Xander nodded and left. Zalira asked Io a question and everyone got into their bedrolls, preparing to fall asleep while they chatted.
I didn’t think I’d have a nightmare. Instead I was worried that I would spend the night dreaming about what might have been between me and him if not for the world falling apart around us.
Thankfully, I had a dreamless sleep. When I got up I saw that I was the only one awake in our tent. I headed out to relieve myself. Dolion was on watch and so I went in the opposite direction.
You should tell Xander what happened with Dolion,a voice whispered inside me, but I immediately shook that feeling off. It would only create more chaos. Especially now that I knew my husband cared about me.
He was a jealous man and things would not end well.
I found a giant tree that hid me from view. After I finished I stood back up, rearranging my tunic. I saw that there was a red string tied tothe lowest branch of the tree. Rokh had mentioned that people often hunted in the mountains to catch the biggest game. Perhaps they had left themselves some kind of marker.
When I got back to the camp, Suri came up to me and pulled me over to a giant stone. She cupped her hands together and put them against the rock.
“The cave?” I guessed.
Yes.
Then she pressed her hand to her chest and closed her eyes.
“You feel where it is?”
Yes.
“Then I’ll tell Xander to let you lead,” I said, and she nodded.
Rokh was busy passing out clothing and shoes. They were in the Sasanian style—what he called “shirts” and “pants.” They were long, to our ankles and wrists, and would go under our tunics. And we each had a pair of boots to put on.
“The higher we climb, the colder it will get,” he told me by way of explanation. “We have a heavy cloak for everyone as well. If we need them.”
The terrain would be too hard for the horses, so we tied them to a tree, where Stephanos left them plenty of food and water. We would get them once we headed back to Troas.
When everyone was ready, the camp put away, and we had on our bags, I went over to Xander. I strangely felt a bit shy around him, which was ridiculous. “Suri says she can feel where the cave is.”
“Then we should let her guide us,” he said.
Luna suddenly appeared next to my feet. “You should stay here with the horses,” I said to her.
No.
“It’s supposed to be cold up there. Do aether dragons get cold?”
She gave me an imperious look.
No.
I pressed my lips together so that I wouldn’t laugh. I had apparently insulted her honor in some way. We set out and Luna made certain to trot alongside me. Like she was my own special guard dog. I wondered who she thought she could fight besides field mice.
There was a sort of trail leading up, but it was difficult. I was grateful for the training that we had all done because I couldn’t imagine how much harder it would have been without that. We were on a steep incline, and there were several times that we walked along ledges in the mountainside with a sheer drop on one side.
“Are you doing all right?” I asked Xander. I knew heights were his biggest fear.
“Fine,” he said, keeping his eyes on the ground.
“It’s high.”
“I’m very aware.”
His paying attention to his surroundings curbed any attempt to have a conversation. Not that we could have, with everyone around us. The things that he and I still needed to say—I thought those should be said in private.
