No one was forcing me to be out in the garden. I’d asked to come here, partly to face my fear before this beautiful place wasruined for me, and partly because I craved fresh air after being stuck in my bedroom for so long. Not to mention, I needed to figure out where in First we were supposed to go. When I’d looked at the map with Stefano in the infirmary yesterday, I’d felt nothing. No sense of direction, no indication we should even be going to First Territory to begin with.
So back to the garden it was.
“With any luck, someone will try to kill me again while we’re out here and you’ll have some excitement in your day.”
“The excitement’s been nonstop ever since you came around, Fish Eyes.”
I released a heavy sigh. “Not by choice.” And it wouldn’t stop any time soon, because soon we’d be going to the land of the Horrads.
Fantastic.
“You make it sound like a bad thing.”
I gave him a flat look. “I’m sorry. Should I be thrilled that people keep trying to kill me, that I caused a massive battle between us and Koerlyn, and that the Citadel’s been infiltrated twice now?”
He raised a palm defensively. “Clearlythis is a sore subject.”
“Anyone in my position would consider it a sore subject.”
“Not me,” he replied, twirling the stick in his fingers like a throwing dagger.
I dropped the map in my lap and clasped my hands. “Let me correct myself. Any sane, rational person in my position would consider it a sore subject.”
He pursed his lips, squinting at something in the distance. “You meant that as an insult, but I’m going to take it as a compliment.” He pointed the stick at me. “Sane, rational people are boring as shit and generally miserable. I’m not. Therefore, compliment.”
I shook my head in wonder, searching for something meaningful to say and coming up empty.
Callen wasn’t done. “The excitement is good. And I think I can put it into terms that boring-as-shit rational people like yourself,” he poked me with the branch, “can understand.”
My hand twitched with the urge to yank that branch right out of his hands. “You meant that as an insult, but I’m going to take it as a compliment,” I parroted, throwing his words back in his face. “Because boring-as-shit rational people tend to stay alive in this world.”
He ignored me. “Excitement means change is happening. That there is something important enough going on for a lot of people to care about it. And you, my dear fishy-eyed friend—” he poked me with the stickagain“—are that important thing.”
I made a wild grab for the branch, but he swept it out of reach with a grin before I came close.
“Lucky me,” I grumbled.
“No, luckyus.”
I waited for the punchline, searching his face for a flash of sarcasm. When there was none, I said, “Other people would be better equipped to handle this duty. People like you. People who can defend themselves against attackers and are used to dealing with Princepes.”
“You’re making an awful lot of assumptions.”
“These are assumptions that sane, rational people would make.”
Callen shifted to face me. “You already know my opinion of sane, rational people, so I won’t bother to repeat that. But I’ll tell you this. You’re tough. You’re resourceful. You’re smart. You’ve somehow stopped yourself from dying several times now. And as a villager, you bring a perspective that none of us have. I don’t believe themagvisgave her knowledge to a random person. I believe she chose you.”
That…was an incredibly kind thing to say. From the honesty shining in his green eyes, he meant it. And while Callen often acted with the maturity of a toddler, I respected him, which made his opinion that much heavier.
“I—”
He cut me off with a bop on the nose with that damned stick.
“Nope. No denials allowed. Just bask in the wisdom of Callen and stop doubting yourself. It’s getting really annoying.” He leaned back against the wall, scanning the garden. “In all honesty, though, I’m wildly impressed you fought off those mercenaries. I must be one incredible teacher.”
I shook my head in exasperation. I didn’t think he’d bring up my near-death experience while we were sitting exactly where it happened. As if he gave a damn about propriety.
Not really in the mood to dig up those events any further, I turned back to the First Territory map in my hands. Scanning from top to bottom, nothing stood out. Every red circle was as haunting as the next.
