Page 77 of House of the Raven
The drain has brought me to a section of the Manzanar River. When I confirm there’s no one around, I walk along the bank, upriver and away from the drainage where the current is clean. Heaving from my own stench, I entirely submerge my body in the cool water, dunking my head and scrubbing everywhere. While still submerged, I take off my clothes, one garment at a time, and scrub and scrub until my hands hurt.
It’s a near-impossible feat getting back into my wet clothes, but I manage. Feeling weighed down, I trudge out of the water and discover a secluded spot along the shore—a small open space encircled by dense bushes. I settle down, reassured that I’m well-concealed from view, shielded from anyone passing along the pathways that run on both sides of the river.
After a few minutes sitting there, I start to shiver. It’s warm during the day, but summer evenings can be cool. My teeth rattle, and my arms tremble even as I tightly hug my legs. I lie on my side, curled up into a ball, and wish for warmth that never comes. What does come, however,is sleep. At last, I drift away but take my shivers with me into a host of feverish nightmares.
I wake up with a jolt and scramble backward on hands and knees. There’s a figure sitting next to me. I get tangled in a heavy coat that’s been draped over me.
Blinking, I clear my sleep-blurred vision. “Jago?”
“The one and only,” he says, wrinkling his nose. “What an unsightly princess you are.”
“Jago!” I lurch forward and throw myself on top of him.
My arms wrap around his neck, and he teeters precariously but braces himself with one arm as he hugs me with the other.
“It’s good to see you too, Val.” He thumps my back. “Even if you abandoned me to that good-looking bastardo.” He holds me at arm’s length. “Though judging by your state, it seems I got the better end of the deal.”
“How are you here?” I ask.
“A little bird told me where to find you.”
“Cuervo!” I glance around, looking for him. He’s nowhere to be found.
“He flew off a little while ago. I’ve been here for almost two hours. I hated to wake you up, you looked so cozy in your… nature bed. Quite the statement for you. I doubt it’ll become a fashion with nobility, though. Unlike those raven earrings you used to make. Vanity only goes so far.”
“Stop all your nonsense and tell me what happened?”
“Iwant to know what happened toyou.How did you end up here, smelling like a latrine?”
I shake my head. “You go first. “
“All right, don’t get feisty. After you jumped off the horse, Bastien, naturally, caught up with me. The devil jumped from his horse to mine and knocked me senseless to the ground. I hit my head and cracked it open. Bled all over the place, too. But maybe it was worth it. I had a good roll with him and got to feel all his delicate and not-so-delicate bits.”
I wrinkle my nose in disgust. “I’m not interested in hearing about that.”
“You should be. The man is… hard.”
“Focus, please.”
“All right, all right. He threatened to strangle me if I didn’t tell him where you were. I have the bruises to prove it.” Jago pulls his collar down and shows me the dark finger marks that circle his neck.
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugs. “Don’t be so sorry. I gave in and told him you’d jumped off by that boulder, and he got back on his horse and went looking for you. I thought for sure he was going to find you. I’ve been holding my breath for days.”
“So then what? Everyone came back to Castellina?”
He nods. “Everyone, including your betrothed.”
“Don’t call him that. He’s nothing to me. Besides, I knew he was here.”
He raises his eyebrows.
“Bastien told me. He found me last night. That’s why I ended up here.”
“He found you? How?”
“I was betrayed. That troop of Romani that was in Alsur, I rode here with them.”
