Chapter 14 #2
I look back and he’s grinning at Daegan. These two grew up together, I remind myself. It feels like I’m getting a glimpse at them as they were when they were younger and had far less worries.
“So, where’s your third?”
“Third what?” Daegan asks flatly.
“Yara,” I clarify, facing forward again.
“Most of our people made the journey back home. Including my father.” I hear him pull in a slow, lazy breath during the pause. “Only a few stayed behind.”
I want to ask why, but I have a sick feeling I know why already.
Despite Daegan being innocent, there’s probably more unease regarding our visitors now.
Tension did seem to be higher around the castle the last few days, now that I think about it.
I wonder why he even bothered to stay, when he’s likely receiving the worst of it.
“You two aren’t homesick yet?”
“Very,” Daegan says simply, surprising me with his honesty. “But my father wanted us to stay on his behalf. We still have… unsettled matters.”
“Like what?” He’s almost directly next to me now, so I look sideways at him, my eyebrow arched.
“Does the king tell you nothing?” Daegan asks, and I’m not sure what the expression he’s wearing means. He’s incredibly hard to read.
“I don’t ask. I don’t normally involve myself in politics.”
He narrows his gaze at me, and it seems he’s trying to look deeper, to decide if I’m being truthful or not.
He doesn’t trust me.
I’ve seen that same look in his eyes when he looks at me since the day I met him.
“So this quest you’re on isn’t some errand for the king?” Raef asks. He’s been riding quietly on my other side. “You just enjoy going to death forests alone for… fun?”
“No.” I shake my head. “And I’d… appreciate it if you kept this between us…
” I look back and forth between the two of them.
Daegan is looking at me like I’m a puzzle that can’t be solved and it’s frustrating him greatly.
Raef simply smiles, clearly entertained by the idea that the elvish princess is sneaking out of the town on a dangerous quest.
“We’ll keep your secrets if you keep ours,” Daegan says flatly, his eyes boring into mine. There are many unspoken words in the offering, but I nod, and he averts his gaze. His sharp jaw ticks as he looks onward.
We pick up the pace again, moving faster for the rest of the morning.
Eventually, we stop for a quick break. They disappear into the trees for a short while, and I wander in a different direction on my own until I’m just out of their view. I don’t dawdle.
We meet back up where we tied the horses and I conjure water in small pools in front of them. Out of the corner of my eye, Daegan and Raef watch me with interest.
“Neat,” Raef says.
I shrug. Then I reach out and grab Raef’s water canteen, fill it with a flick of my hand, then do the same with Daegan’s.
“Thanks,” they say in unison.
“The open country is mostly behind us,” I note as I look at my map. “And the trees are starting to become more densely packed. We’re getting close.”
I pull out a small time orb from my bag.
“What is that?” Raef asks with curiosity as he eyes the small object that sits in my palm.
“We call it a time orb. They’re enchanted by fire wielders to last the exact amount of time that day should be. You activate it first thing in the morning, and it slowly burns out throughout the day, getting smaller and smaller, finally burning out completely right when nightfall should be.”
Both of their eyebrows raise and dare I say Daegan looks mildly impressed. Possibly the first bit of emotion I’ve seen from him. I’ll admit, it is a very helpful tool to have on long journeys, because it can be impossible to tell when nightfall is getting close sometimes.
“How do you guys tell time on your journeys?”
They glance at each other and Raef shrugs. “Just a feeling, I guess.”
“Right. You don’t have f—” I stop myself.
I was about to say they don’t have fire powers anymore.
But I don’t want to bring that up again.
Raef and Daegan were born long after the curse, so they never knew that power to begin with.
But even if they did, it could work differently than an elf’s fire magic.
Daegan and Raef share a brief glance, then Raef excuses himself once again.
“Really?” Daegan asks.
“That water she filled our flasks with was refreshing, all right?”
Daegan shakes his head.
“You’re really going to leave me alone with him?” I call out after Raef. “What if he tries to kill me? Again.” I add.
“I’m not going to kill you,” Daegan says evenly, pulling on his saddle to adjust it. My eyes catch on his bicep as he works to tighten the strap.
What is wrong with me? He’s a mean, angry dragon who hates me with a passion because I was born an elf. I avert my gaze, instead looking at the thick forest in the distance ahead. “Can’t blame me for not believing you,” I say on the breeze. It’s almost a whisper, but he hears me.
Stopping what he’s doing, he turns to look at me, crossing his arms. Why is he exposing so much of his arms when it’s this cold? The tight-fitting black shirt cuts off halfway up his bicep.
“No, I can’t.” He takes a deep breath, and it seems his next words almost pain him to say. “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. It won’t happen again.”
“Misunderstanding?” I can’t help but chuckle.
“I was a fool for talking so openly, and I’m sorry I threatened you. You should have never been involved. But there’s a lot at stake. It’s not myself I’m protecting. It’s countless others.”
I tilt my head, assessing him. Unsure what to make of him.
One thing is for sure, though.
He’s still an asshole.
Yet somehow, I’ve found myself in the middle of the countryside with him and his dragon friend, accompanied by them on my quest. Again, I think how it might be nice to have someone, anyone, I can trust to help me on this journey. Someone who cares. “I’m not who you think I am,” I say softly.
His intense dark blue eyes bore into mine. I can see the conflict and the ire behind them, like a flickering flame in the darkness, but there’s something else there. He still doesn’t trust me. That’s obvious. And maybe I’m a fool, but I believe Raef does, and that’s something.
Raef returning with a clap startles me, and we both break eye contact to look his way. He saunters toward us with a grin on his face.
“You’re not dead,” he says, patting me on the back as he continues straight to his horse.
“No, I’m not.” I can’t help but laugh.
Daegan’s gaze shifts to mine for one more beat before he climbs onto his horse. He doesn’t speak again as we race off toward Wraithmere.