Chapter 53
Florian
Dawn had hardly risen over Llyndale when they left the town behind.
Gareth, who was prone to waking earlier than any sane individual should, had already acquired six horses, enough for everyone in their company.
Though Florian was a fair rider, even he struggled as Rhea set a relentless pace south.
By the time the sun began staining the sky with an array of evening colors, they were all exhausted.
There was no settlement in sight, only dense, snow covered woodlands to either side, but Florian had hardly expected to be so fortunate.
They had sent Knox out in search of a suitable campground as the horses grazed on patches of grass poking through the thin layer of snow. He’d returned a short while later, having found a clearing in the woods nearby.
When they arrived, they began the well oiled routine of setting camp.
All hands helped to set the tents: one for Rhea and Lilith, Gareth preferring to sleep alone in the smallest, which left the third and largest for Knox and Florian.
When Keira had travelled with them in the past, she had slept there as well, so it was easily decided that Yvette would take her usual place.
Florian was surprised to see that she was keen to help with the process, though it was clear that she was perhaps even more weary than the rest of them.
Once the tents were set and the horses were tied, they broke into their individual tasks.
Rhea would pore over the maps in order to estimate their progress and set the day’s course.
Meanwhile, Knox and Lilith set out to survey the area, scavenging whatever they could find and hopefully snaring some fresh meat for their dinner.
The twins took to the wilderness with greater ease than any of them.
Having grown near the forest, they were well acquainted with its resources and dangers.
Gareth prepared the fire, and once their dinner was caught, he would cook it.
Florian, who was well out of his element, would ordinarily help whoever was in need of an extra set of hands.
He had just finished tending the horses when he returned to the center of their camp.
Gareth was still digging the firepit. Rhea was likely tucked away in her tent.
Knox and Lilith were nowhere to be seen.
In the middle of it all, Yvette was sitting on a fallen log.
Her long red hair was bound in a simple braid that hung over her shoulder.
She was hunched and shivering beneath her cloak.
Her cheeks were rosy and chapped. Thankfully, she had acquired some traveling clothes before they departed.
They were simple garments, buckskin pants and a long woolen coat beneath a traveling cloak.
Nothing as fine or well fitted as the gown she’d worn the night before, but they were certainly better suited to traveling.
Unfortunately, she’d brought nothing else.
Florian slipped into his tent and unstrapped the thick blanket meant for his bed.
It was well made and much softer to the touch than the common roughspun blankets which the others favored.
He supposed he just held comfort in higher regard.
But most importantly, it was incredibly warm.
Florian tucked the blanket under his arm and went outside.
The air was chilling rapidly now that the sun was setting. He crossed the camp as Gareth was laying down the kindling for the fire. Yvette was watching the process, though her gaze seemed far away.
“Thought you might want an extra layer,” Florian offered
She looked at him as if he had pulled her out of deep thought.
It was hard to tell whether it was contemplation or fatigue that had caused her mind to drift.
Her lips parted, and Florian sensed she might refuse.
So he spread the blanket out and placed it over her shoulders before she had the chance.
She certainly didn’t have to prove anything to them by suffering.
Yvette’s eyes followed him as he took a seat on the log beside her, though her hands were already pulling the blanket tighter around herself.
“Thank you.”
“You don’t seem entirely used to such rugged conditions,” Florian explained with a touch of humor.
It was immediately apparent that his attempt to lighten her mood misfired as her eyes fell away from him, shoulders closing in on her thin frame.
Florian cursed himself inwardly. She’d been trying so hard to fare as well as the rest of them.
He shouldn’t have suggested she was failing.
In fact, she was perhaps the only one of their number who hadn’t complained about being road weary or frozen half to death.
Florian was just about to explain himself, to recover the situation, when Knox called his name.
He stood at the edge of the treeline, quiver on his back and bow in hand as a freshly caught rabbit hung from his belt.
“Most of the game is under the snow, but there is a stream nearby. I think we’ll have better luck there,” Knox said, untying the rabbit and tossing it to Gareth, who caught it expertly in his large hand. “I could use your help.”
Florian nodded and stood. He could think of no real reason to stay behind, well at least not a good enough excuse to get out of being helpful.
Knox gathered a few supplies from his pack, leaving the bow behind.
Soon he was leading them away from camp, the quiver replaced with his twin swords crossed against his back.
Florian couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder.
Yvette’s gaze was off in another direction as Lilith emerged from the trees.
Florian flinched as Gareth butchered the rabbit only a few feet away.
Delightful. Thankfully, Yvette didn’t seem to mind all that much.
He sighed, shoulders slanting as he echoed Knox’s footsteps in the snow. He’d been blessed with a silver tongue all his life. His quick wit had never failed him before, charming people had always come as easy as breathing. Yet he never seemed to know what to say to her.
Knox led the way with his silent step, while Florian followed, seemingly breaking every twig and stumbling on every root possible before the trees thinned again.
It was fortunate that they weren’t trying to hunt, as he had probably frightened off everything within earshot.
He’d never been one for the wilds. His preference would always be for the city, with a roof and a warm bed or at sea where he could look out on the endless waters and breathe in the fresh salty air against his skin.
Though as they emerged, Florian had to admit there was an element of beauty to this place.
The stream itself was wide enough that he could neither step nor jump across, but not so much so that anyone might consider it a river.
There was a thin layer of ice over the surface.
It hung in mesmerizing icicles over the small waterfall.
The forest grew right to the shoreline on either side, vines dipping from branches that stretched over the water.
Florian staked a torch into the ground and lit it as Knox cracked through the ice with a hammer. When there was a sizable hole in the shallows, he pulled out some manner of bait and sprinkled it over the surface. His attention fixed on his trap as he lowered into a crouch to wait.
There was more than a hunter’s focus in the firm set of his jaw. In the years Florian had come to know Knox, he had learned that he said more with his silence than he ever offered with his words. In that time, he had studied him well enough to read the coolness about him now.
“You’re too quick to trust her,” Knox said at last, not moving a muscle.
Florian’s lips tightened into a thin line. He’d thought that this might be the cause of his ill mood. It didn’t aid matters that the moon was nearly full as well. “She’s trying to help us.”
Without warning, Knox’s hand darted out into the water with such swiftness it nearly caused Florian to jump. It emerged with a struggling fish, which he then put into the sack at his side where it continued to writhe futilely. “She’s keeping secrets.”
“You of all people should understand wanting to keep your skeletons buried,” Florian countered. “I’m just giving her time.”
Knox eyed him, the silver in his eyes flashing. They always shone brighter in the moonlight, luminous and lethal. “I know more than most how dangerous secrets can be.”
Florian broke his stare, casting his gaze back on the crystalline waterfall.
He knew Knox’s deadliest secret, as did every member of the Blades of Fate.
It had been a necessity as they lived in such close proximity, though none of them would betray his trust to anyone outside their company.
Could he be right about Yvette? It was easy to admit that Florian was intrigued by her, infatuated even.
But had his curiosity blinded him? Florian shook away the idea.
He had always been an excellent judge of character, and he would bet a fool’s sum that Yvette’s intent was pure.
Besides, he assured himself, not all secrets were as dark and deadly as Knox’s.
Knox tied off the wriggling sack only after catching two more fish. Above them, the sky was now fully cloaked in night. If not for the torch, Florian would have been all but blind, though he knew it was there only for his benefit. Knox had no problem seeing through the darkness.
To Florian’s surprise, he left the sack by the shore, closing the distance between them. His movements were smooth but purposeful, a hunter’s grace. His silver eyes were hooded and locked on his own. Florian could sense the shift in his gaze. His blood heated as it washed over him.
“They will be expecting us to return soon,” Florian said when they were but inches apart.