Huntyr asked me to watch out for Rummy these first few days in Scarlata, and I was happy to oblige. But if I was honest, spending time with her was the most fun I’d had in as long as I could remember. She reminded me of what it felt like to relax, to let my guard down.
“Are you going to try?” I asked. “Or are you going to sit there while I make a fool of myself?”
The river in front of us roared as I threw another fish into our basket.Let’s go fishing, Rummy had said.It’ll be a fun way to take our mind off things.
I quickly realized that she had never been fishing a day in her life. And her idea of taking her mind off things meant watching me tromp around in the water while she sat on the rocks, basking in the sun.
I didn’t mind. If it made her happy, I’d stand in this freezing-cold river all day.
“Why would I try?” she answered between laughs. “You’re a natural! I’ll just slow you down.”
Her tanned skin glowed as she tilted her face to the sky and laughed again.
Okay, Rummy. I knelt down and splashed her.
When the icy liquid hit her, she squealed and jumped to her feet. “Hey! What was that for!”
Now it was my turn to laugh. “That’s for convincing me to bring you all the way out here so you could be entertained.”
Her smile grew. “Does that mean you’re having a bad time?”
I found myself taking a step toward where she stood on the riverbank. “No,” I answered honestly. “Not a bad time at all.”
The memory made my lungs constrict, tightening around my heart.
There were plenty of days just like that one, all of which I kept locked in the far recesses of my mind.
I was a damn fool to be tricked by her games then. I wouldn’t be tricked again.
“Pericius used to be home. It was safe. Protected. Now there are children starving. Elderly living without a roof over their heads. The people are terrified, and for what? So the new king can terrorize us and take whatever he pleases?” Matthias’s voice hardened toward the end, and as if she noticed too, Rummy ceased her questioning.
“We’re going to make those bastards pay,” Xavier said from the back of the group.
“I hope so,” Matthias replied. “Before it’s too late.”
We’d underestimated how cold the forest nights could be. We all had blankets, but they did little to combat the chilled air. Even with our small fire—which was a risk, since we now knew rogues were lingering in these woods, but a necessity—the cold sank into my bones.
The sight of Rummy huddled next to Xavier across from me made my stomach twist.
He’d told me many times that he would never cross the line with Rummy, but their nearness now still pissed me off like no other. Not because I wanted to huddle against Rummy for warmth, but because she was using another person for warmth at all.
I didn’t like it.
I didn’t likeher.
But at least she’d kept her eyes off Matthias. It was a miracle, really. Fresh meat usually didn’t last a damn day around Rummy.
The horses were tied up a few feet away, and after we ate, silence descended.
Silence and… something else. Aneeriesensation.
“Is this what it’s going to be like the whole way? Boring nights, sitting around a campfire?” Rummy asked, teeth chattering. “Because goddess above, I should’ve brought Soph along for entertainment.”
Xavier laughed, but I didn’t.
“Boring means we’re not fighting for our lives out here,” I reminded her. “Boring is the best possible scenario on a trip like this.”
“Ugh,” she groaned, burrowing farther into the blanket she had thrown over herself. “You are no fun.”
