The young princess who had sat around those firesides was lost on a beach between the Dark Isle and Meru. She was no longer that innocent, spoiled girl. Vi took a slow inhale of breath. The anger that ebbed and flowed within her had no direction, and would serve nothing. She had work to do; she had to let it go… But she didn’t know how.
“Vi…” Taavin murmured, face still pressed against her shoulder. He hadn’t even opened his long lashes yet. She shifted slightly, trying to get a better look at his face.
The man was calling for her in his sleep. But her movement seemed to rouse him from the remnants of dreamland.
“Did I disturb you?” she asked softly.
“No.” Taavin winced as he rubbed his sides. “I think I disturbed myself.” She neglected to mention that she’d been the one to lightly trail her fingers along his face. “It’s late.”
“Is it?”
“Given how stiff I am, I think so.”
“Good to know the stiffness isn’t just me.” Using the wall for support, Vi pushed herself upward. There wasn’t much room to stretch, but she made a good effort of it. “I’m going to wash my face and have a drink.”
“While you’re out, will you get me a garnet skullcap?”
“You’re not coming? Some fresh air would do you well.”
“You may be right… But no.” Taavin adjusted himself slightly. Vi didn’t miss the wince. “I think I shall linger here for a bit more. I’m not quite sure if it’s the best idea for me to be moving yet… The skullcap should help relieve the aches and soothe me back to sleep.”
“You slept a fair bit.” A frown crossed her lips. Could a person sleep too much? Vi suddenly wished she’d paid more attention to Ginger’s brief clerical lessons whenever Vi landed herself in trouble. Another thing she’d taken for granted.
“The more I rest, the faster we can be on the road.” He gave her what Vi could easily recognize as a brave smile in the face of great pain.
“Taavin, I’m worried—”
“Don’t worry about me, Vi. I’m elfin; we’re a hearty bunch and heal much faster than humans, even without any kind of clerical assistance.” Heal much faster thanher, he meant. Everything this morning served to remind her of their differences. “Garnet skullcap. Bright white flowers shaped like little bells. Deep crimson leaves—thin and slightly waxy.”
Vi quickly repeated the description back to him. “Got it.”
“Thank you, Vi.”
She gave a nod. “I’ll be back soon.”
Vi sucked in her stomach and squeezed through the narrow passage and out onto the rocky bed of the stream. Raising a hand to her eyes, Vi shielded them from the bright white light of morning, giving them a chance to adjust.
Motion startled her near instantly. Vi ducked quickly, raising her hand, her spark crackling around her fingers. She jerked her head toward a nearby tree where the projectile had landed.
No, wait, not a projectile… Sitting in the tree was a bird as big as her forearm with a long neck and oil-slick plumage. It almost looked wet with how the light shimmered off its long feathers. Every subtle breeze sent rainbows across its back and breast. From hooked beak to bright blue talons, Vi had never seen anything like it.
The strange looking bird regarded her for a long moment before taking off with an undignified chirp. Vi watched it take flight, the mere sight of a bird sending small shivers down her spine. She wondered if she would ever be able to see a winged creature again without thinking of Fallor.
Vi set off, trying to leave thoughts of the pirate behind her.
In the daylight, the trees were an eerie gray color. Not quite the shade of bleached bone, but brighter than the ashes of a fire pit, and a hue Vi had never seen among the giant sentries of the North. These trees were tall—dizzyingly so. But they were thin from root to canopy. So thin that Vi wondered how they didn’t topple over with the slightest of breezes that swayed their canopies.
The forest floor was covered with leaves and little else. There were no smaller shrubs, no fan-like fronds stretching out to block her path. She could see straight through all the trees like bars in a cage until the horizon blurred and it was hard to tell just where anything stopped and started.
That was the real reason she didn’t stray far from the stream.
Every tree of the forest looked identical. Sameness and more sameness. It was a forest she felt she could get lost in forever if she wasn’t careful.
“Red leaves,” she murmured to herself.
She’d been walking for the better part of an hour in search of the skullcap. Vi was about ready to give up when she finally found it. Taavin hadn’t specified what part of the plant he needed—and Vi knew all too well that not all parts of a plant were equal, at least not when it came to extracting medicinal properties. So she dug it out, roots and to delicate buds.
“I think I have it,” Vi announced as she squeezed back into their hiding place.
