Red Hood's Revenge

cheeks, but she swallowed the rest.
    “Will she be all right?” Talia whispered.
    “She’s alive.” Snow rested a hand on Faziya’s chest. “Her heart is beating awfully fast, and her breathing is shallow. She needs rest, time for her body to replenish the blood it lost.”
    “But she’ll live.”
    “Maybe.” Snow didn’t look at her. “She’ll need to be watched closely tonight. Move her into the cave and keep her warm. Try to keep her on her side, with the wound above the heart.”
    Talia slipped her arms beneath Faziya’s body and lifted. Faziya groaned and nested her head against Talia’s chest.
    “Thank you,” Talia whispered. Only then did she see all of the blood soaking the sand. Faziya’s blood. Snow’s clothes were covered in it, as were Talia’s own. She steeled her voice. “The smell will carry. Anyone looking for us—”
    “You think I didn’t plan for this?” Snow clapped her hands, and blue fire leaped from her mirrors, filling the circle. There was no smoke and little heat, but when the fire died a moment later, the blood was gone. Only blackened earth remained.
    Snow retrieved her mirrors and kicked dirt over the circle. “I’d do the same for us, but it wouldn’t be healthy,” she said. “You’ll have to clean yourself the old-fashioned way.”
    “If we cover the cave mouth, it should help to block the scent,” Roudette suggested.
    Danielle had retrieved a blanket from their supplies. She wrapped it around Faziya, draping the ends over Talia’s shoulders. “Will you need help getting her inside?”
    Talia nodded gratefully. With Danielle’s help, they finished bundling Faziya into the blanket. Talia laid Faziya on her side, then crawled into the cave. She reached out to take Faziya’s head and arm, being careful not to disturb her injury. Danielle lifted Faziya’s feet, and together they brought her inside.
    Talia lay down behind Faziya, their bodies curled together.
    Faziya shivered. Her skin was so cold. “Talia?”
    “I’m here.” Talia reached around, taking Faziya’s hand.
    Faziya mumbled something incomprehensible and drifted off. Talia closed her eyes, ignoring the muted conversation outside the cave as she listened to Faziya’s breathing. Ever so gently, Talia kissed the back of Faziya’s head. “You’re safe.”

    Danielle woke to blackness. She sat up so quickly her head struck the top of the cave, a rather forceful reminder of where she was. Her vision flashed white, and she lay back, groaning and clutching her head.
    “I’ll try to remember to steal a helmet for you next time,” Talia said softly.
    Danielle wiped tears from her eyes. She could feel blood on her scalp, and there would be a lump, but she didn’t think she had done any permanent damage.
    There was no way to tell how long she had slept. With the blanket stretched over the mouth of the cave, she might as well have been blind. Over Roudette’s snores, Danielle could hear the howling that had awakened her, the cries stretching longer than those of any mortal hound. “The Wild Hunt?”
    “They’ve been riding for a while now,” Talia said. “So far, Roudette’s cape seems to be working.”
    “Faziya?” Danielle asked.
    “She’s woken up twice,” Talia said. “She drank a little more water the second time. I don’t think she understands where she is or what’s happened.”
    “Should we wake Snow?”
    “I already have. Four times.” Talia sounded faintly embarrassed. “Snow says the best thing for Faziya is rest. We checked the bandages, and there’s not much bleeding, which is a good sign.”
    “I’m glad.” Danielle lay quietly for a while, uncertain whether to ask her next question. But the others were asleep, and there had been so few chances to talk privately with Talia. “What about Snow?”
    “What about her?” The wariness of Talia’s response suggested she knew perfectly well what Danielle was asking.
    “I know how you feel about her.”
    “Whatever I might feel, Snow doesn’t,” Talia said curtly. “Her . . . preferences aren’t likely to change.”
    “Talia—”
    “Don’t.” Talia sighed. “You think because I love Snow I’m incapable of loving anyone else?”
    Danielle’s face grew warm. “That’s not it at all. I’m sorry, I meant—”
    “You grew up locked in an attic, then married a prince. It’s not your fault you have a simpler view of these things.”
    Slowly, Danielle smiled. “So you do love Faziya.”
    “I