He heaves a sigh and swings aboard, then turns his horse back toward the stables.
“Sephran,” I say, and my voice sounds a bit hollow.
He whirls so quickly that it makes me think he wouldn’t mind if I took it all back. But his eyes are still shadowed, and he looks at me warily.
“What?” he says.
“I not hate you.” I cluck to Teddy and urge him forward.
After a moment, Sephran falls into step beside me. This time, there’s a larger gap between us than there was before, and I know he’s doing it deliberately.
Some of the tension in my gut won’t go away, but a fraction of it eases.
“Still want to be friends?” he says.
My tongue stalls on an answer. Everything he said and did is still wound up in my thoughts, and it’s going to take a while to unravel it.
Especially since some of it—maybe a lot of it—has nothing to do with him at all.
So I don’t say anything, and we ride in silence for a while.
But I think about the way he put the cap back on that flask of liquor when I explained why I didn’t want any. I think about the way he brought me the bench when I so desperately needed it.
I think about the fact that he stopped the instant I said his name. He apologized. He explained.
I think about the fact that he has been here, while Tycho has not.
“Yes, Sephran,” I say, though I sigh. “I want.”
CHAPTER 38
JAX
It’s late by the time I put Teddy away and make my way back to the Shield House. I’m trying to unravel everything that happened with Sephran, and my thoughts won’t stop spinning with guilt and regret.
It doesn’t help that I’m exhausted. I’m sore and tired and I can’t wait to fall asleep, so I can hopefully forget everything that just happened.
Then an ice-cold breeze snaps through the trees. A voice finds my ears.
—Jax.
I stop short on the walkway. The voice doesn’t sound like avoice, and it’s so soft that I could be imagining it. But I’ve already pulled my bow over my head, and my eyes search the sky.
Another cold breeze finds my skin, swirling tendrils of hair around my face. I nock an arrow without thought.
—Lay your bow on the ground. I’ve brought word from Tycho.
My heart kicks hard in my chest, and my breathing stutters. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what todo. Is this real? Is this a trap?But why would one of them want to trap me? Since we came to Emberfall, they’ve always just wanted tokillme.
“Where are you?” I say.
Another cold wind, stronger this time, tugging at my clothes.
—I told you to lay your bow on the ground. I’ve seen you shoot.
“Yeah, and I’ve seen scravers tear people apart.” My breath clouds in the air as I speak, and I fight not to shiver. But my fingers tighten on the bow, and I don’t let any tension out of the string. I still have nightmares of what happened in the clearing. I can still hear Molly screaming. I keep the arrow nocked and turn in a circle, my eyes searching the trees, but it’s too dark.
Frost forms on the tip of my arrow, and my eyes widen. That voice takes on a tone of impatience.
