Page 103 of Brambles and Bellflowers
“I wasjoking.” I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “But didn’t you just use magic to heal yourself and also last night… to find the cave?”
Miles blinked, then glanced at where he’d fallen, frowning. “No, that was something else. Our archetypes—who we are—are tied to our element. That magic has more to do with our identity.”
Same difference.
“Regardless,” he continued, shaking his head. “We still have to press forward. We have to find a source of water. Barring that, I should be fine to throw together something to fight infection.” Miles looked at me again, his expression calmer, and eyes warm. “Thank you.”
I touched my lips. “For what?”
“For pulling me back,” he said. “You can stop now.”
What in the world was he talking about? “Stop what?”
He grabbed my hand and pressed the back of my knuckle against his unmarred cheek. My skin hummed where he touched me. The shadowy edges of the fog lifted; the day was suddenly clear once more. Something in our surroundings had shifted, but I couldn’t pinpoint what.
“I’m starting to understand what Julian meant,” he said. “You don’t need to be strong anymore. You can depend on me.”
That was jolly for him, but didn’t explain anything in the slightest.
“Canyou give it to me now?” I asked. I’d reached forward, waiting with my hand out, as I sat on my knees in front of him. “You promised.”
“I did no such thing.” Miles clutched the knife to his chest as he leaned back toward the tree. His features were tight with alarm as he continued, “In fact, I told you ‘no’.”
“Actually,”—I twisted my hair into a knot at the top of my head; if I was going to do this, I could afford no distractions—“you asked if I ‘knew how to use it’, and I told youyes.”
“How is that a promise?”
I lowered my hands back to my side and studied him. The man looked almost adorable—jaw set and eyes round—staring as if he’d seen a monster. “But it’s not a ‘no’ either,” I reasoned.
His face was rife with caution, voice fearful, as he asked. “What are you going to do with it?”
I glanced toward a squirrel peacefully cleaning its adorable little face some distance away.
We’d found refuge in a moderately-sized clearing deep within the shelter of a thicket. The space was fairytale-like, complete with a collection of late-season berries and a gentlytrickling stream. On top of that, there were various herbs growing around the circle—some of which were definitely not native to the area.
Still, I wasn’t going to complain. Miles had been able to make some sort of poultice from them, lathering it on his leg and face, and that was good enough for me.
Still, there was the matter of food. We were both starving. Berries couldn’t exactly fill an empty stomach.
I sighed, watching the squirrel. It was moments like this that made me wish I’d the same foresight as Titus—that ax would sure be handy.
“I told you what I was going to do with it,” I said.
“You can’t just kill it!” he protested, not at all pleased by my statement. “My quest—”
“I really don’t think this is a pilgrimage anymore,” I pointed out, gaze flicking to his leg, and my concern deepened. While he’d been able to limp through the forest well enough thanks to a handy walking stick he’d acquired, he was still in serious risk of falling ill with infection. “Weneedfood.”
He groaned, shifting his weight as he moved to stand. “Fine.” He sighed, bracing himself. “I’ll—”
I frowned at him, standing, and held my hand out to him once more.
“But…” He frowned at my hand. “You’ll hurt yourself.”
I blinked, my vision blurring at the lack of faith he had in me. He’d trusted me to confront James Cole, but not this. Why didn’t he believe that I could feed us?
Why was he trying to stop me?
“Don’t cry.” Miles pet my shoulder, his death grip loosening around the knife. “I’ll make sure we have something to—Hey!”
