“Yes,” Taio said, his head coming up at the suggestion of food.He’d said nothing of hunger while we’d been walking, but if I was hungry, he must be starving.He was taller and bigger than I was and had done as much, if not more, work than I had.
“We have mushrooms and berries,” Omira said, taking some from her pack.She handed them to Taio who immediately gave me half.
“You need them more than I—”
“Eat them, Mara,” he said, and his tone brooked no argument.
“How do you know these mushrooms are safe?”I asked.I knew berries, and I could usually tell the poisonous from the safe berries by the shape and size of the fruit.But mushrooms were less familiar to me.
“We have them on the other side of the lake,” she said.“Near the capital.We eat them there.”
I lifted my eyes from the mushrooms and stared out at the lake again.The capital of Zulen was on the other side of the lake.So close.
“You cannot see it from here,” Taio said.“The city is more to the west.Tomorrow we will find the sailboat we hid and sail back.”
“How far is it?”I asked.
“A few miles.”
That could mean anything from three to twenty.Taio was very vague about distances.Another bird call sounded while we finished eating, and Kintle appeared.He greeted Taio with enthusiasm and even pulled me into a hug.I shivered as the wind off the lake cut through me, and Yung began to make a fire using pieces of driftwood he’d found.
“A fire isn’t safe,” I said.
“We’ll keep it low,” Omira promised.“We’ve been all over the shoreline today.No sign of Twilight Men or anyone else.”
I started to object again, but Taio rose and pulled me up with him.“Come.Let us go wash.”
I shook my head.“In the lake?It must be freezing.”
He looked at the lake.“If it was freezing, there would be ice on top.”
I sighed.“You know what I mean.”
He pulled me closer and whispered, “I promise to warm you up afterward.”
Even the tempting warmth of Taio’s body couldn’t quite persuade me, but Taio dragged me along with him until we were some distance from the others.The dunes were higher here, and Taio pulled me to the top of one.The sky resembled a blanket littered with twinkling jewels and bits of tertanium.The stars looked so close that I felt as though I might be able to touch a glittering star if I reached high enough.But Taio wasn’t looking up at the sky, he squinted at the lake.“What is it?”I asked.“Is there a Hollow floating in the water?”
Hollows did not drown no matter how long they’d been submerged.That was another reason I was reluctant to go in the water.I couldn’t see what I was stepping into.
“No.Occasionally one might fall in, but the dunes serve as a barrier.”He pulled me against him, so my back was to his chest.He pointed across the lake, and I followed the direction of his finger.“Do you see that?”
I saw the black water and the black sky and the thousands of stars and told him so.
“That faint golden glow,” he said, his mouth close to my ear.I wanted to turn and kiss him, not look for golden glows.But I continued to search the darkness until I thought I saw a burnished haze.It might also have been the reflection of the moon, which was rising now, on the lake.Except the gold seemed to grow and dim, and a reflection wouldn’t have behaved as such.“What is it?”I asked, turning my head so he might hear.
“My home.The city of my birthright.Zleyval.The gold is the glow of the lamps.If we were closer, we might hear the singing or the chime of bells.”
The idea of singing or ringing bells seemed incredible to me and not a little dangerous.The Zulenii were either incredibly lucky not to have been attacked by Hollows or had defenses I could not imagine.
“You will see it tomorrow,” he said.“Now, take off your clothes.”
I spun around in his arms.“Absolutely not!It’s far too cold.”
He raised his brows.“I thought you were a warrior.”He unfastened his belt and let it drop along with the weapon I’d made him.Next he reached for the buttons of his coat.
“What are you doing?”
“Swimming.”
