Chapter 31 #3
‘Maybe those blindfolds weren’t the worst idea, after all,’ Benny says as he looks upwards, treading through the illusory mass of snakes. ‘For me, that is,’ he adds, shuddering. ‘Please tell me this’ll be over soon.’
‘How about I give you a big hug for being so brave when we’re past all this?’ Ruben offers with a smirk.
Benny visibly brightens. ‘I’m holding you to that,’ he replies. ‘Though maybe you could hold my hand now, too. Just for moral support, you know.’
‘Single file!’ Stide snaps as she spins around to glare at them. ‘You follow only where I step. I will not die because of stupid, big-bellied city boys holding hands.’
Despite our current leader’s clear nervousness, I can’t help but meet Caz’s eye and suppress a smirk. At least she’s not calling us big-bellied city girls.
Still, Stide’s right to take things slowly. At one point, Caz is adjusting the weight on the horse she’s leading and drops a bag to the ground, only for the earth to swallow it up as a sinkhole the size of a small shack appears, stopping only inches short of her feet.
Another time, I’m the one who makes a misstep, drawn to an unusually pleasant illusion of snowdrops, only for my foot to sink beneath the earth. Before I can topple, Kyor grabs me by the arm and yanks me onto more solid ground.
‘You want flowers, I will get you all the flowers you could ask for after this,’ he grunts.
‘If you cannot tell if it is real, focus on them for a moment before you move,’ Stide tells me. ‘The v?tte illusions are not solid. They shift.’
‘She’s right,’ Benny says. ‘That doesn’t stop them being fucking horrible.’ If I didn’t know better, I’d say the v?tte are enjoying teasing Benny, because he’s the only one who’s been repeatedly targeted with snakes.
My attention shifts back to Stide, who is staring intently at me.
‘Look at the flowers again.’
I do as she orders, but they look just as real to me as they had a moment before. But then, as I’m about to look away again, I see something. The slightest shimmer in the petal. A shift in shade that doesn’t fit the light above us.
‘I see it,’ I breathe.
‘It is more difficult with fire and water,’ Stide tells me. ‘Or snakes. The way they move is trickier to see. But for flowers, bricks, buildings – things that stand still – you just have to be patient.’
She moves on before I have a chance to thank her, though it is only a moment later when an opportunity arises for me to test her theory as several fallen trees have crossed our path trying to push us onto another route.
The trunks look to be solid, chipped bark revealing young, white wood underneath, just the way you’d expect.
Yet as I continue to stare at it, the tiniest flecks of blue flicker in the brown, and as I sweep my hand through it, a spark of pride rises within me.
A few minutes later, when we come to a large rock, I try again, staring at the grey stone, waiting to see that shift in colour.
Stide turns back and looks at me.
‘Sometimes, The Rose, a rock is just a rock,’ she says, rolling her eyes and continuing on. Apparently, I now have a nickname too.
We’ve been walking in single file for almost an hour when Kyor turns back and looks at me.
‘I’m sorry,’ he murmurs. ‘I didn’t know this was here. I should have known.’
‘How?’ I ask him pointedly. ‘You’re not perfect, Kyor. None of us are. You can’t be expected to know every inch of the forest. And this is why we wanted the Sannings to accompany us, right? To guide us.’
He presses his lips together and doesn’t respond.
‘Look.’ I reach out, take his hand, and squeeze it lightly. ‘This is still going to save us hours. And like Benny said, we might even get to see a v?tte.’
‘Still, I’m sorry.’
My eyes lock on his, and I know the apology is for so much more than this one slight error. Before I can reply, Stide calls out from up ahead.
‘You can mount again,’ she says matter-of-factly. ‘We are past the hule.’
‘It is?’ Ruben says with a slight air of disappointment. ‘I thought we might see a v?tte.’
‘Yeah, but the plus side is we get to share that promised hug.’ Benny grins.
‘And you want it now?’ Ruben quirks an eyebrow. ‘With everyone watching?’
To my surprise, a pink hue colours Benny’s cheeks.
It’s nice to see Ruben actually flirting with him, especially since I can take it as a sign he’s finally accepted there’s no point in pursuing me any longer.
Still, the fact that his response has actually affected Benny makes me wonder if the future duke likes Ruben a little more than he’d care to admit.
As I let the moment of lightness linger, my eyes turn to Kyor, who’s staring straight ahead into the thickening forest.
‘Kyor?’
Whether the static that prickles on my skin is of his making, I cannot tell, but it’s accompanied by an uneasy squirm in the pit of my stomach.
Elska lets out a low, rumbling growl.
‘We need to go!’ Kyor calls out sharply to the group. ‘Now!’
‘We need to sort the horses,’ Caz protests, but Kyor is already on Elska, swinging her around to face the horses.
‘Later!’ he barks. ‘Mount up!’