Kingdom of Ash

then through the slight gap between Narene,
Asterin’s sky-blue mare, and Abraxos. He
nodded toward where Vesta stood on watch,
and the red-haired witch, despite the brutal
cold, threw a wicked smile his way before he
rounded the corner of the rocky overhang and
disappeared beyond view.
He’d picked her watch for a reason. There
were some amongst the Thirteen who never
smiled at all. Lin, who still seemed like she
was debating carving him up to examine his
insides; and Imogen, who kept to herself and
didn’t smile at anyone. Thea and Kaya usually
reserved their smiles for each other, and when
Faline and Fallon—the green-eyed demon
twins, as the others called them—smiled, it
meant hell was about to break loose.
All of them might have been suspicious if
he vanished for too long. But Vesta, who
shamelessly flirted with him—she’d let him