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Which was just asinine.

Someone cleared their throat.“Amethyst, are you well?” Joseph asked quietly.

When I pulled my blank stare away from the food, a small smile curved his lips and a soft warmth lit his eyes.

“Only another week and you’ll be able to contact your sister,” he said. “It must be difficult having the separation when you had probably hoped to go to the same kingdom.”

I managed a small nod.

He glanced at Hugh for a moment and then reached across the table, circling my wrist with a brief, light touch. Tabitha’s wings shuffled as she shifted in her seat, twisting toward me.

“Elise and I were going to take a walk around and then stop by the shops. One of the barkeeps mentioned they have interesting wares since this town sits so near both Senona and Tousir.” Tabitha cleared her throat, and her cheeks flushed. “If you’d like to join us?”

Elise raised an eyebrow, but it didn’t seem like she was overly irritated at Tabitha inviting me. Callum’s touch ghosted across my leg under the table, so soft I was halfway sure I imagined it entirely. I swallowed down the new wave of homesickness.

God, I hated feeling like such a bumbling mess. It was too vulnerable, allowed too much out into the world that would just be broken. With more force than I’d managed this morning, I shoved at all the emotions fighting for dominance until there’s was nothing but that strange numbness I’d felt as a teen.

“We were planning on doing the same,” Joseph added with a smile, leaning into Hugh for a moment. Hugh brushed his lips along Joseph’s temple without pausing his plating food. “We could go the four of us omegas. I may be from Marish, but I’ve never been this far south. I’d love to see more of the town and the wares common to here.”

It sounded like a better distraction than sitting in that little house with nothing but my thoughts all day, at least. And my ankle was doing much better now, too, so it wouldn’t inconvenience anyone if I joined. I built another of the lox 2.0 sandwiches as I glanced at Callum. His expression was open, more so than I’d seen since the confrontation on the pass. He brushed the outside of my knee again and then turned to Vincent and Reuben.

My voice cracked, just a bit. “Sure.”

23

AMETHYST

The lighthearted dynamic stayed with the group as we left the small town nestled against the mountains and continued toward Starguard. Travel was much faster on the wider, more worn road we followed, especially after the first day when we left most of the snow behind in the intimidating mountains and Wolfrest. The towering pine trees gave way to prairie grasses browned with the winter dormancy about the same time, leaving views that spread far into the distance, only occasionally broken by a rolling hill or a small cluster of simple stone buildings.

“Small farming collectives,” Shelby murmured to me when she noticed me staring off toward one such group early the third day of travel of this second stretch. “They intentionally cluster their homes near each other and allow the land to spread from the center like a wheel rather than segment out the individual pieces. It’s safer for the animals, both wild and domesticated, and allows each of them to help the others.”

“There’s no fencing,” I said.

Shelby’s eyebrows furrowed even as both Vincent and Callum twisted toward me, their expressions identical frowns.

“No fences,” Reuben said warmly from where he rode behind us.

When I looked over my shoulder, he was adjusting his hair, pulling it back with one of the thin pieces of leather all the men seemed to keep readily available. He let the reins drop between his thighs, but the horse he rode didn’t seem to notice at all. Beside him, Amaria pulled a small piece of smoked meat from the saddlebag nearest her hip and slowly nibbled on it.

Like before, it was easier to voice a question when I was looking at her or Shelby rather than anyone else.

“You’re not concerned with theft?”

Amaria tilted her head in confusion.

“I suppose there’s always a risk, but we are not a kingdom that assumes the worst of those around us,” Reuben said. “They take precautions at night against the larger predators, of course, but most who travel know they will nearly always find welcome homes throughout Marish. To do any less would be a slight to all the gods, but Persynthia and Tristyn most especially.”

“Is that not the way of it for you?” Shelby asked.

Wordlessly, Callum offered a limello, and I took it while trying to decide just what to say. This one was sweeter than the ones we had over the mountains. Maybe they were grown differently? I did my best to not let juice dribble down my chin like I was a child eating a piece of watermelon. Even so, it trailed down my hand and wrist, mixing with the silver metal of the ring bracelet I’d worn since leaving Wolfrest. I quickly swallowed and adjusted in the saddle as a sharp pinging sensation lighted down my left leg.

“No, it’s definitely not that way in—” I caught myself at the last moment. “Um, there.” I cringed at the lame deflection, but Shelby only smiled. “It’s very individualistic, every person for themselves. Some say that they care about the good of others, but often they’re just trying to seem good so others will approve of them.”

Someone snorted, and then Heath muttered, “Sounds like Varím. It’s unfortunate there are places in the Far Lands like that, too.”

I wiped my hand on the lighter pants I’d worn the last couple days, trying to keep the juice from drying on my hands and making them overly sticky. The ring portion of the bracelet caught on the fabric of my pants, pulling hard enough a small run formed in the middle of my thigh.

“Crap,” I muttered as I did my best to get the metal free of the thread. I didn’t quite manage to do it without leaving a small hole, though. Shelby wrapped her fingers around my wrist and squeezed before letting the touch drop away.