‘Fair enough.’ Will raised his glass in salute to her as he rocked back in his chair. ‘That you do not.’ Josie grabbed the glass from him, swapping it with a glass of water.
‘As much as I enjoy seeing you act like a fool, why don’t you try some of this for a while?’
Will eyed her warily. ‘Why are you being so nice to me?’
She had been furious when he last saw her; not that he could blame her. But now, Josie just looked weary.
Weary, because she’d likely been searching for Vi all day. ‘Any update?’ he asked gently, silently cursing himself. It should’ve been the first question out of his mouth.
‘No,’ Josie said heavily. ‘We have no leads.’
She sighed as she crossed her arms on the bar, her gaze serious as she regarded him. ‘And as for being nice to you … I know that if our roles were reversed, I would’ve been in that office too, especially given the threats that face us. And I know that regardless of what Aya said,youweren’t looking for reasons to push this match. You were looking for reasons not to.’
He felt his jaw shift under Josie’s watchful gaze.
‘I’ve seen the way you look at her, Will. And while I don’t condone what you did … I can understand your desperation. Both of yours. My uncle has not made this easy.’
Will kept silent as he sipped his water, and Josie took a swig from his beer, shuddering as she swallowed the lukewarm liquid.
‘I’m still furious at her,’ she continued. ‘And you, for that matter. I just don’t see a point in continuing to yell at you. We have bigger issues at hand right now. But I’ve told Aidon. He deserves to know.’
Will picked at a spot on the bar. ‘I expect no less.’ He raised his gaze to her, his head tilted as he considered her. ‘For what it’s worth … I would be proud to have you fight at my side.’
And he meant it. Josie would make an incredible warrior – already was one in his book, her uncle be damned. Josie stared at him for a moment, as if testing the statement for its truth. Her shoulders relaxed slightly at whatever she found there.
‘You know, it was my mother who taught me how to fight,’she admitted. ‘Aidon was always allowed to train with the forces as a child. I used to throw the biggest tantrums about it. So one night she came to my room and made me swear I wouldn’t tell my uncle where we were going. She brought me to an old, abandoned paddock past the training complex. That was the first night I ever lifted a sword.’
Will knew exactly the paddock she spoke of. He swallowed, his gaze fixed on his water glass. ‘I’m not surprised,’ he confessed. Zuri always had that mischievous glint in her eyes. He could just see her leading her daughter into the night to train.
Josie blew out a breath. ‘Some good it’s done me,’ she sighed. ‘I can’t even protect those that matter to me.’
Will nudged her with his elbow. ‘We’ll find her,’ he promised. He knew she had no reason to trust him – not after what they had done. Knew that was why she didn’t respond.
But he said it again anyway. Because despite her anger at him, Josie was his friend. And he wanted to mean it.
‘We’ll find her.’
60
Aya didn’t stop until she reached the Agaré rainforest, and even then she felt as if she could’ve ridden straight through the night. But they’d been riding all day, and the stallion she’d stolen from a stable on the outskirts of town – Fihr was what the nameplate on the stall read – needed rest. His broad chest was heaving after the steady run that’d taken them through the farmland to the rolling hills and curves of the highlands, and finally to the dense trees that marked the border of the rainforest.
The Agaré had a muted sound to it, and while she could make out the hum of the animals that lived here, it was muffled by the damp and heavy air.
She’d managed to find a small cave to curl up in; a collection of large boulders really, just large enough to shield her and Fihr from the beasts that roamed at night. And though she hadn’t slept in over a day, though her eyes were heavy and her thoughts muddled, rest evaded her still. Every time her head drooped, the hiss of a snake or the chilled and distant laughter of a forest sprite would have it snapping back up, her hand clenching her knife as her eyes scanned the darkness.
Fihr pranced nervously in place, his dark eyes tracing the black forest. He hated it here. The endless darkness, the wet ground, the constant hum ofsomethinglurking just beyond; his fear was enough that Aya had to grit her teeth against her fraying nerves.
If Natali was to be believed, they had another day in theforest before they reached the Blood-Red Mountains, and then another half day to cross through the mountain pass and enter the desert. She’d need to be alert: Natali had warned of the Agaré’s distractions: the sprites who could lure you in with the comfort of a fire, the berries that looked succulent enough to eat but were poisonous to the touch.
She needed to rest.
But Aya didn’t want to know what would visit her tonight in her dreams. If the raven-haired healer would be back with another prodding question as to where her gods were in this mess.
Yet as sleep finally tugged her into its depths, she knew it wasn’t the healer she was trying to avoid. It was Will and his look of crushing disappointment she couldn’t escape whenever she shut her eyes.
61
‘I suppose Aya’s too busy with the Saj to assist in the search?’
