Page 12 of The Song of Sunrise
Castor chokes and quickly recovers, mumbling curses under his breath.
Leaf continues, “Also, I am desperate for entertainment on the road, so it’s perfect! You can Tell us your favorite songs or stories, and in return, we can give you some material back from our own adventures. It’s a win-win, really.”
“You are welcome to join us, Akemi,” Castor adds somewhat formally.
“There is a relatively large town along the way we can stop at if you get sick of us.” Leaf jabs Castor in the ribs, which he returns at twice the speed.
“I’ll think about it,” I say, genuinely grateful for the offer. This could be my plan for now until I figure out what to do next. Travel to this nearby village to find work. I could serve, or Tell, if they will accept a female Prentice. Maybe bartend or wash dishes. Something to bide my time until it is safe to travel back to Goldenpine.
Leaf throws his skewer into the fire and stands with a cat-like grace. He extends his hand to me. “Ready for sleep?”
At the mere mention of sleep, exhaustion creeps over my bones, covering them with a proverbial blanket.
I take Leaf’s hand. He leads me to our makeshift shelter: a tarp spread out on the ground with another draped over a low tree branch. Leaf ducks into the tent and lies down, his shoulders tapering to a narrow waist as he curls onto his side, facing the tree.
I stretch out on my back beside him, but instinctively, I begin to inch closer, drawn to the warmth radiating from him. Even beneath Castor’s cloak, the chill seeps into my ankles and nips at the back of my neck.
Sun burn it. I curl up next to Leaf’s back, molding myself around his large frame. He must not be totally asleep yet, because he gives a quick “mm” in approval.
I lie there for a while, listening to Leaf’s steady breaths to the backdrop of crickets and distant rumbling of thunder as the storm continues its relentless assault somewhere else.
A bit later, I quickly close my eyes and pretend to sleep when I hear Castor’s muffled footsteps crunch toward the shelter. He grunts as he lowers himself down on my other side, closest to the opening. The heat of his breath tickles my neck, not quite touching, the empty space between us charged. These Watchers are strangers, and yet… I feel safe.
My eyelids grow heavy, and my shoulders loosen with the weight of exhaustion. Castor shifts closer behind me, hispresence pressing gently against my back in a protective embrace. My skin hums with the proximity of him, a warmth spreading through me, but I shove the sensation aside, forcing myself to focus on the pull of sleep. I let my body surrender to the exhaustion and drift into a dreamless sleep.
4
The Dead Twins
Our journey westward consists of riding, stopping to feed and water our horses, Tiny and Lux, and finding suitable groves to pick berries or apples or capture unfortunate creatures for our sustenance.
Already, Leaf has begged me to ride with him twice, asked me to enroll in the Watch three times, and is on his fourth recount of various near-death situations he and Castor managed to find themselves in.Potential future Telling material, as he so enthusiastically explained.
I’m flattered that they want me to enroll, though I’m the last person an Academy known for producing the most lethal human magic channelers would want. Castor assured me that they are looking for new recruits, that you don’t need any experience before enrolling. Leaf offered to start teaching me lessons too, but I turned him down, still not sure where my path leads next.
Just as the midday sun rises to its peak, the mood shifts. Posture alert. Weapons at the ready. Wind whistles in clashingharmonies through the pine trees and across the small clearing where we now trot. Tendrils of my dark hair whip free from my braid, tickling Castor, who sits closely behind me.
Even Leaf bears a grim expression and expertly draws a large wooden bow before urging Tiny off the path and into the forest. Castor pulls on Lux’s reins to follow, then rests his arms back on my thighs. I ignore the way my entire being seems to center on the two points of contact.
“Why are we heading off the road?” I ask Castor over my shoulder.
“You see that river up there?” He points straight ahead through the trees and back toward the clearing.
I nod. Sure enough, in the distance, glimmering speckles of sunlight dance off the rushing current.
“Just beyond that river is one of the Dead Twins.”
My heart starts to race. “Oh Goddess,” I whisper, suddenly understanding of their sense of foreboding earlier. The Dead Twins are ancient cities, a relic from the Old World before the Breaking. According to the Tellings, their stone and glass ruins stretch high into the sky until they abruptly end in broken edges.
“Keep yourself on alert, Akemi. Many nomads stay near ancient ruins like these. They feed off of weary travelers, sell dangerous weapons or poisons, trick you into fighting rings, never good things…”
Castor’s arm wraps around my waist protectively. I lean backward into his hard torso.
We ride through the small glade quietly, zigging and zagging through the trees as the daunting outline of the Dead Twins grows larger. I am horrified yet oddly transfixed as we near the ruins. Buildings jut out from the earth, towering straight up to the wispy clouds, while others lean at an angle, as if they could fall at any moment and join the other crumbled structures already broken on the ground. The earth itself seems to rebelagainst the ruins, attempting to pull the ancient city back into its depths with sprawling vines and tall weeds.
We make it past the first Dead Twin with our slow and steady pace. Keeping far from the main road, away from prying eyes. Within the hour, Leaf shares that we are nearing the second Dead Twin, the larger ruins of the two.
We approach a white stone tower with a small stable at the base, a WatchTower for stationed Watchers to protect this area. It sits along an open field, more mud than grass. I gape at the cylindrical tower that stretches into the sky on the eastern side of the building. The top of the tower is complete with slit windows and a turret.
