I took the offered piece without a word and started chewing on it, enjoying its heartiness and honey-sweet taste.
“Why didn’t you tell Kryn what happened with the decayana?” I asked.
“Because he would find a way to make fun of you even though you fought the creature beautifully.”
I glanced sideways at him, wondering ifhewas making fun of me, but he appeared serious, with not a hint of mockery in his expression. He thought I had fought beautifully. I’d never thought of myself as any sort of fighter. When my siblings and I were little, I was always the one breaking the brawls between them, always the pacifist. I exercised a little—for my health, not for any other reason. I did a variety of things, changing them up constantly. Aerobics, pilates, swimming, aerial yoga… anything to keep me from getting bored. I figured all of those things contributed to a certain level of agility and flexibility, but they had nothing to do with fighting. Maybe my survival instincts were just… fierce.
Way to go, Dani.
I blew air through my nose. “I would be dead if you hadn’t shown up.”
“Who knows? But it’s a good thing we didn’t have to find out.”
A moment later, Arabis came galloping down the road, pulling Dandelion behind her. “Hey, Dani.”
“Hey.” I took the offered reins.
“Glad you didn’t get eaten by a decayana or… anything else.” Her eyes flicked to Kalyll.
“Me too, I guess.” I climbed on my horse at the same time that Kalyll climbed his.
“Let’s try to regain the ground we’ve lost.” The prince pulled ahead, all business, leaving us behind as Stormheart’s hooves tore up the ground.
“You all right?” Arabis scanned me from head to toe.
“Just a little humiliated, but otherwise unscathed.”
“I was worried about you.”
I grunted. I doubted she was worried about me. It was their quest, whatever it might be, that mattered to them. If only they would tell me how I was supposed to help them. Maybe knowing would make all of this easier to accept, but everyone’s lips were sealed because they didn’t trust me.
“Did you happen to see a decayana?” she asked. “I’ve only seen illustrations.”
I debated whether or not to tell her I had actually been on top of one, fighting for my life, but I was too tired to get into it, so I shook my head.
“Shame. Did you… see anything else?”
I thought of the wolf with its shining blue eyes and taloned extremities. A shudder slid down my back, and something told me being cut in half by the decayana would’ve been a luckier fate than anything the wolf might have done to me.
“I didn’t,” I lied and ate the rest of my thick cracker, spurring the horse forward. I was on this quest for good, so now my new goal was to get it over with.
CHAPTER 10
Whenwecaughtupwith the rest of the group, Silver inclined his head in welcome. Kryn ignored me. Cylea frowned, looking annoyed, and Jeondar greeted me with a quietAbin Manael. Very few words were exchanged as they turned their small procession around and started heading toward the mountains again.
Kalyll set a steady pace, and by midday, we were back at the place where we camped the night before. Unlike the previous day, we didn’t stop to eat lunch, and judging by the dirty look Kryn threw in my direction as he tore into a piece of dry meat, the increased pace and lack of rest were entirely my fault.
After the sun reached its apex, Kalyll pulled ahead and remained at a distance from the rest of the group. The stiff line of his back told me he was in a mood. He was probably tired and cranky, also thanks to me.
The steady, rocking movements of the horse started lolling me to sleep. I splashed a little water on my face from a canteen attached to the saddle. I didn’t want to fall off the animal and add insult to injury. I felt humiliated enough as it was. As I blinked, doing my best to stay awake, I noticed Arabis nodding off on top of her horse. A few minutes later, she was completely asleep, her chin resting on her chest, and her body swinging gently from side to side as her mount marched steadily up a rolling hill—one of many that lined the plains on the north end, a prelude to The Sunder Mountains in the distance.
I was amazed by her ability to stay in her saddle. If that were me, I was sure I would’ve fallen and cracked my head open on a rock. Wherever she’d gone with Kalyll last night, she hadn’t gotten any rest. Add to that my escape attempt, and it was understandable why she had started to snore lightly. A smile stretched my lips of its own accord. She looked adorable, petite, almost like a child. Her face was fine and delicate, grazed with the beauty that only the Fae possessed.
As the afternoon sun beat on our backs, I lagged behind, though Jeondar brought up the rear, probably to make sure I didn’t try anything stupid again.
Kalyll was a small figure ahead of us, which seemed to undulate with the heat that reflected off the ground. Kryn repeatedly sighed, acting like a teenager assailed by boredom. He twisted backward onto his saddle, then reclined his back on the horse’s neck. He rode that way for a bit, his brilliant green eyes flicking back and forth between Arabis and the plains we’d left behind.
“Do you think we’ll miss the Summer Solstice Ball?” Cylea asked Silver. They’d been riding side-by-side the entire way, talking in quiet tones, almost without stopping.