“Stop her…” Rawn rasped as his eyes drifted shut.
“Don’t move, Rawn,” Sylar told him. “Stay with the princess while I will fetch Nisa. You have my oath. I will bring her back!”
Then his best friend sprinted after his sister.
And neither of them returned.
CHAPTER 20
Lucenna
Lucenna stepped out of her tent and was greeted by a clear sky. Thank the Gods. She was sick of the spring rains. The others conversed idly as they ate their morning meal by the campfire. Rawn nursed some tea while Dyna was out in the field with Fair, practicing her sword drills.
“Good morrow, my lady,” Rawn murmured. “Sleep well?”
“As much as I can without a bed,” Lucenna said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. But she could tell from Rawn’s face he didn’t sleep well at all. His eyes were red and his face haggard. He looked pale.
“Here, break your fast,” Zev handed Lucenna a bowl of cooked oats sprinkled with cinnamon and wild berries. “We’ll be on the road soon.”
“Thank you.” She sat beside him on a log by the fire and couldn’t help but notice someone missing. “Where has Klyde gone?”
“The captain woke before dawn to scout ahead,” Rawn said. “We will meet him on the road later.”
“Hmm.” She narrowed her eyes on the trees. “Have you noticed he no longer questions who we are and what we are after?”
“Aye, we have,” Zev said as he rolled up his sleeping mat and stored it in his bag. “It seems he has lost interest.”
“Or perhaps because he already got his answer.”
Even with all of Dyna’s posturing, Klyde had to notice her whispering to Keena in secret.
“Do you suspect he knows the truth?” Rawn asked.
Lucenna wasn’t sure. They had been careful with the map. Every day it changed hands, so Klyde wouldn’t know who held it. But he was never looking either way, and he no longer asked about them or their plans.
It seemed his only interest had always been to catch Tarn.
“Klyde is an intelligent man.” They all looked up at Dyna, where she stood against the sunset, sweat glistening on her forehead. She sheathed her weapons. “I suspect he knows where we are going, but I don’t think he cares. He made his priorities clear. Perhaps our caution isn’t necessary.”
Lucenna frowned. “I remember how secretive you were when I first joined.”
“Well, you have a reason to go to Mount Ida,” Zev said. “He doesn’t.”
“If the plan goes awry, he might have one.” Rawn set down his cup and pulled out the map.
They all huddled around him as enchanted ink swirled across the page and the Land of Urn appeared. He tapped on the coast of the Saxe Sea. The map augmented for a closer view of Dwarf Shoe and the northern region of Greenwood. A brief tightness crossed his brow before he adjusted the spelled view to only focus on their next destination.
“If we continue on the main road, we will cross Tertius Bridge over the Third River by midday. It leads to Little Step, a border city in Dwarf Shoe.”
“Tarn is in Kelpway.” Dyna pointed to a port on the coast that was about thirty miles away. “He’s been tipped off that Leoake is there.”
Lucenna’s brows rose up. “What does he want with the Druid?”
“He has the other half of the Unending Scroll.”
Zev curled his lip. “Why do I have the feeling that’s not a coincidence?”
Dyna crossed her arms, glowering at the trees. “With Leoake, nothing ever is.”
