One of the three men wielded an ax, swinging it at the wolves, while another moved slower with a club. A pony stood bound to a wagon, and it trampled nervously, neighing and throwing its head up and down, leaving the third man with the difficult task of trying to keep it under control.

  Without a second thought, Freya kicked Ebony into a gallop, drawing her sword as she charged. Theo, less accustomed to combat but unwilling to stand by, followed her lead.

  “Stay back, Theo, and stay on the horse,” Freya called over her shoulder as she approached the fray. “Use the torch if you can!”

  The wolves, sensing the new threat—or perhaps more dinner—hesitated. A few glanced toward Theo, their eyes reflecting the firelight.

  Theo held onto the torch with sweaty palms and a heart wanting to beat its way out of his chest. What was he doing here? Would he ever even reach the dragons, or would he end up ripped apart by these hairy beasts?

  As the wolves came closer, he began waving the torch like a madman. Even Brioche, his steady, trustworthy mare, trampled the ground nervously at the sight of the approaching wolves.

  “Back off!” he yelled, as if the wolves would understand.

  Perhaps they were intelligent wolves speaking the tongue of a man—but more likely, it was the frantic waving of the torch that made the wolves’ survival instincts kick in. They backed away from Theo, and as he made Brioche keep going, they backed away from the merchants too, growls subsiding into cautious whines.

  Freya, seizing the opportunity, drove her sword into the ground with a loud clank, a final warning. The wolves turned and fled into the thickening shadows of the forest.

  Theo dismounted and rushed to Freya’s side, his eyes wide with a mix of adrenaline and relief.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, his heart still racing.

  Freya pulled her sword out of the ground and sheathed it, offering a nod of assurance. “All good here. But didn’t I tell you to stay on the horse?”

  “I did as long as the wolves were around,” Theo said.

  He looked up, finding the short, sturdy merchants cautiously approaching them. Though the three of them had faces full of impressive hair and broad shoulders, none of them were taller than an eight-year-old child.

  Freya took an automatic step forward to stand between Theo and the merchants, gripping her sword once more. Behind her, Theo felt small.

  “Under sky, we meet,” she said tightly.

  While his heart decided to up its pace again, his mind filled with the question: had they saved the wrong sort of people?

  A moment passed, then said the merchant in the front, “Under sky, we meet,” in a gruff voice. He had a wild beard that would probably be red in daylight, and shorter hair on his head, shaved on the sides, and their clothes looked to be made of leather.

  “We owe you for helping us,” the merchant continued. “Wolves usually aren’t a problem, but my two companions are ill. I’m Bruni Thornroot, and those two are Dorin and Hagarin.”

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  He motioned toward the other two merchants, and Theo allowed himself a moment to study them. While they had the same sort of unkempt beards and hair, there was a distinct slump to their shoulders, and a sheen of sweat on their brows, their eyes feverish. Compared to the merchant who had spoken, the other two appeared to find their weapons heavy and unwieldy.

  One of them swayed precariously, and the merchant who had spoken came to his aid, a hand on the ill one’s shoulder and quiet words spoken.

  “Freya Tarnell, knight of Astoria,” Freya said once the first man, Bruni, turned back. “And this is Theo, merchant son of Astoria.”

  The first merchant gave Theo a doubtful look. “Uh-huh.”

  “Where are you headed?” Freya asked.

  The lead merchant said, “Home to Silvershard Mountains.”

  Theo startled. “The Silvershard Mountains? But isn’t that home to—”

  Then he trailed off, realization hitting him a little too late. Short, sturdy builds, impressive beards… He nearly slapped himself.

  “Dwarves,” Freya said. “Yes, of course, Theo. What else would they be?”

  Bruni peered up at Theo with the look someone would give the village moron. “Not the brightest of the bunch, are you?”

  “I haven’t met a dwarf before,” Theo protested.

  “He hasn’t gotten out of Brightfell much,” Freya said, waving a hand as if to dismiss Theo.

  Heat spread across Theo’s cheeks. He had known this quest would be bad, but this was just humiliating. Just because his parents had wanted to keep him safe… Well, his mom had wanted to. With her gone, his father had finally had enough of sheltering their only son.

  “Silvershard Mountains is our haven,” Bruni said, clearly directing it to Freya rather than Theo. “My companions will get help there. What about you?”

  “We’re headed to Craggy Peaks,” Freya said.

  “And what are you two going to do in Craggy Peaks? Get him killed?” Bruni nodded at Theo.

  Theo glared at him.

  “We’re going to talk to the dragons,” Freya said. “What’s the nature of their illness?”

  The dwarf glanced at the one he still hovered close to. “Something dark. Harsh.”

  “What are the symptoms?”

  “What, are you a nurse too, beyond all that fancy garb?”

  Freya scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. It did nothing to affect the dwarf, though; Bruni turned to his companions and said gruffly, in the same tone that a military commander would order his underlings, “Back to the wagon. You both look about to fall down and I’m not carrying you.”

  Still, among the harsh words, Theo couldn’t help but think there was affection.

  The two dwarves did as Bruni said, though each step they took looked laborious, their breaths shallow under the burden of their mysterious illness.

  “They certainly don’t look well,” Freya said.

  Bruni glared at her. “They’re not.”

  “You’re vulnerable,” Freya said. “Two companions unable to protect themselves.”

  Bruni’s glower deepened. “We’ll be fine.”

  If Freya was looking to piss the dwarf off, she was certainly doing a good job. But to Theo’s surprise, the next words she said were, “If you want, we can accompany you.”

  “Now, why would you do that?”

  “We’re two humans on horses,” Freya said. “There’s strength in numbers, even when some are sick, and that makes five better than three.”

  “Not sure that one counts any more than my sick comrades,” the dwarf muttered, nodding at Theo. “And what are you going to do in Nebulon’s territory?”

  “We’re going to talk to the dragons about what’s making them attack the villages of Astoria,” Freya said.

  Bruni made a non-committal sound and then nodded at Theo. “You sure it’s smart bringing someone like him there? Looks like neither brains nor brawns, that one.”

  ”Hey,” Theo said, indignation turning his cheeks red.

  “Unfortunately, I have to bring him,” Freya said, and Theo didn’t doubt that those words were true. Freya would certainly have found this quest easier without Theo bogging her down.

  “Too bad,” Bruni said.

  “You know what, I just helped you,” Theo said, but Bruni and Freya both ignored him.

  “Let’s head to Silvershard, then, Master Dwarf,” Freya said. “Night is coming, and we wouldn’t want those wolves coming back.”

  “It’s just another few hours to the entrance,” Bruni said. He glanced between them with an uninterested look. “And I’m Bruni, not master dwarf.”

  He grabbed the reins of the pony and it began pulling the cart on which the other two dwarves rested.

  “Let’s go, then,” Bruni said, and they were off.