“Why not?”
“Because she’s not interested in men.”
“… Oh. Well, that’s unfortunate for you.”
“Indeed.” He shrugs. “It’s fine. Probably not the time for rom—” He stops talking as I glance over his shoulder. Chiyo and Kilkenny approach again, each of them with a few fish in hand. They drop the fish beside the fire and Chiyo proudly announces, “Salmon and trout are on the menu tonight, boys!” She beams and pulls a dagger from her belt, tossing it so it lands in front of Osheen’s boot. “Make yourself useful, mate.”
Kilkenny turns to me with a small smile. I can’t resist smiling back at him, but then another dagger lands point first in the dirt in front of me. My heart jumps. “How many daggers do you have?” I ask Chiyo.
She grins. “You don’t want to know.”
I scoff, but a spurt of laughter slips through. “Fine, but maybe stop throwingthem at us.”
Chiyo bursts out laughing. “Maybe if you people stop loafing about, I wouldn’t have to throw daggers at you.” A fish comes flying at me, and I barely deflect it from my face. Kilkenny scowls at his sister, but she only grins at him. Honestly, I appreciate that she doesn’t treat me like an invalid.
For the next hour or so, we gut the fish and roast them over the fire, making sure to leave a serving for Alys, who is fast asleep on her bedroll.
“So, what are your thoughts on this prophecy business?” Chiyo asks us.
Kilkenny shrugs and Osheen purses his lips.
“I’m not sure if I believe it,” I say.
“It reminds me of that rhyme…The Land Beyond the Veil?”
I’m swept up in a stream of nostalgia, staring at Chiyo’s lips as she hums out a tune and begins to sing the lyrics of a song that my mam used to sing to me as a child. The melody is still fresh in my mind as though I’ve heard it just yesterday.
Beneath the pale moon’s eyes, she rode
On embers black as night,
With ire, greed, and wrath she cried
O, save me from the light
Beneath the rays of sun, she stood
In dusk as bright as day,
With misery and fear she cried
O, save me from dismay
The sun has gone, the shadows dance,
Let moonlight chase the dusk away,
Dwell not in umbra’s brutal grasp
That keeps you in a trance
O, rest your head, relent your dread
Let nightly dreams take you away,
To a land that’s far beyond this realm
Where the Other-worlders play
