Learned Every Secret They Buried are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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