Chapter 5
Vera
Vera draped the head scarf Jaadah had packed for her over her hair, letting the rest of the lightweight material flow down her back and around her shoulders. It would protect her from the Mortisian sun, and it also served to disguise her unique blonde hair from curious eyes. Venn’s half-Zennorian heritage drew a few looks, but no one approached them as they left the Black Scorpion.
Bennick and the others had gone the night before, leaving them with one horse. The request had been Venn’s. “We’re traveling as refugees,” he’d reasoned. “Two horses could raise questions. Besides, we don’t want to draw the attention of any thieves.”
Vera had nodded, but her skin heated at the thought of sharing a horse with Venn. It would put them close.
Very close.
Venn estimated it would take them about a week to reach Duvan. Vera knew speed was important, because they needed to inform Serene about the Rose’s escape, as well as warn of the enemy in the palace. But none of those reasons were the cause for her urgent need to leave this horrid city behind.
Salim was dead, but that hadn’t stopped her nightmares last night. Probably in part because Tariq had escaped. He’d been one of the few men Salim had addressed by name in Bennick and Wilf’s presence, so they knew he hadn’t been accounted for among the dead.
Even as she and Venn rode up to Krid’s gate, she could have sworn eyes were on her. She was riding in front of Venn, his strong arms a shelter around her as he gripped the reins. Still, the back of her neck prickled.
She peered into the crowd, but didn’t spot anyone she knew. No malicious looks. Just Mortisians going about their business or waiting their turn to go through the gate.
Tariq was not here, watching for her. He surely had larger problems than a grudge against her; his employer was dead, and so were many of his friends. He was probably searching for a hole to crawl into, or perhaps he’d even be trying to take over Salim’s mercenaries.
He wouldn’t be seeking her out. She was being paranoid.
Venn’s head lowered beside hers. “Is everything all right?”
She forced herself to stop searching the crowd. “Yes.”
He didn’t press, and they passed through the gate without incident. Though the crowds on the road were just as thick as inside the city, Vera breathed easier outside the restrictive walls.
Unlike Devendra, which was mostly fields, mountains, and valleys, Mortise had many varied landscapes. The northeastern border—near Serai Nadir’s estate—was heavily forested, with thick and lush grasses. The center of the country was more of a desert, and they were seeing some evidence of that now. The scattered bushes were scraggly beside the road, and there were few clusters of trees. The ground was rocky, and the dirt was a lighter color than any she’d seen in Devendra. To the north, mountains towered, and to the south, lower, rounder hills dominated the horizon.
Because of their horse, they outpaced the people who walked along the road, as well as merchant carts and supply wagons. But even though the crowds eventually thinned, it seemed there was always someone in view.
“Devendra isn’t so crowded,” she noted.
“Mortise has a larger population,” Venn said. “They’ve also been more open in their trade agreements than Devendra, so there’s more activity on the roads. Especially around Krid, since it’s an important crossroads.”
Vera knew a little of what he said. While Devendra had mostly done trade with Zennor over the past several years, Mortise didn’t require formal alliances to make profits. They traded with Ryden, Zennor, and—even when Newlan had deemed it illegal—some Devendrans. Part of the betrothal negotiations between Desfan and Serene had been to open better trade channels with Mortise, so Vera assumed Devendra’s roads would become busier soon enough.
“It hardly makes sense,” she mused aloud.
“What?” Venn asked.
“You would think people would be excited for the alliance. The nobles and merchants will become richer, and the farmers and tradesmen will have a larger market for their goods.”
“True. But greed isn’t the only factor.” He shifted in the saddle, and when his hard chest brushed against her back, her skin heated. Venn seemed unaffected as he continued to speak. “There are layers of hatred to overcome, and a multitude of grudges. Even if some Devendrans see the alliance as a way to grow rich, there are many more who only see the graves of their fallen loved ones.”
The border skirmishes had taken place during Vera’s childhood, so she didn’t feel the brunt of them like others might. And she’d lived in Iden, so she hadn’t lost any family or friends to the fighting.
Her fingers tightened on the pommel in front of her. “Do you think the peace is doomed to fail?”
“No. It won’t be easy, but it will happen. There are enough people on both sides who will fight for it.”
Fight for it.
The words resonated inside her, lingering long after their conversation faded.
Vera had always been quiet, even as a child. Words didn’t come easily, and even after she practiced them in her mind, they didn’t always come out right. And whenever she said something foolish, she remembered it for weeks. Sometimes years.
