Page 18 of Crown of Ashes and Awe

“Then I thank you for the lesson. I will mind my tongue.”

My response only brought his brow lower. “Bain, Dower, find us something we can cook. We will shelter in the trees for the night. If your brother is in Sunbasin, he has already lost himself in the crowd.” To me, he said, “Get your fill of this perfume while you can.” He started walking again. We all fell in step.

My entire body was weary, but my excitement made my steps light—Sunbasin was only a day away! And I could hardly wait to see a crowd of people so large that a man could hide from his enemies within it.

9

CUDDLE UP BUTTERCUP

Insects filled the night with cheerful music. The stars grew brighter, lighting the road that took us into the forest of memory trees. And here and there, when I could see them in the darkness, I stopped to pick up clusters of the sweet-smelling leaves that had been unseated by the storm. When Tearloch glanced back, irritated, I dropped the last cluster. No loss, though, since my pockets and satchel were ready to burst.

By the time Tearloch chose camp, the night had deepened, and glow stones were necessary to find wood for the fire. When we were all seated and meat was roasting over the flames, I looked around our circle and was gratified to have so many strong men as both obstacles and deterrents to any larger creatures lurking in the woods.

While we sated our appetites, the stars shifted overhead, their progress slow and steady, marking time, until I was too weary to look up anymore. I reached for my glow stone, to put it in my pocket, but hesitated when Sweetie grunted and pointed to it.

“Why does your stone glow so much brighter than ours?”

I bit my lip and considered whether to tell him the truth. But I could see no harm in it. “From time to time, I leave it on a bit of heartstone, so it can draw its energy from Hestia herself.” I felt about on the ground looking for a bit of the black stone that connected all of Hestia to its core, but I found none of it. “Nothing here. Maybe another time.”

“The road into Sunbasin is heartstone,” Tearloch said. “Show us tomorrow.”

I was disappointed. It meant I would have to restore my energy the old-fashioned way, with sleep. But first…I pulled out my sack of dragonspice.

“We are well away from your poisonous creatures.” Tearloch said, his eyes already closed as he reclined on the ground with his bent arm beneath his head. “I think you can save that.”

My view of the canyon was blocked by trees, but I could guess the distance. “You mean there is nothing dangerous here?”

“Nothing that small, no. Nothing that can be stopped by a pinch of pepper.”

Sweetie pointed to my expression and laughed along with the brothers. When none of them clarified, I turned to Minkin, who rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Anything big comes along, we’ll cook it and eat it.”

I turned, studied the dark trees behind me, then looked at Tearloch. His eyes were open, watching me. I reckoned that, since he was the one to unnerve me, he should be the one to protect me. So, I gathered my things and stomped his way, stretched out between him and the dying fire, and rested my head on my leaf-stuffed satchel, giving him my back.

One of those black gloved hands reached over to cover me with a wayward length of my robes, and a shiver ran up my spine. “Thank you,” I whispered.

A hiss from the fire was all the response I got.

Minkin curled up against the big one’s side and slept immediately. I was too aware of the man behind me to relax, imagining his breathing, wondering why I couldn’t hear it, regretting my impulsive move. But then again, I no longer worried about wild creatures watching from the perimeter.

Only after Tearloch began to snore softly did I finally drift off to sleep. I woke once in the night to find myself curled up against his back, absorbing the heat coming off him. But since he hadn’t moved away, I stayed where I was. Well before dawn, I woke shivering and alone. Tearloch sat on the far edge of the clearing with his back against a tree, looking off toward the road.

I hadn’t intended to sleep again, but I did. It seemed mere minutes later when a small hand gently shook me awake. The sky was only slightly lighter than before, but the air tasted of morning.

A sleepy Minkin blinked down at me. “We’re leaving.”

I waited for the others to head for the road before relieving my bladder, then I hurried to catch up. Tearloch growled over his shoulder. “You can dally all you wish once we reach Sunbasin. Until then?—”

“I can’t hold my water until we reach the city. Leave me behind if you must. I can fend for myself.”

He scoffed. “You wouldn’t last the day on your own.” He faced the road again. “But be prepared. Once we are safely inside the city, we will go our separate ways.” To his big friend walking beside him, he said in a low voice. “I doubt she will get far with just a pocketful of memory leaves.”

I was fairly certain he hadn’t meant for me to hear the last bit. And as I hung back and allowed the rest of the party to move ahead of me, I wondered at the icy edge to Tearloch’s tone. Had it offended him that I dared move so close to him in the night? I hadn’t done it consciously. Or had he simply remembered that once we reach the city, we would be at cross-purposes.

He wanted his friend rehabilitated.

I wanted him dead.

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