1
Tariel.” Yarim gently shook her shoulder. “The sun isup.”
Tariel blinked open her eyelids, which were heavy as boulders. Her shoulders were knotted with stiffness, and her entire body ached. She had hardly gotten a wink of sleep last night, out of her mind with worry for Riann, but with bandits roaming the woods, and darkness masking their tracks, it would have been foolish to pursue them in the middle of the night, when they had theadvantage.
“I can feel him,” she said, pushing herself up into a sitting position. She pressed a hand to her chest, where the thread of Riann’s bond strained inside her. With every mile he traveled, the thread of their connection grew even more taut, an uncomfortable pressure inside Tariel that kept her awake with the reminder that he was not by her side. She half-wondered if the thread would break altogether should he get far awayenough.
“Can you sense how many miles away he is?” Calrain asked, his brows furrowed. He brushed his mop of unruly red hair from his silver eyes as he bent down to check hispack.
Tariel shook her head. “Only that he has gone in that direction.” She pointed southwest, and the tug on her heart grew a bit more insistent. “I imagine that we have to get within a certain range for me to get a better sense of how close or far he is.” She frowned. “I wonder if the bandits have already reached their home…wherever that mightbe.”
Yarim held out a hand and helped Tariel to her feet. His grip was strong, his hand warm, and for a moment, Tariel was struck by the oddity of seeing his skin against hers. She was used to being the darkest person in the room, but as a full-blooded Maroyan, Yarim was several shades darker. His swarthy complexion, thick, black locks, and striking violet eyes stood out like a sore thumb amongst the blond and fair-skinned Fjordlanders with whom he’d sought refuge for a time after fleeing the MaroyanEmpire.
Ironic, considering they were fleeing Fjordlandnow.
“We’d better get moving, then,” Calrain said. “Yarim, can you help me load the rest of our supplies onto thehorses?”
“Certainly,” Yarim said, after a split-second of hesitation. He stepped around Tariel to help Calrain prepare the horses, and the flicker of annoyance, then grief, that Tariel felt through the bond told her that he’d been reminded of his servants, whom the witch hunter had killed. Just a few days ago, Yarim had lived in an opulent house with staff to tend to his every whim—as a rich noble, he would have rarely done menial work himself, like packing up tents or loading horses. His decision to throw in his lot with Tariel had changed his life, just as it had changed the lives of her othermen.
She only hoped the life she led them toward was better than the ones they had all leftbehind.
Once Yarim and Calrain finished tacking up the horses, the three of them mounted up, then followed Calrain down the winding path to the place where Riann had last been seen. The path was covered in horse tracks, and Tariel bit her lip as she tried to count them, imagining how many bandits there might havebeen.
“It was dark,” Calrain said as they stared, “so I didn’t see all of them. But I believe I countedten.”
“That means there’s likely more,” Yarim said. “Let’s say fifteen. And only three of us. But Tariel has her magic, and I am good with asword.”
Calrain’s shoulders slumped. “I wish I was a good tracker,” he said, staring morosely at the tracks. “At least I wouldn’t be dead weight,then.”
“You are never dead weight,” Tariel said gently. She sent a pulse of soothing energy through their bond. “Your smarts and quick-thinking are invaluable tome.”
Calrain sat up straighter on his horse, and Tariel felt his spirits lift abit.
“In any case,” he said, “we might as well follow these tracks and see where they lead. Your bond with Riann should help us make sure we are going in the rightdirection.”
“That would be wise,” Zolotais said, materializing over Tariel’s shoulder. “If you go by the bond alone, you might accidentally go riding off the edge of a cliff, judging by all this hilly terrain.” She surveyed their surroundings with pursed lips, her robes gently flickering in the morning breeze. “Can you tell if Riann is still hurt,Tariel?”
Tariel focused on the bond again. She had forced herself to block much of it earlier because of the agony pulsing through their connection, but to her relief, she saw that though he was still in pain, it was greatlylessened.
“He seems to be doing better,” she told the others. “Much better than I expected, actually, considering how much pain he was inbefore.”
Zolotais frowned. “That could be because of his enhanced healing, but on the other hand....” Her golden eyes sought Calrain. “Did you see a witch or mage amongthem?”
Calrain shook his head. “There were only men, as far as I couldtell.”
“Hmm.” Zolotais looked thoughtful. “Still, it is possible these bandits might be employing a witch in their stronghold. We had best be wary whenapproaching.”
“Wonderful,” Yarim said, shaking his head. “That is just what we need rightnow.”
“Hush,” Zolotais admonished him. “You are mated to a powerful mage whose magic strengthens daily. You are hardlydefenseless.”
“Yes, but she is still largely untutored,” Yarim shot back. He met Tariel’s gaze, then winced, as if realizing she was still there, listening. “I mean no offense. But we are largely outnumbered, and if they may have a mage of their own, that does not bode well forus.”
Tariel lifted her chin. “Regardless of the odds, I will not leave Riann in the hands of cold-blooded criminals. After all he has done for me, he deservesbetter.”
Tariel urged her horse forward, leaving Calrain and Yarim to follow behind. She imagined Yarim felt the annoyance simmering in her heart, just as she felt his. Part of her understood—as the newest member of her harem, there was no way he could share the same connection with Riann that she and Calrain did. It would take time to form a cohesive bond between the four of them, a task made even harder by Riann going missing just when they’d thought they weresafe.
“Do you really think these were the same bandits from before?” Yarim asked as they made their way through the thickly wooded forest. It was a bit difficult to follow the tracks with the shade from the oak trees darkening the path, but they could not afford to leave the horses behind, and riding was faster thanwalking.
