Page 107 of Esperance

Amryn had done exactly what Carver said. She’d moved as quickly and as silently as she could through the jungle. At first, she’d only been intent on putting distance between her and the fight. But after all the sounds vanished and it was just her heavy breaths and pounding heart, she’d paused.

She had no idea where she was. The jungle was so disorienting, she didn’t even know if she’d be able to find her way back to the path.

As she’d stood there considering—and panicking—she’d picked up on a low hum.

It was the strange vibration she’d felt yesterday, right before the storm had struck. After all that had happened, she’d forgotten about the anomaly. But now, she latched onto it. She had no idea what it was. It felt nothing like any other emotion she’d ever detected, but it felt almost . . . comforting.

A giant spider skittered near her foot and she barely swallowed a scream as she leaped back.

She needed to keep moving.

Another look around gave no indicators of which way she should go. But that hum . . .

She started walking in that direction, and soon she realized she was following the downward slope of the mountain. That seemed like as good a direction as any, so she kept going.

As she walked, she kept her empathic sense sharp. She made slight corrections to her course whenever she felt the hum fading. Even if she didn’t fully understand it, the strange hum made her feel less alone. Less afraid.

Then she sensed the men behind her, doggedly tracking her. She moved faster, keeping just ahead of them.

She had no idea how much time had passed—adrenaline had blurred that—but she guessed it had been close to an hour since she’d separated from Carver. Her lungs burned and her legs ached. Sweat slicked her skin and curls stuck to her face and neck. She was exhausted. She needed to rest. She needed to hide.

The hum was stronger now, resonating deep inside her.

When she’d spotted the cave, she’d hurried inside.

Now that she was here, she was beginning to second-guess her hiding place. Was it too obvious? Would the hunters spot it and instantly know she was here?

They drew closer. Their emotions grew more distinct. More overwhelming.

And then—miraculously—they began to fade.

She didn’t breathe deeply until their presence ebbed and then vanished completely.

She’d lost them.

She pinched her eyes closed and sagged against the cave wall, silently thanking Ferradin’s gods that she was safe. Her fingers closed around the small pocket sewn into her dress that hid her mother’s old prayer coin.

The pack dug into her shoulders as Amryn stood there, legs trembling. Her emotions were all over the place, but as they calmed, she could feel the cold fear curling in her gut—for Carver, and for herself.

She had no idea how far from the path she’d wandered in her effort to evade those men. And while she could continue to follow the downward slope of the mountain, she wasn’t sure how long it would take to reach the bottom without a cleared path.

Spending the night out here—alone—was an absolutely terrifying thought.

But before she set out again, she wanted more distance between her and those men. And she needed food.

She took off the pack and sank to the floor of the cave. The rock was cool and a little slick from the mist of the nearby waterfall. It soothed her overheated skin as she riffled inside the pack and found some nuts, dried fruit, and the last piece of jerky. She washed it down with the warm canteen water.

As her heartbeat finally settled, she began to notice little things. Like the frogs that croaked and jumped along the nearby river’s edge, the lizards darting over the rocks, and the calls of the birds. They’d probably been making those sounds the whole time she’d been chased, but she’d been too panicked to notice. Too focused on the hum.

The hum that had settled a little, but now pulsed once.

Her scalp prickled, but it wasn’t abadfeeling. It wasn’t an emotion at all, really. It wasn’t coming from a person. It was something else. And it was coming from the deep shadows of the cave.

Amryn placed the canteen into the pack and pulled the drawstring closed, then folded over the top flap. Pushing to her feet, she crept deeper into the cave.

The sunlight didn’t illuminate the thickest shadows, but she had enough light to cautiously edge deeper, until she found stones stacked into a deliberate mound. The stack wasn’t high—maybe a couple of hand-spans—and the diameter was the same, the whole thing shaped like a dome. It had obviously been made by man, and she couldn’t imagine what it was supposed to be. It was too small for a monument—not to mention hidden in a cave—and it couldn’t have buried anything larger than a fist.

But there was something there. She could feel it.

---