Chapter 34
I WOKE FARRAH WITH A tap to her shoulder.
“What’s happening?” she yelled, shooting to a sitting position, hand on her quarterstaff, eyes closed.
Crouched next to her as I was, I had to flinch away or risk being headbutted. “It’s just me, Farrah.”
She peeled an eye open, then the other, and blinked rapidly.
“Ellinore?” She rubbed her forehead with her free hand. “Why are you waking me before dawn?”
“Because I’m giving you an important quest.”
She tilted her head in confusion. “Aren’t we already on one?”
“Yes and no.” My throat went tight. I hated the thought of sending Zig home, the thought that it might be the last time I saw him, that I might fail and not make it back in time to stop the mages.
But if there was any possibility at all of saving him, I was going to grab it.
“I need you to take Zig to Traveler’s Rest.”
She shook off sleep, immediately becoming more alert. Her brown eyes snapped to mine, her mouth falling open. Even a tendril of her perfect dark-brown hair fell to frame her heart-shaped face. “What? Why? I thought—”
“I have three days to find the Elder Beast, take its horn, and bring it back to the mages. I can’t be slowed down, so I’m going to travel with Dave. I need you to make sure Rylan and Zig are safe. Take all our mounts.”
She yawned, then tucked the wayward strand back in place. “This is a lot to take in so early in the morning.”
“Yeah, well, I trust you to take care of them and get them home with all your map knowledge.”
Her eyes shone in the light of the rising dawn. “I can do it. But you take the map.” She rummaged in her bag at the side of her bedroll. “You need it more than I do.”
I took the offered scroll of parchment. “Thanks. You’ve been an amazing adventurer.”
“You’ve been a great teacher. Don’t pet creatures. There’s always another way out. Listen to what nature tells us. Trust your gut and help when you can.”
I blinked. “You learned all that from me?”
“Yes.” Her smile blossomed into something sweet and genuine.
“Don’t tell Aven. But I learned from them, too.
Don’t hold yourself up to what you might know of someone else’s achievements, because you don’t know the whole story.
” She leaned closer to me. “They haven’t learned that lesson themself yet, but hopefully they’ll figure it out.
Because—and again, do not tell them—they’re pretty amazing too. ”
“They are,” I choked out.
Farrah grabbed me into a hug and squeezed. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of Zig. You can trust me.”
I clasped her back. “I do. Please don’t pet anything.”
Her chuckle vibrated against me. “I won’t,” she said in a whisper. “Promise.”