Sonah stopped and shook her head roughly. Lerek was silent as he watched her.
When she didn’t continue, he shifted and settled back against his saddle.
After a while, he asked, “How is she? I mean, how was she, when you last saw her?”
Sonah laughed darkly. “When I last saw her, she was screaming and shooting arrows at the Liodari when they carried me away.”
That was the truth, at least. To say more would mean she’d have to talk about Daris, and there was no way she was going there. That was Terena territory for sure.
“I’m glad you were together,” he said at length.
“Me too.”
“How did you all end up in Sparta? I tried to get to you before, when I knew Terena was there as well, but I was well guarded after my failed attempt to reach you.”
Sonah rubbed her eyes. Again, not something she wanted to get into.
“Terena saw the oracle in Messene. She told her to go to King Altos because he had something of hers.”
“You saw the oracle?”
“Not me. Just Terena.”
“How is that possible? The oracle only speaks to monarchs.”
Another subject she didn’t want to get into. If Lerek didn’t know Terena was a god, she was certainly not going to open that bag of turnips.
She responded with a shrug.
“What was it she had to get from Altos?”
“A pair of swords.”
“And then she left?”
Sonah opened her mouth to tell him no, she’d stayed behind while Terena had gone to Ibros and gotten the fangs from a mythical serpent, but that would lead to more questions, and she was tired.
“How ‘bout we get some sleep, and I tell you more tomorrow night?”
He was silent for so long, Sonah took that as assent and settled down on the ground, tugging her cloak to cover herself as best she could.
“I don’t know what happened to you these many months, Sonah. But you are not the same girl I knew at the palace.”
She didn’t know why, but Sonah felt the sting of tears and shut her eyes tight.
“No,” she whispered. “No, I am not.”
IBROS
They’d been traveling north for a week when they ran out of food. Sonah had not thought to bring anything to hunt with—she was no good with a bow, despite the hours Terena had spent teaching her.
All she had was a dagger.
And Lerek.
The situation was bleak.
Sighing, Sonah pulled her horse off the trail, and they walked until they found a stream. After watering the horses and filling up their waterskins, Sonah tasked Lerek with finding wood fora fire while she tried to fish. She’d tied her dagger to the end of a long branch and spent the next five minutes shivering in ankle-deep water, hoping to spear a fish for their dinner. When her attempts did nothing but soak her boots and pants, she screamed her frustration to the sky.
