I returned the same look. Wishing things could be different.
A heavy exhale fled my lungs when Reese disappeared through his tent flaps.
Collapsing onto the rock, I stared into the darkness, tracing the distant shape of trees and flower bushes. Spring was coming. The air had warmed, and the snow melted, revealing new growth. It was the only spot of good news in an otherwise disastrous life.
Resting my chin on my hand, I turned toward Liam’s tent. Worry gnawed at my gut. We hadn’t talked about what was going on with him. There hadn’t been time.
Maybe now would do.
Standing, I walked over to his tent and gently parted the flaps.
There was no one inside.
Ducking through the entrance, I looked around and noticed his bag lying by his bedroll. A bedroll that had never been rolled out.
Reese would have mentioned if Liam had stepped out to relieve himself. Why hadn’t he?
The worry grew into a writhing ball of snakes. Running back outside, I turned toward Reese’s tent.
And stopped myself.
Shifting course, I ducked through Bláth’s instead. She had been talking with him, the last time I’d seen him. The Solheartlay face down, buried beneath a pile of golden curls. Dropping by her side, I shook her shoulder.
She shot up, yanking a dagger from beneath her blanket. The steel rang as it settled beneath my chin.
Lifting my hands, I lurched backward. “It's only me.”
“Oh, shit, sorry.” Bláth scrambled into a sitting position and scanned my face. “What’s wrong?”
“Have you seen Liam? It looks like he never turned in.”
“Not since I went to bed. He said he was going to find some privacy out that way.” She gestured vaguely, eyebrows drawing together.
Liam had left the camp before Reese took watch.
He’d never returned.
“Oh, shit,” Bláth cursed, trying to stand.
I grabbed her wrist. “Go back to sleep,” I urged with a polite smile. “My idiot brother ismycharge. There’s no need to wake the camp.”
Bláth’s eyes darted in the direction of Reese’s tent. As did mine.
She lowered herself back down. “Alright . . . ”
“Thank you.” I shot to my feet and ran outside.
Wind tore through the camp, pitching embers through the air. The pit of snakes spun in my gut, and I looked up to see my old friend.
The crow with a missing talon perched on a tree overhead.
Drawing Cierthine, I ran into the darkness, cursing my brother. Cursing him for never telling me who he was.
I saw nothing, nothing save shadows and silence. The distant flashing of lightning.
Then, something caught my eye—a series of fresh footprints in a muddy patch nearby.
Kneeling beside them, I tried my hand at tracking, but I’d spent my life city-bound. All I could glean was their direction: South.
