I think of my own brother. He would never do anything to hurt me, even if I were the one who had hurt him.
‘I have to find Flint,’ I say so loudly I startle even myself.
‘And how do you propose to do that?’ Fox drawls. ‘Stroll into the forest and call his name? Ask any low-flying birds if they happen to have seen him?’
I glower, any last dregs of sympathy drying up and turning to dust. ‘Strangely enough, no. What I’m going to do is stick to the plan and make for the Lagoon.’
‘Ah, so that’s where you were headed,’ says Fox, wiping his hands on his shirt. ‘I take it you’re searching for the missing Eye?’
‘I’d have thought you’d have worked that one out for yourself by now, what with all the spying you seem to have been doing on us lately.’
Fox rolls his eyes fondly, then tosses me a waterskin. ‘Here.’
I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was until I take a drink. A sudden whinnying sound causes me to choke in surprise.
‘It’s just Cedar,’ Fox says as I turn to him in panic, water running down my chin. ‘You should really eat something. We have a long ride ahead of us.’
I stare at him. ‘We? What do you mean,we?’
Fox leans back against the trunk of the willow. ‘You thought I’d let you just wander out alone into the Wildlands?’
I hesitate. I’ve heard tales of creatures roaming the mountains, people going missing on the moors, beautifulflowers that secrete deadly toxins in the meadows, even a haunted forest called the Greenwood, filled with bandits and dryads.
‘You think I can’t do it alone?’ I challenge.
Fox clicks his tongue and mutters something in Veridian. ‘Syrath velena.’
Stubborn girl.
‘Fazari velen,’ I bite back.
Stupid boy.
‘Nice pronunciation.’ He grins, impressed, then changes tack. ‘Listen, you may be a future queen, but that doesn’t mean you know how to navigate without a map, or forage for food. Your chances of survival are far greater by my side.’ He dips into a mocking half-bow. ‘I am but your humble servant.’
‘Humbleis not a word I associate with you,’ I say waspishly.
‘What abouthandsome?’ Fox muses.
I blush, scowling, remembering what I’d said to him the first time we met, woozy with painkiller.
‘Face it, Storm Weaver,’ he says. ‘You need my help.’
I waver, conflicted.
The sooner I get to the Lagoon, the sooner I find Flint. Plus, Fox has a horse, which should make the journey to the Aquatori Court a whole lot faster. He also has the Eye of the Past. Fox told me once that the Eyes are sisters, just like their original owners – that they’re drawn to one another. What if staying close to Sifa’s talisman could help me find Syla’s? I may not have complete faith in the superiority of his moral compass, but what I do know with absolute certaintyis that whatever happens, he won’t let the Eyes fall into King Balen’s hands. Surely a shared enemy is all the foundation needed to build an alliance?
Besides, he’s right. By all accounts, the Wildlands can be treacherous. And as the Heir once destined to rule over them, perhaps he might prove useful.
Perhaps it really would be safer to remain with the most dangerous Etheri in the realm.
13
Blaze
As I watch the Earth Cleaver pack away his various tinctures and vials of medicine – meticulously, for there seems to be some kind of order – I find myself thinking that he looks far more content out here in the forest than he ever did at the Golden Palace, with all its gilded pomp and ceremony. I think of his private chambers – that unruly jungle, the carpet of wildflowers, a bed nestled among the entwined branches of a towering tree.
He hands me a bowl of oats, which I reluctantly accept, keenly aware of the hollow ache in my stomach.
