Octavia knew of the magic-blocking metal. It was mined in the northern part of the Empire. Prohiberis was expensive and not easily located, but due to its ability to block everyone from their powers, including vampires and elves, it was highly sought after.
How did the werewolves have so much of it?
It was a pertinent question, but she would have to leave it for later because there was too much at hand right now.
“Gods damn it,” Flynn swore.
The little girl gasped. “Oh, you said a bad word!” Her voice got louder, and she shook her head. “Daddy is going to be so mad at you. We don’t say those kinds of words here.”
A look of absolute indignation crossed Flynn’s face, and Octavia stifled a giggle. Not so funny now, was he?
Luckily, Octavia knew how to talk with children. Often, they had been the only ones in Firefall who paid attention to her.
She crouched, keeping her bag in front of her, and smiled. “What’s your name?” she asked, pressing her hand against the bars.
The child grinned at Octavia and walked towards her cage. “My name’s Katiana, but most people call me Tia.”
Tia’s voice was soft and sweet, innocent even. Far different from the werewolves they’d encountered in the woods.
Octavia smiled. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Tia. My name is Octavia, and that grump over here is Flynn.”
Tia waved, and a giggle slipped from her lips. Even Flynn cracked a smile at that. That was unsurprising. Who could stay angry when they were presented with such a display of cuteness? That was how children survived. They could be a lot, as Octavia had discovered many times when she looked after the village younglings, but every time she thought that she would never want to spend another moment with one of the little scoundrels, they smiled or did something sweet, and that she was right back to where she’d been before.
One day, she hoped to have her own.
“Why are you in the cages kept for the wolves who can’t control their shift?” Tia asked.
Tucking that nugget of knowledge away for later, Octavia sighed, “Flynn and I don’t know. We woke up here.”
“Oh.” The youngling frowned. “That’s not good.”
No, it definitely wasn’t.
“It’s my fault,” Flynn said, sounding contrite. That was new, and Octavia wasn’t sure how she felt about that. “I hadn’t realized we crossed into your pack lands.”
Tia frowned and studied the two of them. “So, this was a mistake.”
“Yes, an unfortunate one.” Flynn caught Octavia’s gaze and held it. His voice lowered, and a deep emotion flickered in his eyes. “Lady Octavia didn’t know where we were. I led us here.”
Octavia’s brows furrowed. There was a softness in Flynn’s voice that she hadn’t heard before. Something within her twisted. She wasn’t immune to apologies, and right now, it sounded like Flynn was trying to do exactly that.
“A lady!” Tia gasped. “Oh, my gods. I’ve never met a lady before.” The child did a funny hop-dance as she darted away from the cage. “I’m going to tell Daddy he must be nice to you. A lady!”
Before Octavia could correct the child for her mistake, Tia was running away. The door opened, giving a momentary glimpse of brilliant, unmuted sunshine before it banged shut.
They were alone agone.
Octavia turned back to the witch. “Why do you keep calling me that? I told you, I’m not a lady.”
There weren’t many lords and ladies in the Rose Empire who ventured away from the capitol. Octavia had never met one before. It was rare for the upper classes to lower themselves enough to visit the dragon shifters’ isolated villages.
A lazy grin swept over Flynn’s face. His discomfort of not having his magic seemed to be far away now. “Maybe I just like the way your eyes light up when I call you that.”
A growl rumbled through Octavia. “I’m finding the more time we spend together, the less I like you.”
The witch with the obnoxious good looks rocked back on his heels. “Do you want to know what I think?”
“Nope, but I bet you’re going to tell me anyway.” He was irritating like that. In fact, Octavia had never met anyone who irritated her more than Flynn.