Chapter 31
Seda
“Does anyone have toothpaste?” Benny grumbled as they packed up their campsite. Seda’s tongue automatically grazed her teeth. She definitely needed to brush; it had been way too long.
“Just chew on a few mint leaves. That always works for me,” said Askold as he was folding up a small blanket to fit inside one of the backpacks.
“Where can I find those?” Benny asked. Seda was listening. She desperately wanted to chew on some, too. How embarrassing. She was usually so clean. This was the first time in her life that she had gone so long without regular showers and clean teeth.
“I don’t know. Just don’t breathe on me,” Askold replied.
Seda smiled. Cahir was right; not all of the Rozzers were bad. Askold was pretty funny sometimes.
“Har-har-har,” Benny said, letting out a loud huff. “Come over here so I can har in your damn face.”
“Really mature, boys,” Roya said as she walked around, waiting for them to finish bickering. “Here, Benny.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a stick. “Chew this. It cleans your teeth and freshens your breath.”
Everyone turned to look at the stick she was handing him.
“What’s that?” Askold walked over to Benny and examined the stick closely.
“Datun,” she replied nonchalantly.
“Do you have more? Where can I find it?” Askold asked.
Seda was very interested in this plant.
Roya looked at her nails and picked something out of one of them. “It’s over there.” She glanced at a small leafy bush.
He hurried over, broke off a branch, took a sniff, and then looked back at her. “You promise you’re not just trying to poison me?”
“If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead. And right now, with all of this bickering and these stupid questions, I’m starting to feel like that might be a good idea.”
Askold put the stick in his mouth and started chewing, first grimacing in disgust, then raising his eyebrows and humming in approval.
Benny chewed his piece and spit it out. “Wow, that really works. Thank you, Roya.” He smiled at her with a chunk of the stick stuck in his tooth.
She examined his tooth, nodded in acknowledgment, and then walked away. Benny observed her graceful figure as she left.
Did he just look at her butt?!
Seda walked over to the bush and picked a stick.
She put it in her mouth and chewed. It was tough to start, and not anything like a toothbrush and toothpaste, but the natural taste was interesting.
She spit it out, her mouth now fresh, and broke off ten more, just in case, and placed them into her threadbare dress pocket.
Now she just needed a shower and better clothes, and shoes would also be nice.
How was she going to walk these woods without shoes? She would step on sticks and worse… her feet would get even dirtier.
“Camp’s packed,” Ojore said as he walked up to Benny.
Benny nodded his head and looked at the others. “Time to move.”
Feich and Ferona shifted and took the lead, flying high and keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. Cahir was at the front of the group, and Seda kept looking around to see him. Did she do something wrong? He was acting so differently toward her compared to just the day before.
She fought the urge to go to him. Maybe he just needed a moment to breathe and think about everything happening around them.
Roya walked back to Seda. “Did you like the datun?” she asked.
Seda’s distracted thoughts were immediately pulled away from Cahir.
“Oh my goodness, yes! Thank you so much. I didn’t get to have things like a toothbrush while in the Camp.
” She smiled at the woman and really took her in.
She was beautiful. Her features were unique and magical.
She could see why Benny would be attracted to her.
Cahir was the first to follow up the path, followed by Benny and then Ojore. Askold came fourth, and then Roya and Seda, the two of them walking side by side. Kalon went last, looking around for movement from behind.
“The Hailecs don’t typically hunt much during the day,” Roya said to her. “We should be okay, but if not, Feich and Ferona are watching from above.”
Seda looked up at Roya’s siblings, “You called them your murder. What’s that about?”
“A murder is a term for a small group of Corvids. Those two are my closest in command. There are more of us, as you know, based on what happened during the Wyrd when you were selected.”
“You guys got the Rozzers and Lord Mordred really good. You should have seen him after he transported us.” Her smile vanished, and she gazed up at the trees, seeing the blood trickle down their trunks, and their tall branches stretching for the clouds.
She changed the subject. “A murder. Interesting word to use.” Seda smiled at her. “Does seem rather fitting.”
Roya chuckled, then looked at Seda, her expression turning serious. “Seda, we’ve been keeping an eye on you since you arrived here. We made a point not to interfere much, but we’ve always had you in our protection.”
Seda thought back to the day that Alexi and Michael hurt her.
Distant memories of birds flitted through her mind, but her memory was fuzzy.
Then she thought about the black bird leading her into the grove of trees past the Gardvord.
“Was that you who led me to that strange wall through the trees back in Joro?”
Roya nodded.
“Why did you show me that? I thought I saw a door, but when I looked away, it disappeared.”
“I can lead you and show you things. But you must figure out the pieces on your own. There are others in the same position as us.”
“Ferona and Feich,” Seda replied.
“…Yes,” Roya answered hesitantly.
As Seda leaped over a puddle of the blood-sap draining slowly from the oak tree, she landed on a sharp stick and felt the pain shoot up through her leg.
She was about to fall, but strong, warm arms surrounded her.
She looked up, expecting to see Cahir, but she saw Kalon’s handsome face staring down at her with a smile.
His seafoam-colored eyes looked into hers, and her heart skipped a beat.
“Careful there,” he said, gently placing her down.
She took a step back, a little embarrassed at her clumsiness. “Thank you,” she said as her cheeks heated.
Roya glanced at both of them, shook her head, and then walked away, muttering, “Damn men.”
His eyes sparkled as he looked at her. “Why don’t you hold onto my arm for balance? These woods are full of sharp sticks like that one. We will find you some shoes soon.”
She accepted his offered arm, and he guided her through the woods, occasionally pointing out things to avoid.
His arm was solid and strong. She could feel his muscles tense whenever she shifted, and she kept glancing up at him.
He was exceptionally tall, surpassing Cahir’s height, with a strong jawline dusted with facial hair and captivating dark features that contrasted against his olive skin.
He looked down at her and saw her staring at him.
She quickly looked away.
“You were so brave back there,” he said to her as he smiled down.
“Uh, me?” she asked, hesitantly looking back up.
“Yes, you,” he said and chuckled. “I haven’t seen someone ride a Lionne in a very long time.”
“Oh, I wasn’t riding him. He picked me up,” Seda said, blushing again, a little embarrassed by his compliment.
“It looked the same to me. Those creatures are ferocious. They don’t like just anyone. I’ve only ever known them to like one person, actually.” Kalon helped her over a large log, and his fingers grazed against her arm, sending a shiver of goosebumps along her skin.
“When did you see more of them? I didn’t even know he was called a Lionne,” she asked excitedly, hopeful for Elco that he could find his friends again soon.
“Not in a very long time,” he replied.
“Oh.” Seda frowned. “You must have seen a lot of things being a Traverser.”
Her cheeks warmed again as she gazed at his handsome face, and Kalon smiled. She had to look away.
“The Jotnar are the worst lately; they are spoiled, nasty creatures. But the Lionne? They are truly the most terrifying. They can breathe fire and pounce like a large cat. You would never see it coming if it were hunting you,” he said.
She remembered the first time she met Elco and how intimidating he had been, but now she saw him in a new light. He was her friend, and she was secretly thankful she had a friend like him on her side.
“I hope Elco is okay,” she said to him. “When we were in the Camp, he was injured by the guards. They beat him badly. It took him hours to heal. I really hope he finds us soon. I keep thinking about him.”
“He is likely hunting us now.”
Glancing back into the overgrown forest behind her, Seda caught sight of a Hailec watching her from a distance, its knees pressed into the damp ground. She let out a gasp, and Kalon spun around.
She froze, and Kalon slowly drew his sword, but the Hailec made no move toward them.
It simply knelt there, watching Seda with its dark, unblinking eyes.
Then, it lowered its head to the ground and disappeared into the eerie darkness.
Images of Ruel’s torn body raced through her mind.
This Hailec had been following them, and they hadn’t realized. Why didn’t it try to attack?
“Elco will find you, Seda,” Kalon said, lowering his sword. “I just hope he doesn’t eat all of us when he does.”