Page 81 of A Fractured Song

Marieke let out a gasp, her song stopping at once.

“A panther,” she said. “It was a panther.” She swallowed, nerves rippling over her. She’d seen a drawing of a panther in a book once—it was as close as she had any desire to get to one.

“A panther?” Zev’s voice was low and serious, his griparound her waist tightening slightly. “Are they territorial hunters?”

“I think so,” Marieke said. “But I don’t know much about them.”

“I don’t want to find out the hard way,” Zev said. “I don’t think we should knowingly wander through its territory.”

“I agree.” Marieke deflated slightly. “We should turn back, shouldn’t we?”

“I think it would be wisest,” Zev agreed. “I’m not too proud to admit that I wasn’t as prepared as I thought for the jungle. If we’re aiming for the center, we have a fair way south still to go. Why don’t we travel further on the road before trying again?”

Marieke nodded. “That makes sense.”

She snuck a look up at Zev. He hadn’t released her, and his eyes shifted down to hers. The still air felt even thicker all of a sudden as he pushed a wisp of wet hair back from her forehead.

“You really do have a lovely voice.”

Zev’s quiet declaration brought Marieke’s lips curving into a smile.

“I’m glad, because it’s the only one I have,” she murmured.

Zev smiled, releasing her at last and casting another glance down at the panther tracks. “Come on. Let’s not wait for it to sniff us out.”

Marieke nodded agreement, and they turned back the way they’d come. It was disheartening to have wasted the time and effort, but at least the lighted marks made it easy to find their way back to the road. She breathed a sigh of relief when they passed back through the enchanted boundary. It was so much less overwhelming to the senses on the cultivated patch of ground.

They traveled south for the rest of the day, bypassing another village and camping just off the road again. Theypassed very few other travelers, each time redirecting into the undergrowth to avoid notice.

Marieke was exhausted by nightfall, but even though they were still within the magical boundary, it was hard to relax her mind enough for sleep. There was too much information crowding her senses.

“You can settle, Marieke,” Zev said, after watching her toss and turn on her rolled out mat for several minutes.

He sat with his back to a tree, positioned between her and the road so that she was hemmed in by the magical boundary on one side and him on the other.

“I’ll make sure all is clear before I go to sleep.”

“You need rest, too,” she reminded him. She decided not to mention that his proximity in the darkness was as much of a barrier to sleep as their environment.

“I know,” he said. “I will rest. But you can relax. Nothing will harm you tonight, I swear.”

Marieke didn’t know how he could promise any such thing, but the confidence in his voice was comforting nonetheless. She drifted into sleep soon after, and woke to find Zev already up and serving up food from his pack.

Farmers.

Having already stepped off the road, they didn’t return to it. They’d traveled a long way south the day before, and it was time to brave the jungle again. They struck out eastward, not talking as they both scanned their surroundings carefully with every step.

They’d barely walked ten minutes into the foliage, their progress painfully slow through the undergrowth, when Zev stopped, putting his hand against a tree and drawing a deep breath.

“Are you all right?” Marieke asked, alarmed. She’d never seen him need to catch his breath just from walking before.

He nodded, letting out a grunt as he gathered his voice. “I’ll be fine. It’s just…so much pressure.” He pounded a fist to his chest, causing Marieke’s alarm to grow.

“You can feel it, too? The aggressiveness of the magic?” It hadn’t escaped her that the overwhelming intensity of the magic was even worse here than it had been last time they’d tried leaving the road.

Zev stared at her. “That’s magic? Surely I can’t feel magic the way you do. I never have before.”

“Well, what does it feel like?” Marieke asked.

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