She sounds so eager that it makes me smile, and an odd wave of emotion overwhelms my heart. It’s like homesickness wrapped up in the sudden warmth of acceptance. I have to clear my throat so it doesn’t come out in my voice. “Yes. Good morning.”
This launches a round of new words that they want to know—most of whichIdon’t know, but we do our best to puzzle it out. Their Emberish accents are so rough-edged, but I don’t care. I’m sure mine is no better. The knot of tension in my belly begins to unwind.
And maybe their easygoing presence helps, because the cruel glances and raucous laughter eventually fades away, as if acceptance by a few has a ripple effect among the rest of the group.
Eventually our travel party reaches a large clearing with a wide stream, and our language lesson has to end in favor of tethering the horses and finding some food.
“Mele,” Molly says, bumping me with her hip, and I smile.
From across the clearing, Trapp and Fowler see it, but this time they just turn away. There’s no laughter, and I don’t see Niall.
Good.Maybe I didn’t have to worry about him at all.
I draw my bow across my chest and slip my crutches under my arms, then find Sephran beside me again, tethering his horse right next to me.
He glances across the clearing significantly, then looks back at me. His eyes hold mine, and he smiles. “Tahlas?”
It’s so unexpected and so kind that it makes me blush. I can’t help smiling back. “Men tahlas.”
Very good.
CHAPTER 33
JAX
I might be lucky with a bow, but clearly tracking and hunting are different skills. The soldiers are well practiced in feeding themselves, however. Rabbits and geese are prepped and roasting over a fire before half the group has even finished tending the horses. Parcels of fruit and bread and cheese and wrapped pastries are pulled from a dozen saddle bags, too, and it’s so much food that I begin to think we didn’t need to hunt for anything at all.
While we eat, Sephran gets drawn into a nearby conversation, and other than knowing the soldiers are grousing about a commander and complaining about their patrol duties, I can’t follow much. I don’t mind, though, because no one bothers me, and Sephran hangs close. When a bottle of liquor is passed around our circle, the woman next to me hands it over as if I’m part of the group. I hand the bottle to Sephran without taking a sip.
Once the sun begins to set, I think we’ll head back to the castle, but the soldiers pull decks of cards and more liquor from the remaining saddlebags. Coins glint in the light as they start betting on games. Leoappears to have coaxed Molly into a game, because I hear her laugh lightly over the low conversations going on around the fires. A few of the soldiers have stripped down to their underclothes to swim, but it must be cold, because not many join them. One man gets thrown into the stream fully clothed, and I think it’s part of a fight—until he emerges, laughing, splashing a handful of water at one of the others.
I hang to the side, letting their lighthearted words float over me. But as night falls, easy moods shift into something darker. Sephran tries to draw me into a card game with some of the soldiers, but I shake my head and cling to the shadows. Maybe it’s my experience with a drunken father, or maybe I’ve spent too many days in the forge being a target, but I can’t relax.
When Niall sits down to join our circle, I’m glad I’m off to the side, because it’s probably too dark for him to see me. The scent of liquor is sharp on the air now, and I’ve heard the change in tone as games are lost and tempers rise. On the road with Prince Rhen, card games never got too spirited, but it’s clear that here, with no one on duty and no commanding officers to worry about, the soldiers aren’t as motivated to stay civil. I know better than anyone what happens when you combine a little bit of liquor and a little bit of anger.
Not for the first time, I wish Tycho were here.
As soon as I have the thought, shame curls into my belly. Tycho wouldn’t be afraid.
Then again, Tycho is a skilled warrior, and he’d have an arsenal of weapons strapped to his body. I’m a blacksmith with a bow and a pair of crutches.
And Tychoisn’there, because he was sent away. As usual.
The sudden bitterness takes me by surprise, and I force myself to look around at the soldiers. I’m fine. They’re fine.Thisis fine. Leo and Molly are sitting closer now, firelight flickering off their cheeks. Sephranglanced my way a few times, but it’s clear that the game has reached a point of intensity, because now he’s focused on the cards.
Someone shouts, and I flinch. It’s the group by the water, and this time, it’sdefinitelya fight—or at least the prelude to one. I don’t know what they’re arguing about, but I know the profanity. Two young men are on their feet, and one young woman. One of the men shoves the other, and they almost end up in the fire. Sparks flare up when they skitter away from the flames. For an instant, they have everyone’s attention, and someone near me mutters under his breath. A cool breeze swirls through the clearing, and I shiver, waiting to see if someone is going to throw a punch.
But the two men storm away from each other. The woman says something mockingly, and one of the men makes a rude gesture in her direction. But they all sit back down.
The tension in my chest goes nowhere.
While everyone is distracted, I slip my crutches under my arms and head for my horse.
I half expect someone to follow me, or at least to call after me, but it’s so dark that no one seems to notice. I’ve tethered my crutches and managed to climb aboard Teddy when I look back for Sephran again. The firelight bounces off his freckled cheeks as he studies his cards, watching his opponent for telling cues. He takes another drink from a bottle when someone passes it his way. It’s clear he hasn’t noticed I’m gone, and a tinge of guilt pulls at me. I don’t just want to disappear.
“Hey.” A man speaks from behind me. “Where are you going?”
I don’t recognize the voice, but the tone is cold, and my heart gives a lurch.
