Chapter 111
By the time we were safely away from the mountains, I had reached an important conclusion.
I hated expeditions.
Not the mysterious ancient relics part-that was actually growing on me. It was the mountains. The falling. The nearly dying. And, most importantly, the falling while nearly dying.
We stopped at an inn for food, and I ate like a woman who had spent the last several hours running for her life and had finally decided that, if death wanted me, it could wait until after dinner.
Rhaevan, unfortunately, seemed more interested in watching me eat than eating his own meal.
I paused halfway through stuffing another bite into my mouth and glared at him.
"What?"
He blinked, then smiled.
"Nothing."
I stared back at him for a moment before shoving another bite into my mouth.
If he wanted to be mysterious, he could do it while I ate.
After that, we made our way through the local market to restock our supplies.
While Rhaevan bought provisions for the journey, I slipped into a small healer's shop nearby to buy herbs, bandages, and a few other things that seemed useful.
Because apparently, travelling with a high arcanist did not automatically come equipped with a medical department.
Once we had left the market and were far enough from the public eye, I stopped.
"Rhaevan, wait."
He turned. "What is it?"
I held up the herbs and bandages. "Your arm."
His expression barely changed. "It's fine."
"That wasn't a question."
He looked at me for a moment before quietly extending his arm. I removed the handkerchief covering the injury and inspected it. The wound had stopped bleeding, but it still looked angry and raw.
"Hold still."
I crushed the herbs between my fingers, carefully applied them, and wrapped a fresh bandage around his arm. I was so focused on what I was doing that I didn't notice him watching me-not until I finished.
"There. All set."
I looked up. He was staring right at me. For a second, neither of us said anything.
Then I looked away first. "We should..." I cleared my throat. "We should leave."
"Of course."
I started walking before my face could become any more embarrassing.
Dusk settled by the time we found a quiet clearing surrounded by tall trees. A narrow stream ran nearby, its water clear enough to reveal smooth stones beneath the surface.
"This should be far enough," Rhaevan said.
He reached into the magic void and pulled out the tent. Within minutes, it stood securely between two large trees. Rhaevan began setting up the deflection charm while I ducked inside.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"Good night."
I settled onto the bedroll and closed my eyes.
For approximately ten minutes.
Then I heard movement outside. I opened one eye. Rhaevan was sitting just outside the tent entrance, his back against one of the trees, with the map spread across his knees.
Of course.
Apparently, nearly falling to our deaths wasn't enough to convince him that sleep was a reasonable activity. I watched him through the partially open tent flap.
"You know you're allowed to sleep too, right?"
"I will."
"When?"
"When I'm finished."
"Finished with what?"
He glanced down at the map. "Nothing at the moment."
I stared at him. "...Then what exactly are you waiting to finish?"
He looked at me, a faint hint of amusement dancing in his eyes. "Go to sleep, Cassiane."
"You're impossible."
"So you've mentioned."
I closed my eyes again. A few minutes passed.
Then I heard something hit the ground. My eyes flew open.
Rhaevan had shifted slightly. His injured arm was resting against his knee, and a dark stain was already spreading beneath the bandage.
I pushed myself upright. "Rhaevan."
He looked over. "Yes?"
"Your wound's bleeding again."
His eyes dropped to the bandage. "It isn't serious."
"That's wonderful." I crawled out of the tent. "Now give me your arm."
"Cassiane-"
"Arm."
He sighed, then extended it. I carefully untied the cloth. The wound wasn't as bad as I'd feared, but it was deeper than he had let on; the edges had opened slightly, and fresh blood had soaked through.
I looked up at him. "Does it hurt?"
He shook his head. "No."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Really."
I pulled out my medical pouch and began cleaning the wound. Rhaevan didn't move, not even when the cloth touched the raw edges. I winced on his behalf.
"That looks like it hurts."
"I'm used to pain."
"That's not something to be proud of."
I paused, meeting his gaze. For once, he didn't have a sarcastic reply ready.
I continued cleaning the wound in silence. "You know, sometimes it's okay to admit when you're hurt. You don't always have to deal with everything yourself."
I wrapped a fresh bandage around his arm, careful not to make it too tight.
"Sometimes the person doing all the protecting needs someone to lean on, too. And there's nothing wrong with that. It would also make the people who care about you feel better if they knew you weren't trying to suffer in silence."
His gaze stayed on me, heavy and steady. For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then his expression softened. "I'll remember that."
I looked down at the bandage, securing the knot. "Good."
I packed the herbs away. "Now try not to get injured again."
"I'll do my best."
I pointed a finger at him. "Your best needs improvement."
A quiet chuckle escaped him. "I'll see what I can do."
I sighed, shaking my head as I stood up. My gaze drifted toward the stream. Moonlight shimmered across the surface, turning the water silver between the trees. Then I glanced back at the satchel resting beside him.
The map. The compass. The First Fragment.
"Actually..." I crouched beside him again. "Maybe we should see what the map has to say."
Rhaevan looked at me, then down at the map. Without another word, he unrolled the parchment across the flat ground between us.
I sat beside him. For once, the forest was quiet. No collapsing mountains. No dragons. No ancient curses trying to kill us. Just the two of us sitting by a stream in the middle of nowhere, staring at an enchanted piece of parchment that had already caused us more trouble than it had any right to.
I leaned closer.
The map had changed. The familiar outline of the Ashen Crown remained in the distance, but the landscape around it was slowly shifting beneath the parchment. First came the forest, then the winding stream beside our campsite.
I frowned. The stream continued moving across the map-only it didn't stop where our actual stream ended. It widened. And widened again.
The thin blue line gradually became a broad stretch of water, spreading across the parchment until an entire body of water occupied the landscape.
A new symbol had begun to appear near the centre of the water.
And whatever it was... the map wanted us to go there.