I flinched.
Another snap. Closer this time. Slow, deliberate steps. Not a beast crashing through the underbrush, something that knewhow to stalk. Then a shape emerged from the brush, tall and cloaked in shadow.
I pressed against the tree, my breathing shallow.
Kairos stepped through, cradling berries and two freckled bird eggs. He crouched and set them down on a flat stone.
I lowered myself beside him, careful to keep space between us.
He cracked an egg and drank it, then held the next to my lips.
“Open.”
I glared at him. “It’s raw.”
Sighing, he cupped the egg in his hands. A faint glow lit in his palm. The shell darkened, and hairline cracks spread. Steam hissed.
He wascookingit.
The red light faded. He peeled the shell, revealing a perfectly hard-boiled egg. He gave it to me, and I gobbled it down before my attention drifted toward the berries. Dark and fat, nearly bursting.
“Eat,” he grunted.
I stared at the berries like they were bait in a trap. With stiff fingers, I fumbled one into my hand and shoved it into my mouth. Sweet juice burst over my tongue. I ate another, savoring the delicious taste.
Kairos watched.
“What?” I snapped.
“Just making sure you don’t choke.”
Insufferable brute.
My hands dropped to my skirt. I tried to scrub the sludge off, but it only smeared.
“This used to be my best dress. Pearls, embroidery. Rheya said I looked like a heroine in a ballad. Now it’s a rag.”
He glanced at the torn hem. “Be glad you’re not a heroine in a ballad. They always die in the end.”
Heat crept up my neck. “Where are you taking me?”
“To my town, where I’ll reunite with my sister.”
My shoulders eased slightly.Sister. Did he love her the way I loved mine? Maybe that was the only thing we had in common, and maybe it was the only reason I wasn’t dead.
“I need to get home,” he growled. “Vaeris will raze every village until I’m found. They’ll hunt for you as well.”
I sighed. “I wonder what he’s doing.”
“Licking his wounds and crafting a speech to win over the court.”
Unease stabbed through me. Vaeriswouldpaint himself as the savior of a shattered realm. He’d mourn the loss of his father with the appropriate amount of tears, all while consolidating his power.
What about Rheya?
The bargain I’d forced on Vaeris would keep her safe. But could he find a loophole to free himself? He was clever. If anyone could manipulate a deal, it was him.
Rheya will be alright. He won’t hurt her.
