517 A Good Fight
They had traveled together for three days. It was decided early on that bringing a car had more risk than benefit to their mission.
Axel ensured they had a tracker and instructed them to use the emergency signal immediately if they ran into trouble or needed help getting back out of Spring.
Much of their time was spent traveling through dangerous mountain passes and open fields that made the need to be on guard constant. Leaving little time for chat or pleasantries.
They all had loved ones that wanted to know they were all right.
Axel and Alice whispered on the phone each night, while Myka was continuously reminded to keep his voice down as he chatted happily with Peter.
Unfortunately, Ashleigh could not talk with Caleb much at all.
They had agreed to keep their connection guarded to avoid distractions. He was also making his way through dangerous terrain and out of reach. She spoke with him the morning she left Winter and the third afternoon. But their conversation was short, just enough time to reassure each other of their safety.
She knew he was safe; she could feel that much through their shared connection. But she wanted to hear his voice, feel the warmth of his soothing tone.
So, as she sat next to the fire pit, she couldn’t help but feel irritated by the laughter from Myka’s tent. She took a deep breath, trying to ignore it, but it just got louder.
On the third loud cackle, Ashleigh stood from her place by the fire with a huff.
“Myka!” she growled. “You need to keep your voice down!”
“Sorry,” he called out, followed almost immediately by a giggle.
Ashleigh felt another surge of annoyance and moved toward his tent, but suddenly she found herself standing directly before Alice.
Alice smiled and raised a hand to wave.
“Hello, fellow traveler,” she said brightly. “Is there something you need help with?”
Ashleigh let out a frustrated sigh.
“Myka doesn’t seem to understand that the louder he laughs, the easier it will be for one of the fae or the hybrids to find us.”
“Isn’t the fire equally as likely to do that,” Alice replied, maintaining her smile. “But I will ask Myka to keep it down, just for you.”
The last was said with a sickly-sweet note of condescension.
Ashleigh rolled her eyes at the mocking nature of Alice’s tone.
“It’s not just for me. It’s for all of us. I am just trying to keep us all safe.”
“Of course you are,” Alice replied with a tilt of her head. “It has nothing at all to do with the fact that you are worried about your hubby and upset that you haven’t been able to talk with him much since we left Winter.”
Ashleigh growled.
Alice growled in return, her eyes shining with delight rather than power.
“You make it too easy, Ashleigh,” she whispered.
“What?”
“To rile you up,” Alice replied.
Alice took a breath and then leaned down near the tent entrance.
“Myka, dearest, if you don’t keep it down, I will have to let Peter know that your loud voice could draw enemies directly to us,” she said in a sing-song voice. Just loud enough to be heard through the receiver.
“No, wait! She’s joking!” Myka cried out. “Peter!”
Alice stood up with a smile and looked at Ashleigh.
“Happy?” she asked.
Ashleigh rolled her eyes and turned away, returning to her place by the fire.
The flap of the tent flew open with force. Myka made his way out, huffing as he closed it up and looked at Alice with an angry pout.
“He hung up on me and won’t answer now,” he growled, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Guess you should have listened the first, second, or even third time you were asked to keep your voice down,” Alice shrugged.
“That’s mean!” Myka pouted. “I didn’t even get to say goodnight.”
“Then learn to adapt to your situation,” Alice said, moving to sit at one of the logs they had dragged over as seating around the fire. “Ashleigh made us this nifty little fire hole. Two holes were dug into the ground, with a small tunnel connecting them, and the fire set inside the larger hole. Why?”
Myka took an annoyed breath and dropped his arms, moving to sit on another small log beside her.
“Placing the fire below ground level makes it much harder to spot from a distance. Giving us the fire we need to cook and stay warm but avoiding unwanted attention.”
“So, you do have basic survival skills,” Alice grinned.
Myka rolled his eyes and reached for his water bottle beside his log.
Ashleigh furrowed her brows and looked up at Alice.
“You said the fire was likely to attract attention,” she commented. “But you already knew why I put it in the ground?”
Alice tilted her head and raised an eyebrow as she looked at Ashleigh.
“The things I know compared to you… well, I don’t think there is a good comparison for just how large the gap is.”
Ashleigh growled and turned her attention back to the pot of stew.
“Food will be ready in a few minutes,” she sighed, standing up. “I’ll get the bowls from my pack.”
Ashleigh walked away, trying to shake off her growing irritation toward Alice. After taking a few deep breaths, she found the bowls in her bag before returning to the fire. As she approached from behind Myka’s tent, she caught pieces of a conversation she was unaware of.
“So…” Myka said. “What did the Winter princess do?”
“Has spending a few weeks in Winter already domesticated you, Myka? Did you forget how to make a fire?”
“Oh, shut up,” he chuckled. “You know that’s not what I mean. You seem to be coming at her stronger than your usual style.”
pA(nD)A no ve1 “Just playing my role,” Alice shrugged.
“Ah,” Myka said, “and which role is that?”
“The troublemaker, of course,” she said with a smile in her voice. “Sneaky and agitating, always looking for a way to drive Ashleigh crazy.”
From a few feet away, Ashleigh clenched her jaw.
“And why exactly would you want to play that role while we are trying to complete a mission that requires we work together?” Myka asked. “Seems a little risky.”
Alice let out a soft chuckle.
“What do you think poses the greatest risk to the success of this mission? Ashleigh finds me irritating and as disagreeable as she has always assumed I am. Or you lose trust in Ashleigh to keep you safe during the mission?”
Ashleigh felt a tightness in her chest. Was Alice trying to make him doubt her?
“Wait, why would I lose trust in Ashleigh?” Myka asked. “From everything you and Peter have said, she’s one of the best….”
“She is,” Alice agreed immediately.
Ashleigh furrowed her brows, unsure of what was going on.
“But,” Alice continued. “If she were to get annoyed with you and find a way to make you feel small through her words… maybe by mentioning Peter and how you abandoned him.”
Myka looked away, instantly affected by Alice’s hypothesized situation.
“Do you think you could blindly trust her to take care of you after that?” Alice asked.
“Probably not,” he sighed.
“And that is why I am bugging her,” Alice replied with a smile. “So, all the irritation she feels over this and that, and all the other things she can’t control, are directed at me and not you.”
“Ok,” Myka chuckled. “I sort of get it. But won’t she be affected by the whole not trusting you part of it?”
“Not at all,” Alice replied with confidence. “Ashleigh would never let the mission be affected by her discomfort.”
Ashleigh straightened her back, surprised and slightly pleased by Alice’s words.
“Besides, she has never trusted me. It’s one of the reasons this plan works so well and why she’s still listening from behind your tent.”
Ashleigh closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose as the embarrassment and irritation rolled over her. Then, finally, she cleared her throat and walked toward the fire, not bothering to look at them until she sat down on her log.
When she lifted her eyes, Myka had the decency to look uncomfortable and a little leery of the situation. But Alice just smiled brightly over the fire’s soft glow.
Ashleigh leaned forward and lifted the lid of the stew pot. She served them each a bowl without saying a word.
As they sat quietly, Myka blew on his stew, his eyes darting back and forth between the two women. Ashleigh clenched her jaw as she blew on her stew and avoided looking at either of them. Meanwhile, Alice smiled as she alternated stirring and blowing her food to cool it down.
After a few awkward moments of silence, Ashleigh took a deep breath and looked at Myka.
“I hope you don’t just believe her,” she said defensively. “I wouldn’t just say something like that to you… about Peter, I mean.”
Myka’s eyes widened, and he glanced at Alice before looking back at Ashleigh and nodding with a half-smile.
“I wouldn’t,” she insisted.
“She’s right,” Alice said, nodding and looking at Myka halfheartedly. “She’s more likely to assume that since you are a nomad, you probably have no sense of loyalty or moral convictions. In fact, she might just assume you’re a rogue.”
Myka swallowed and looked down at his bowl, not because he was hurt or bothered by what Alice suggested. Though, truth be told, if Ashleigh had made the comment, he would have been.
No, Myka looked down because he could feel Alice was ready to push Ashleigh hard, and he wanted no part in it.
“I am suddenly very full,” he said, setting down his bowl and moving toward his tent.
Ashleigh clenched her jaw; she looked up at Alice with frustration and anger swirling around her chest.
“What is your problem!” she growled. “I have done nothing to you! I haven’t said anything. I haven’t acted out! Nothing!”
“Yes, but why not?” Alice asked, looking over her bowl at Ashleigh.
Ashleigh let out a frustrated sigh.
“You want me to be mad at you?” she asked.
“I want you to let out your frustration,” Alice replied. “To let go of the things you cling so tightly to that they choke you.”
Ashleigh took another deep breath. Who the hell did Alice she was?
“If you don’t, you’ll make a mistake. One you can’t afford.”
Ashleigh lifted her gaze to Alice.
“I thought you said I would never let the mission be affected by my discomfort,” Ashleigh commented.
“I did,” Alice replied. “And you won’t. But there is more to your life than the mission, Ashleigh.”
Ashleigh sighed.
“Just leave me alone, Alice.”
“Unlikely,” Alice replied.
“Why the hell not?” Ashleigh demanded.
“Because it chips away at his heart when you use him as the target for your anger, sadness, and pain,” Alice replied with a soft growl. “I think I told you before. Axel is what matters to me. Now, the only thing that matters to me.”
Ashleigh felt a terrible ache in her heart, remembering the pain in Axel’s voice as he told her the truth about what it had cost Alice to cure Myka.
“I understand pain,” Alice continued, an eerie smile spreading over her lips. “Deflection and reactive coping, they are good friends of mine. So lay your blame on me. Let me be the target of your frustrations. Because I, at least, will give you a good fight.”