Twenty minutes later, we were trekking through the deep woods that sprawled over the western plains. Trees as tall as giants, with thick, straight trunks, rose around us, the rich overhead foliage keeping the sun out. Birds trilled from the branches above, a variety of high notes that made me feel like I was in the better part of a grim tale.

Deer-like creatures watched us from a distance as I used my True Sight to look for signs of Imen tribes. Caspian walked closely by my side, while Jax and Hansa stayed behind, covering our backs.

The silence weighed heavy on my shoulders, the tension between Caspian and me almost palpable. I was conflicted, mainly because I couldn’t trust Caspian—not fully, anyway, as he was clearly not telling us everything. I didn’t understand why, and he wasn’t going to tell me either, so I was left in a state of limbo that ate away at me.

“Try farther to the northwest,” Caspian suggested, his voice low.

“Have you been in these parts before?” I asked.

“Not for the last couple of years,” he replied. “But they should be here somewhere. They’re far enough from the gorge, on this side. I doubt they would go any farther. Some of them hold hope that their brethren back in Azure Heights will eventually change their minds, and will come here, looking for the Free People.”

I didn’t have anything to say to that, as my mind kept wandering back to wondering why he wasn’t telling us the whole truth. It nagged at me, like a dull migraine.

“I just can’t understand how you could continue to withhold information like this!” I finally burst out. “Whatever oath you swore, how does it still hold validity when one of your own, Darius—a leader and supposedly an example of high morals—has betrayed everyone by aligning himself with Shaytan, the freaking king of daemons? How?”

A minute passed quietly. I glanced at Caspian. He seemed genuinely remorseful, and yet he still wasn’t helping. And that made me angry in ways I had never experienced before, mainly because I expected more of him—I had feelings for him, and I couldn’t see myself falling for someone who didn’t stand for doing the right thing no matter what. His elusiveness went against my own set of ethics, and was in direct contrast with what my heart wanted from him.

“I can’t really explain why I can’t tell you everything,” he replied, and I caught a tremor in his voice, a weakness that hadn’t been there before. “But someday I will, with my own words. But until then, I promise you, Miss Hellswan, that I will do everything in my power to help you and your team bring all those responsible for so much death… to justice. I swear it upon my life.”

We gazed at each other for a while, lost in our thoughts.

Everything he’d displayed so far felt genuine. It felt true. Something was actively stopping him from talking about the daemons, about Darius, and about what went on in Azure Heights. And besides, I wanted to believe him. I wanted to trust him.

A twig broke under a foot, thirty feet to my left. I heard a bow stretching, and I stilled, lifting an arm to signal the others to stop.

“One move, and you all die,” a raspy feminine voice shot through the woods.

I turned my head to see Vesta, the young water fae who had helped us the other day, back in the gorge. She was joined by ten Imen, and they all wore the same patches of brown leather, tightly fastened around their trunks, hips, and calves with black strings. Orange dots were painted on their temples, making me think that they might be some kind of tribal status symbol.

They all aimed their arrows at us, and I could see that the sharp metal tips had been dipped in a purple fluid. Something told me it was going to hurt like hell if they shot us with them.

“Vesta, we meet again,” I said politely, keeping my tone calm and even, and my hands up. I slowly shifted my body to the side so I could face her.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, frowning, pulling her arrow farther back just to show us that she wasn’t kidding.

“We’ve been looking for you,” I replied. “We need your help.”

She measured me from head to toe, then looked at Jax and Hansa, and I noticed the glimmer of recognition in her blue eyes. She then frowned when she moved her gaze to Caspian.

“What is he doing here? Why did you bring him here?” she hissed, clearly unhappy to see him. That just made me want to ask more questions, as I was beginning to think that they already knew each other. I’d seen her expression back in the gorge, but I had chalked it up to mere wariness of his species in general, and not specific dislike.

“There was an attack in Azure Heights. Innocent people died, Maras and Imen alike,” I said. “We then went into the daemon city beneath the gorge to scope out the enemy… and we have a lot of questions for you, the Free People, in particular. We couldn’t get our answers from Azure Heights, and the daemons will come looking for us soon. We need your help, Vesta. You have to tell us what’s going on in this world.”

She seemed to think about it for a few seconds, then nodded at Caspian.

“I may know a couple of things, but our elders can better answer any questions you might have,” she replied. “But I’m not telling you or showing you anything until Lord Kifo is restrained and blindfolded. And that is just a courtesy I’m extending, because our orders are to kill him, and any other Mara from Azure Heights, on sight.”

“I don’t get it.” I shook my head. “What’s your deal with him? He’s here with us. He’s helping us. He’s risking his life for us. Lord Kifo is not the enemy.”

“You’re clearly not from around here.” Vesta raised an eyebrow. Two of her Imen put their bows away and took out pieces of string and a wide strip of fabric from their bags, stepping forward. “You don’t get to decide who the enemy is. Even I don’t get to decide who the enemy is. Only the elders. So, if you want to speak to them, you have to follow our rules.”

“It’s okay, Miss Hellswan,” Caspian interjected. Our eyes met, and he gave me a brief, warm smile as he put his hands out. “Let them bind me however they see fit. I will not resist.”

“Listen, I know we didn’t get off on the right foot here, clashing from the very beginning, but I’m not letting you get hurt or restrained in any way until we figure out what the hell is going on here,” I replied.

He moved closer, enough for me to feel his warm breath tickling my face. “It’s okay, Harper. If you can’t trust me on anything else, you can at least trust me on this. I’ll be fine. You need to meet the elders, and this is the price we must pay. I don’t mind.”

I sighed, then moved back so the Imen could do their jobs. One of them tied Caspian’s hands behind his back, while the other put a blindfold over his eyes. They then nudged him, making him walk toward Vesta. Jax, Hansa, and I followed.

“Much better.” Vesta winked, her lips stretching into a smile. What a contrast that was, from the fearful and almost feral fae who had joined our fight against daemons a couple of days back. “I can now take you to my people.”

“I still don’t get why you’re so against Lord Kifo. He’s obviously here to help, for Pete’s sake,” I groaned, increasingly frustrated. There was something about Caspian tied up like that—it just put me on edge. I hated it.

“You will soon understand why,” Caspian replied.

“Rest assured, Lord Kifo, I will let the elders know of your cooperation, and make sure that no harm comes to you,” Vesta said, then led the way deeper into the woods.

I was going to have to siphon some energy soon, as I used the last ounces on my True Sight, scanning the areas ahead. The tribe was there, less than a mile away, nestled between jagged rocks and giant trees.

There were hundreds of Imen moving around clay huts and conical tents. Fire burned in the middle, eating away at a pile of dry wood. I glanced over my shoulder at Hansa and Jax, and they both gave me a reassuring nod. We continued our walk.

Even they had noticed how uncomfortable I was.

However, I had to admit, Caspian was right. Having him bound and blindfolded was a small price to pay for the truth that we were going to get. Finally, after what seemed like forever, we were going to find out what was going on here, on Neraka, with the daemons, the Maras, and the Imen.

Clearly, the people in Azure Heights either didn’t know everything, or had expertly lied to us. And for their sake, I hoped the former was the case.