What happened if he found out what she could do?
“It’s all right, Rowan,” he said softly. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Right. He’d protect her from bears and such.
But what if the thing she needed protection from was him?
17
They picked up the trail left by his patrol again and followed it through the early afternoon, stopping occasionally at Casrian’s insistence to rest the horses and so she could stretch her stiff leg and reapply liniment.
He took good care of his tools. There was the blade he cleaned every night with oil that smelled like cloves. His horses. His guide. She’d become one of the things he felt responsible for. It had been a very long time since anyone had looked out for her. Not since Toby, she thought, and he’d gotten her into as much trouble as he’d gotten her out of.
At least he’d stopped pestering her about the future.
She found herself rubbing her leg, and when she looked up, Casrian was staring at her, a frown on his face. She stopped and looked ahead to the trail.
Damn it.
She turned Copper off the path, heading uphill where the trees felt cleaner. Maybe he wouldn’t notice. If she could just?—
“The trail goes that way,” Casrian said, exasperation sharpening his voice.
She supposed she would be annoyed too if her guide wasn’t able to follow such a clear trail. It wasn’t that she didn’t see it. His patrol had raced over this open ground, chasing something or being chased, she couldn’t tell. Whatever had happened, they’d run straight into a patch of rot she wanted to avoid.
“I don’t like the look of the woods there. We should go around.”
“We’ll lose the trail,” Casrian said.
“I’ll find it again.”
He stared at her. It was a captain’s stare, waiting for compliance, wondering if she was going to make him force it. She half-wanted to make him try. But he would want a better explanation, and she had none to give him. None that he would accept anyway.
She looked ahead at the dense tangle of woods. It looked darker in there, like a tunnel. The shadows deep. The air heavier with every step. She really didn’t want to go in there.
She didn’t even need to consult the trees about it. It was pure animal instinct.
But what choice did she have? It was still daylight with hours left until dark. It wasn’t a big patch. They could make it through before sunset.
She took another look at Casrian’s set expression and gave in. “Fine.”
Who knew? Maybe Casrian’s patrol was in there, camped and waiting to be found.
For an extra two hundred cord, wasn’t it worth a look?
She turned Copper back to the path, rubbing an apologetic hand down his neck when he balked. Even the horse knew this was a bad idea.
She urged him forward. Silence closed around them almost instantly. The temperature dropped. The trees were more dense here. Their roots tangled beneath the cool, damp soil. Their barebranches entwined overhead. The leaves had already fallen as if this spot were weeks ahead of the season. The debris beneath the horse’s hooves was matted, wet, and thick. It made it easy to follow the trail, though they saw no other signs of his men.
“At this point, they’d ridden hours from where they left you. Did the horses not tire? Why didn’t they camp?”
Her voice fell flat and loud in the silence. She glanced over at the witch hunter, who frowned at the path ahead.
“We were attacked near dawn,” he answered, gaze flicking briefly to her. “It shouldn’t have happened then. A witch’s familiars are strongest at night. They usually withdraw to the nest well before sunrise. We were careless.Iwas careless.”
He grimaced and shook his head.
“They were likely chasing the creature that attacked me. Protocol would have had Asher stay with me, but witches have a way of turning the mind. He might have thought someone else had dropped back, or that I still rode with them. Once they were caught up in the chase, it would be easy to get lost in it. They wouldn’t have realized how far they’d gone until it turned dark. The horses were fresh. The riders experienced. They traveled this far on the first day.”
