I immediately halt.
“Turn around, Mauricio,” I command, facing my men.
I’m prepared to deliver a speech about how time is of the essence and how only the weakest of soldiers would stop now, but they do look seconds away from dropping to their graves.
“Who is the one complaining about this journey?” I call out. “Show yourself.”
No one steps forward.
“Who was speaking?” I raise my voice. “Don’t make me ask again.”
Tobias, a grey-haired man at the rear, rides his black stallion closer.
“It was me, sir,” he says. “I was simply expressing how everyone else feels.”
“I see… Is there anything else I need to know about your feelings?”
“I don’t understand why the girl is here, sir.” He gestures to Belle. “If she can’t help us to break the curse, she’s just another mouth to feed, dead weight.”
“This girl is collateral for the real girl,” I say to him. “When she’s served her purpose, she’ll no longer travel with us.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes.” I narrow my eyes. “Anything else we need to discuss?”
“We’re hungry and tired.” He crosses his arms. “Can we at least hunt for something to eat?”
A loud round of thunder roars in the distance before I can respond. The surrounding trees sway violently and whisper—a clear sign that someone deep in these woods is moments away from being devoured alive.
Still awaiting my response, my men pull balsam blooms from their pockets. The whispering is bound to get worse and stuffing the blooms into their ears always dulls the worst of whatever comes.
“We can set up camp here for a short while,” I say. “Be prepared to move the moment I say so.”
“Thank you, sir.” Tobias nods, and the rest of the men sigh in relief.
I jump off Mauricio, and Belle’s eyes flutter open with confusion and curiosity.
For a split second, I’m tempted to taste her bright red lips, and I almost forget that she’s my prisoner.
“Here.” I pull a handful of balsam blooms from my pocket. “I meant to offer these to you earlier. You’ll need them.”
“For what?”
“So you can sleep through the trees’ whispering tonight.” I gesture around as they speak louder. “I’m sure you’re suffering already.”
She raises her eyebrow. “I don’t hear anything.”
The trees behind me shake so loudly that their cones fall to the ground like rain.
Belle doesn’t flinch in the slightest. She doesn’t even look their way.
What the hell?
“I’ll keep them just in case.” She tucks them into her sleeve and jumps off the horse. “If you were smart, you’d let me go now.”
“Oh?” I cross my arms. “And why is that?”
“Because you’re clearly overvaluing what I mean to my father and Isabelle.” She steps closer to me. “You’re better off offering them something else.”
“I already offered them a loan,” I say. “When people don’t pay me back, they can choose to lose someone else they love or their lives. They’ll make the right choice when I find them, you just don’t know it.”
“And you don’t know them.” She hisses. “Your men say I don’t have any value to you anyway, so you’re wasting your time. Unless you have an ulterior motive.”
“What exactly would that be?”
“Maybe you’re desperately trying to trick someone into teaching you how to read. Then again, if you’ve made it this far in life without knowing how—”
“Stop talking,” I cut her off. “I don’t let go of the things I own that easily, and the moment you accept that, the better off you’ll be. If you don’t want to accept it, I’m happy to punish you in other ways.”
Her face reddens, and she lifts her hand, swinging it back to slap me, but someone grabs her wrist from behind.
Sola.
“Whoa, whoa, Miss Belle!” She gasps. “That’s a good way to get yourself hurt. I don’t think you can take him.”
“You should let her try.” I smile. “I think she’d put up a pretty good fight.”
“Please let me try…” Belle seethes, raising her other hand.
I take off my weaponry belt and let it fall to the ground. Then I motion for Sola to let go of Belle’s hand.
“Let her have me,” I say. “I’m intrigued.”
“We need to prepare our sleeping space, sir.” Sola shoots me a “stay focused” look and tightens her grip on Belle’s wrist, practically dragging her away from me.
Belle’s emerald glare remains on me until she disappears behind a thicket.
“We need to talk,” Lafayette steps to my left. “A raven has returned with news you’ll want to hear.”
“Good.” I motion for him to follow me far away from the camp. “What is it?”
“There was a sighting of Mr. Arwyn and Isabelle. He says that one is farther than the other, but…” He holds up his hand, pausing at the terrible singing that’s a little too close for comfort.
Slinging a gun over my shoulder, I squint through the focal lens, but I don’t see anyone nearby.