Chapter Two

Laia

 

Done with lunch, if you could call it that, I idled on my rock and procrastinated about having to move again. Closing my eyes, a wave of exhaustion hit me. My thoughts swirled and jiggled in a funny way. There was a prickling under my skin, and I was vaguely thirsty, but I ignored it.

Tristan has to be with the Northbane.

With no food left, my thoughts had gone back to plots, rumors, and missing cousins.

If this Winfyre lead is another dead end…

I’d heard my family had wound up here, but that didn’t mean Tristan had. From the scraps I’d gathered, he was everywhere and nowhere. I had to be careful about name-dropping, too. Plenty of enemies who’d be happy to corner a lone Llary.

Llarys, you either loved us or hated us.

I sighed. God, I missed my family. But I couldn’t risk even seeing them. Not yet. Maybe not ever. See, that was a long story, and—

My stomach growled, and I groaned, sitting up and hunching over.

God, I was still so damn hungry.

I might’ve been on the shorter side, but I was a sturdy chick for all that, and I liked to eat. Looking down at the hard, unfamiliar lines of my legs, I tried not to notice how the bones of my knees and shins were all too visible.

Before I could stop myself, I pictured a cloud full of bear claw pastries raining down on me in a pure, delicious drizzle of almonds and glazed sugar. Bad habits from a sugar-addled childhood.

A louder complaint came from my stomach, and a few heads turned my way. My cheeks flamed with pink, and I quickly pretended to look through my bag.

Even though I’d meant to let these people go on ahead of me, so I could rest and maybe nap, I decided to go now. The morning haze had completely burned off, and it was promising to be an oppressive, hot-as-hell afternoon. If I didn’t go now, I might never.

Winfyre couldn’t be that much farther, right?

Hopping down, I wobbled and had to put a hand out to steady myself. Hunger and irritation raked through me. Llarys did not handle hunger well. Oh, we could go without food, but it got ugly. And, right now, I’d been starving for the past month, give or take a few days.

“Miss?”

I jerked back. The friendly shifter guide had appeared. Maybe not as smart as I’d thought. Or perhaps too nice for his own good. Holding up his hands in a gesture of peace, he flashed me a winning smile. But my hackles went up anyway, and I slid my stance into a wider one.

He laughed and said, “Didn’t mean to scare you. We just wanted to know—”

“I’m all set,” I interrupted and folded my arms. I knew I wasn’t intimidating, but I’d learned that if I stood up straight enough, people thought I was taller. A steady gaze helped, too. And so, with a slight lip curl, I continued, “Thanks anyway, kid.”

“Are you going to Winfyre?” He was so polite. I just shrugged. “I mean, of course you are. Listen, we have supplies, plenty to go around, and there’s a place to bunk down—”

Faint panic stroked the deep, dark corners of my brain, and stirred up ghastly memories. Even under the hot glare of the sun, my skin had gone cold.

“No, I’m getting there today,” I got out. “I’ll be fine. I don’t need the welcoming committee.”

My voice was cool and airy, but inside, my heart began to race. What if I had to go with these people? What if they started asking questions? What if Jasper found me with them—

Jasper.

Stomach clenching and mouth dry, I felt the name darken the sky.

“No,” I said, cutting off whatever the kid had been saying.

A fleeting, irritated look crossed the shifter’s face. My own face burned, guilt pressing hard on my chest as he fought down a scowl. For a moment, I almost apologized.

Yet I couldn’t pass up this out.

“Bye now,” I said and turned around, gripping the straps of my pack more tightly. I began to walk off. “Thanks anyway.”

“It’s almost eight more hours to Winfyre,” he called after me, and I glanced back, heart plummeting. With a sigh, he tossed something at me, and I caught it on reflex. “At least take that. And drink plenty of water. All the streams from this point on are okay for consumption.”

I nodded and went to say thanks, but he’d already walked away. I looked down at my hands and turned over the small food satchel, complete with a small canteen for water.

I should say thank you, I thought. And apologize.

I did neither. I kept walking.

Because what he didn't know was that the farther away I was from anyone, the better. I had to find my cousin, warn him, and…

Well, I hadn’t figured out the destroying part yet. Tristan would know what to do.

Moving faster, I pulled out some bar concoction smelling of peanut butter and chowed it down. It was delicious. Eight hours to Winfyre. No big deal. I’d be there by sunset.

 

Panting, with a stitch in my side and all of the food in the satchel long gone, I came around a corner and tried not to scream. More woods, more dirt path. A goddamn path at a vertical angle.

“Eight hours, my ass,” I muttered.

Okay, I had no idea how much time had gone by. Only that the sun had set, and there was barely any light left in the sky. Around me, the forest had rustled to life. Creatures whispered as they walked through the twilight. More than one mosquito had found my bare skin to feast on.

I'd slathered myself with thyme and peppermint repellent to no avail. It was a natural oil that I’d bought off a merchant back in Nimble, and it’d been working up till now. Maybe diluting it with water to make it last longer hadn’t been the best idea.

A bug whined by me through the air, and I yelped with frustration. Waving my hands and slapping my legs, I tried not to think about how I’d look like the roasted-tomato girl entering Winfyre.

Red hair, blotchy red-brown skin, and giant bug bites.

Lifting my head, I sniffed the air. It had to be the millionth time I’d thought I smelled wood smoke. Again, I told myself Winfyre would be around the next bend.

But after five more bends, I was wrong again.

A steady throb had started in my feet, and it hadn’t stopped there. Over the past hour, it had gone from the arches of my feet into my calves, my knees, and now my quads. Add that to an aching head and a dry throat, I was about ready to dive into the next water source I found, puddle, stream, or ocean. The thought of cool water on my skin was almost too much to handle. Every time I heard a wave in the distance, my overtired brain fantasized about swimming. Once, I even began to paddle my arms, thinking it would soothe my feverish skin, and then caught myself.

Then I’d start all over again. Somewhere in the back of my head, I knew that something wasn’t right. My skin was too hot, my ears had a funny pulsing sound, and I was…

What was I doing?

Swimming in the ocean. Cool sensations rippled over my skin, and my eyes fluttered shut.

Pain exploded in my right knee, and I was jolted back into the buggy, hot reality of the trail. I’d fallen, my knee splitting open on a rock. Tears pricked my eyes as I tried to see the damage, wincing as my fingers touched the torn flesh. Dammit, I didn’t have any bandages left.

It took me a few tries to get up. I almost wanted to lie right there on the trail. Groaning between my gritted teeth, I got to my feet and surged forward. Limping along, I tried to convince myself I hadn’t ripped my knee off, even though it felt that way. Blood was seeping into my knee-high compression socks.

God, as though I didn’t look ridiculous enough. But those compression socks had been worth every penny, helping my calves recover after long days of climbing. But between the black tank, the jean cutoffs, and the socks, I looked like a wannabe wilderness girl, not the real deal. The baby face and red hair didn't help, either. People always thought I was so damn helpless.

Well, I’d gotten to Winfyre on my own, hadn’t I?

I stopped and stared. Up ahead, there were two massive trees stretching into the sky and a campfire dancing at the base. I could see shadows of people and hear voices. A little girl laughing.

My eyes swam, head pounding and skin clammy.

I grinned, swaying a little as I said, “About damn time.”