“Leave? And go where?” Andru asked.
“There’s someone out there trying to kill you!” Jayme motioned to the road that led from the fortress. “Now isn’t the best time.”
Vi looked down at them from Gormon’s back. Every moment she wasted was another moment she could be making headway to Lake Io. Another precious second that she could turn into finding information about her father before anyone else could reach her.
“You guys can come with me, or stay here. Andru can ride with me, Jayme behind Ellene on her noru. But I have to gonow.” She gripped Gormon’s sleek fur tighter, trying to make sure she wasn’t hurting the beast. They all stood, staring at her in shock. Vi let out a curse under her breath and jumped the fence.
“Wait!” Andru, of all of them, was the one to speak up. Vi didn’t know who looked more surprised by the fact—her or him. “I’m coming.”
“Well if he’s going, I am,” Ellene declared, quickly summoning her own noru.
“Jax told me to keep an eye on you, so it’s not like I have a choice!” Jayme mounted, somewhat awkwardly, behind Ellene. Though Vi only saw it for a moment. She was already turning forward, looking at the long road out of Soricum.
Down the road, past the burnt outer ring, turn hard south, and ride into the dawn. The map spun in her head, confirming the path forward as Vi sprung Gormon into motion.
* * *
“Can you hold me less tightly?” Vi finally asked, slowing Gormon from an all-out run. She would continue bounding through the jungle if his sides weren’t heaving. They’d made enough headway… she hoped.
“Is it over?” Andru slowly released his arms. Vi glanced over her shoulders to see his eyes slowly opening. “I feel sick.”
“Mother, of course you do. Don’t ride with your eyes closed on a noru.” She shook her head and looked forward again, setting Gormon into a good trot.
“I’ve never ridden one of these before,” Andru muttered as Ellene and Jayme came alongside them. Vi glanced over long enough to see Jayme’s face set in a scowl.
“Just what is going on?” she half-seethed, half demanded.
Vi took a deep breath, enjoying feeling her lungs fully expand without Andru’s death grip. She looked forward as she spoke, making sure they kept their headway. Not once had she checked the paper in her pocket.
“My father isn’t dead.” They may never believe her. But she needed their help now, more than ever, regardless of what they believed. They’d elected to come this far with her and she couldn’t let them turn back now and give away her plan.
“What?” Andru asked from behind her.
“Denial won’t help. I learned that with my own father,” Jayme lamented bitterly. “Denying the truth is only going to lead you down the path toward even more hardship later… Especially after this stunt.”
“It’s not denial.”
“Vi… Jayme’s right,” Ellene said softly. “Take your time processing, but pretending it isn’t real isn’t going to help.”
Where did Vi begin when it came to telling them the truth? How much truth could she tell them? After keeping her magic secret for so long, Vi wasn’t even sure if she knew the way to honesty.
“I have future sight, and have had a vision of my father on the Crescent Continent,” she said succinctly. Ripping off the bandage seemed like the most efficient approach.
“What?” Ellene gasped. Jayme was silent.
“There’s no record of you having future sight,” Andru said cautiously.
“Are you shocked that it would be kept off the record, given how the South feels about sorcerers?” Vi looked over her shoulder at him. He shook his head and glanced away. “More than that… it only just happened, the morning you arrived, actually.”
“Of your father?” Jayme asked slowly, no doubt piecing it all together.
“Not… that time.” Vi hadn’t given the vision with Taavin much thought since it first happened. There had been so much since to focus on. But now, knowing who he was, that he was on the Crescent Continent… She would find a way there. Her fathermustbe there. Unless Taavin would come to her… All the possibilities of future sight made her head hurt. “But I did see my father in a later vision.”
“What did you see?” Ellene whispered in awe.
“I saw my father, before the Queen of Mer—the Crescent Continent,” Vi corrected quickly. “Which means hemustmake it to the Crescent Continent. If I saw him there, he’s alive, he didn’t go down with his ship. He survived, somehow.”
Jayme and Ellene shared a long look with each other. It was as if they were having a silent conversation that ended in a debate of who would speak first.
