She ignored the statement and the feelings engendered by the kiss, deciding to wait until she could safely take them out and examine them further. She didn't know how she felt about either, but now wasn't the time to delve.
The fox leapt from the mist, seeming to glide in midair. Eva caught him, her arms full of fur and tails as he licked her chin in happiness. She got a flash of contentment and the warmth of a bonfire before he wiggled free, hopping over to Caden and subjecting the man to the same enthusiastic greeting.
A head poked out of the back of the wagon. "Allo out there."
"We're here," Eva called in relief.
With the mist you never knew what you'd get. She might have grabbed hold of the wagon only to find its occupants gone.
"Is that Eva?" Ollie shouted from inside.
"It is."
"Lass, tell me you didn't dive headfirst into this soup without the aid of a pathfinder," Ollie said.
Eva winced. He wasn't going to like the answer.
"That's exactly what she did," Caden returned with a smirk. It seemed he wasn't going to let this go.
"Wait until I tell Hardwick. He is not going to be pleased to hear this," Olli muttered.
"We could always keep it to ourselves," Eva offered.
There was a snort. "Not bloody likely."
Ah, well, she'd tried, and maybe Ollie's memory would be blunted by the time they met up with the main body. That, or maybe they wouldn't make it out at all. Eva wasn't sure which she'd prefer more, considering the sharp edge of the herd master's tongue.
"No pathfinder?" someone asked in a hushed voice. "What were they thinking? How are we going to survive now?"
"Stop relying on them for everything," Ollie barked. "We're Trateri. We adapt; we evolve. We don't give in."
Eva glanced at the wagon’s front where the horses shifted impatiently, their ears flicking. They didn't seem too distressed. What was more concerning was the fact there was no one in the driver's seat, as if those sitting there had never been—or had abandoned it as soon as the mist descended.
"Where did they go?" Eva asked softly.
Caden's hand slid down to grasp hers, his expression grim when she glanced up at him.
Their thoughts echoed one another's, both thinking the same thing. The drivers should have been there. Connected to the wagon, they would have traveled with it to wherever the mist took them. It's why the occupants inside it were still present.
That they weren't meant either they had abandoned the driver's seat—for what asinine purpose, Eva didn't know—or they'd been taken by something in the mist.
Caden's hand dropped to the sword at his waist.
Eva watched the fox sprawl in front of Caden along the horse's neck, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted.
"I don't think there's anything out there for us to worry about," Eva said slowly.
At least, not anymore, if the fox was anything to judge by. The horses too, were calm and relaxed.
She glanced back at the driver's seat. No blood that she could see to point to a violent end, but why would they leave voluntarily? There was safety in numbers.
"Let's check on the rest," Caden said, noticing the same thing.
Eva nodded. Good idea.
They worked their way to the back of the wagon. Several Trateri peered at them, a couple lifting onto their elbows to get a better vantage.
"Everyone alright in here?" Caden asked.
