“Moss will be safe, Clara,” Eldrene replied, slowly disappearing into the woods like fog in the morning.
But would it?
“We’ve been followed this whole time, and that monster wasinMoss Wood,” I said. Eldrene nodded gravely.
“The town of Moss is protected by a magic that Thanadyn cannot destroy. The same magic that runs in you. Go. Now. The daylight will protect you. But the Prince is cunning. You know all too well, Hesper Altanfall.” Hesper tensed beside me.
Eldrene shot us one last glance before she disappeared completely.
The worst addition for any bowl of soup is a heaping skyful of rain.
—opening line attempt 75
Despite the ever-present horrors, Hesper and I trudged forward. We didn’t speak to one another the entire day, the silence looming over us like a cloud. I didn’t have anything to say other thanWe should thank our lucky stars I didn’t soil myself when a demon from the underworld tried to end me. And anyhow, if we spoke, we ran the risk of something overhearing us. Our footfalls were the only sound that kept me company.
After a full day of walking, we wordlessly set up camp. At this point in our journey, we had fallen into a rhythm. I started the fire as Hesper searched for food; while she cooked dinner, I wrote. Edge encircled the camp from above to ensure our safety, and Warty sat by my side as I repeatedly scribbled then tore page after page out of my journal. Each time I threw a piece into the fire, Hesper caught it and placed it near the edge of the flames.
They were never there the next morning, though, so Icould only assume she was using them for kindling during the night.
Evening fell and, in line with the rest of the day, we unrolled our sleeping packs without speaking. But I couldn’t take the quiet anymore.
“Hesper?” I whispered.
“Hmm?” she replied sleepily, her back to me.
“What will you do after this?” I asked, desperate for a break from my constant thoughts of devils crawling out of the shadows.
“I told you, I am bound to Eldrene. I will return.” Hesper yawned.
“Do you want to?”
Hesper turned toward me, her brows knit together.
“Even if I didn’t, I have to. These quests I am sent on—with you or others—they are my only release from the monotony of walking the forests. I am privileged to serve Eldrene. But I will not lie to you and tell you that it is how I wished my life to be. On the other hand, there is no reason for me to stay anywhere but with the Train.”
“Ah,” I said, processing through my tumbling thoughts. “So if you had a reason to stay elsewhere, could you?”
She turned on her back and gazed up at the starless sky. “No, Clara.”
“I see.” I flipped onto my back, staring up at the sky. She drifted off before I did, her breathing slow and steady.
Maybe I should be grateful all I had was one quest. Hesper had to live a lifetime in purgatory. To not have a home? Or any reason to be away from the Train? How lonely.
The night seemed to drone on forever. The darkness feltpalpable. Each shadow felt like a threat; every twig that broke sent me into a nervous frenzy. Eventually, my body forced me into a fitful sleep, and the moon gave way to a bright dawn.
But the sunny morning quickly turned gray, and the skies opened up into a deluge. I hoped that Edge and Warty were soaring above the clouds. Warty despised being wet, cold, and generally uncomfortable.
Every part of me was soaked to the bone. My steps were already slow due to the mud, my sodden travel pack even heavier than before. I would have to dry out my books and journal at whatever inn we managed to find before nightfall. Luckily, we were going slow enough for me to sing a few songs to the seeds to stay dry until it was their time. I hoped that was enough to keep them from sprouting through the damp cloth.
I hoisted my pack for the twenty-seventh time that afternoon, huffing as its weight again fell onto my back. A cramp started in my spine, but I kept trudging ahead. Hesper finally stopped in her tracks, turning around to face me. The rain drenched her night-black hair, and the wind whipped her curls wildly. Her sharp, rugged features were flushed, and her dark eyes pierced through the thick mist. Water rolled off of her leathers—perhaps that’s why she was always clad in them. Always ready for a storm.
She moved so quickly that I barely registered she was suddenly behind me. The weight on my back lifted, and the spasm threatening to send me to the ground eased. The next moment, Hesper walked ahead of me again, now with two packs on her back. The temptation to argue with her that I could carry my own belongings sat on the tip of my tongue, but my impetuousness would only worsen the state of things.
We walked for hours, keeping a steady pace despite the beating rain. I’d never traveled north before now. Moss was nestled between the Golden Isles and the Idle Groves. I never traveled too far from home—magic or no magic.
But this terrain quickly looked unfamiliar the farther we went. Oak and moss gave way to low-lying bushes and reedy trees. Soon even the trees faded, and the only disruptions in the expanse were small, leafy shrubs popping up from the ground here and there. If only this place had some flowers, then it would not look so lonely.
That’s when I saw it.
