He folded his map and stood. “Let’s start with every day. How about that?”
The man’s smugness infuriated her. Orelia finished her breakfast, then slipped behind a cluster of trees and changed into a long sleeve shirt and skirt, vowing to be more careful so today’s outfit wouldn’t get ruined.
When she emerged, Vade had just finished buckling his weapons belt around his waist. He sent a wave of shadow over the campfire,and the darkness hovered for a few seconds, seeming to choke out the flames. When he lifted both arms, the ward trembled before leisurely seeping into his fingertips and disappearing.
Sound returned to her ears in a fury—birds, insects, branches rustling in the wind. She pressed a shoulder to her ear. It hurt to listen to them.
“Let’s go,” Vade said, slinging his pack over his shoulder.
She followed him, fingers wrapped around the straps of her pack, steps light as her excitement grew. Thankfully, the forest was mostly flat, with only the occasional fallen tree they’d have to step over. The lush grass provided a soft footing as they made their way northwest, and Orelia spent the first part of their trek wondering what Dallton was like. She envisioned its people and its architecture, while anticipating the joy of a new place. But she could only use her imagination in silence for so long.
“If you travel all over Nivinia why don’t you ride a horse?” she called out. “Or do you fly?” She shrank a little, realizing if he did fly, he couldn’t now because she was tagging along.
“Flying isn’t discreet,” he said, facing forward so she had to strain to hear him.
Orelia hiked up her skirt so it wouldn’t catch on the vines curling across the ground. “Then why don’t you ride a horse? Surely you could cover more ground much faster.”
He didn’t respond for a few seconds, then said, “Because I don’t.”
Another non-answer.
“Can you explain how you got a sorcerer to make those weapons and that stone for you?” Orelia asked. Genuinely curious, but also to make conversation.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I said no.”
She caught his hands balling into fists but disregarded the motion. “Do you only use them to kill the people that appear on the stone?”Was being struck by a seidr weapon different from other kinds? Why were they lighter than steel ones?
Vade tilted his head and scanned the woods, taking way too long to respond.
“I’m not going to stop asking until you tell me.” Orelia was not about to be quiet the entire way to Dallton.
He growled, and though she sensed not to press, she did anyway. He would have to get over her asking questions.
“Please tell me.”
“No,” he snapped.
“Can you give me more than one-word answers?”
“No.”
She glared at the back of his head, as if that would do anything. Orelia watched his knot of bark-colored hair bob with a few more steps before she spoke again.
“Can I at least see the map?”
Vade whirled, looking like he wanted to throttle her. “If it’ll get you to shut up, then fine.” He pulled the parchment out of his pocket and shoved it into her chest.
Orelia drifted back behind him, mumbling about how rude he was, and carefully opened the worn yellow paper. Morton had a map of the continent hanging on the wall in his apothecary, but not one this elaborate.
Words and symbols were written in black ink over almost every village, town, and city. Next to Dorsey were the words ‘silver’ and ‘porridge’ along with a drawing of what she thought was a palm tree, and a black star on the northern side of the tropical city.
Ricaboro was marked with a few words she couldn’t make out, and there was another star drawn on the east side of the city near the bay where she knew The White Pony stood.
Of course he had it marked.
