“Am I dashing?” He peeks an eye open.
Of course he isn’t sleeping.
I pack up my journal and pencils, wrapping them in cloth and securing them within my satchel.
“Breakfast?” I ask, not sure why I bother at all, already knowing what the answer will be.
He shakes his head. “We eat as we travel.” He wraps his cloak around his shoulders and grabs his staff, then strides toward his white gelding. “There will be an inn tonight.”
After five nights straight wrapped in my cloak, the thought of warm food and a decent bed gets me moving. A low whine escapes me as I stretch my aching limbs, stiff from days of travel. “Let’s get moving, then.”
IT’S DARK BY THE TIME Ero brings his horse to a halt. The clearing gives way to thousands of soul stars, and Ero stares at them for a long time, every so often lifting his staff to draw imaginary lines between them. At least, that’s what he appears to be doing.
Although it’s night, the sky is a welcome sight. The majority of Kabar has been covered in woodland thus far, with trees that have trunks three times the width of my arms, reaching heights that even in the midst of the day manage to cast shadows over the sunlight.
Ero mutters something to himself, then dismounts with surprising grace for a man his age. He turns toward me. “We should ensure our appearanceis presentable before entering,” he says as he walks the narrow path down to a creek. “Kabar adheres to rigid standards, and we should aim to avoid causing offense.” He gives me a pointed look.
The old man seems to think that’s my specialty, and perhaps he’s right. I know too little about the cultures of Rea to have the slightest idea if I’m offending anyone or not.
Reaching into his saddlebag, Ero pulls out two silk robes.One is a dusty-pink-rose color, while the other is a deep, dark midnight blue.
Like Aster’s hair.The thought makes my deceitful heart flutter.Do you have a death wish, Laïna? He is only too happy to kill you, but please, why don’t you bed him first?
I nearly roll my eyes at myself. Even if he weren’t out to kill me and consume my soul, he’s still a god.A god.But Nana wasn’t a goddess—
No. I’m not going there. I shake him out of my head. I’ve been too exhausted to dream anything at all since I left Caelen, and I’m happy for it. My life is complicated enough, and I need my sleep if I’m to make it out of this alive.
“Can humans bond?” I find myself asking as I hold the pink silk robe up in front of me, carefully examining it. “Be a part of an anamè?”
Ero tilts his head in that way that reminds me of a bird. “Are you asking if you can bond?”
I shrug, keeping my gaze fixed on the robe. It is wide and comes with a hood adorned with an exquisite sheer veil fastened with elegant gold clasps. At the top of the hood is another gold clasp with five forks, which I presume secures the hood in place by attaching to your hair.
“I would assume as much,” he says. “The real question is, Would you want to?” Without waiting for a reply, he resumes cleaning himself up with the water from the creek.
Would I? A knot of anxiety forms in my chest at the thought of being tied down for life. Probably not. Shoving the feeling aside, I foldthe robe carefully and set it on a nearby rock before splashing handfuls of cold water onto my face.
Hands and face clean, I brush the dirt off my worn travel clothes. Discarding the tunic, I keep the dark leggings and corset and slip into the silk robe. It drapes elegantly at my feet, its side slits designed for comfortable riding. Its wide sleeves envelop my arms, revealing only my fingertips when my arms hang by my sides.
“Here, let me help you.” Ero secures the comb at the top of my head so that only the front part of my braided hair is exposed. Then he fastens the golden clasps of the sheer veil on each side, covering the bottom half of my face.
“Keep your ears covered and your veil on at all times,” he warns. “In Kabar, being human is a death sentence.”
I blink at him. “And you’re only telling me thisnow?”
“Yes. Now is when you need to know.”
Right. I wonder what else he’s not telling me. My fingers run across the smooth silk. The veil reminds me a little too much of what I wore as a property in Bronich, but at least the outfit is colorful.And you are free. That makes all the difference. As free as one can be when running for their life, anyway.
I turn toward Ero. Instead of his customary topknot, his hair hangs loose down his back, secured only by a thin braided leather strap around his forehead. His robe is almost identical to mine, with the exception of the veil and that mine is tied at the waist with a thick gold ribbon.
He lifts his hood. “Are you ready?”
I smile at him through the sheer veil. “I think so. How do I look?”
He nods with satisfaction. “As you should.”
I assume that to be a good thing.
