“You’re welcome, you know, for feeding you. Some captors aren’t as generous.”
“So you acknowledge that you’re my captor?”
“I never said I wasn’t. I just insinuated that you weren’t entirely opposed to being taken. Which is true.”
“I didn’t wish to leave my life behind. I had little choice in the matter, given the situation.”
I sipped the broth and savored its gamy taste. It was better than nothing, and anything to sate my stomach was welcome right now.
I moved to sit on the same large rock as before, and Rowan sat on another beside it. We ate in silence. My mind wandered to other things while I struggled to chew the tough meat.
“What happened to the boy whose clothes I wear?” I asked hesitantly.
“He caught a fever a few weeks back and went quickly. He didn’t suffer.”
“Good.”
“The road is not for the weak. In fact, I suspect more will fall by the time we reach our destination.” He shoveled a spoonful of the stew into his mouth.
“Where are we going? I know it’s not the capital; that’s in the southwest.” I had been paying at least some attention to the direction we traveled.
“Somewhere you will need all your energy. Now eat.”
I finished my stew and set my bowl aside. The Sky was dark now, and my eyelids were heavy with sleep. I yawned and rubbed my eyes. Rowan put his bowl down as well and stood. He gestured for me to stand as well, and I tentatively did as he requested.
I followed him to the outside of one of the larger tents. He untied the entrance, and I peered inside, glancing at a few of the culled huddled underneath blankets.
“This is your tent. Sleep. You will need it.”
I stepped inside, too tired to criticize my accommodations. I picked up a wool blanket instead. It was slightly scratchy, but I knew it would keep me from freezing in the night. Just the thought of sleep had me nodding off while standing. I plopped onto the Ground and curled up into a corner, letting my eyes drift shut.
“Mavis,” Rowan spoke quietly, and I squinted at him. “There will be a guard outside this tent all night. Don’t try anything.”
With that, he fastened the entrance shut and left.
I didn’t have it in me to respond, so I let sleep take me instead.
Chapter 8
“All of Aeta’s children dwell within Ethoria,
and each guards it in their own design.”
- The Old Book
Iwoke up half-expecting everything to have been a terrible dream. But when my eyes opened, the nightmare didn’t end. It was only made worse when a Veiler threw a bucket of water onto Isaac because he didn’t wake up on command. It soaked him and splashed onto several of the other culled, including me.
It was freezing. Even the few drops that hit me made me shiver. However, it was Isaac I was worried about. With the dropping temperatures outside, he could easily get hypothermia if not allowed to dry off.
“Everybody out! Of course, that’s if you want to eat today,” the Veiler sneered.
All eleven of us shuffled out of the tent, trying not to topple one another. I grabbed one of the wool blankets while exiting, hiding it between our moving bodies. Once out of the tent, I found Isaac and pulled him aside. He was drenched from the waist up, and his teeth visibly chattered.
“Take your shirt off,” I ordered. He looked at me with a stunned expression, his shivering mouth agape. “Now. Or would you rather catch a cold? Which, I’ll have you know, is a death sentence out here.”
Isaac stopped glaring at me and closed his mouth. He peeled his tunic off without a word and trembled. He tried to warm himself by rubbing his hands along his chest and arms.
“Wring it out and let it air dry for as long as possible.” I wrapped the blanket around him. A tremor surged through him, and he gripped it tighter.
