Luca knew they did, but he didn’t want to let on. Any oats that escaped beyond what he’d released would find Amarande’s notice. He was sure of it. That bald rope was a stroke of luck he didn’t want to ruin. Ula nodded and held up her bag.
“If you allow me access to those oats and give me some of the whey from the cheese, I can make a paste that will take the sting out of the burn on your neck. It may help dry the blisters as well.”
Dunixi swallowed. “Oats and whey? That’s all you need?”
Luca nodded. “Honey and a mortar and pestle would be ideal, but those are the basics, yes.”
“And why would you do this?”
“Because you’re in pain and you need help.” It was true.
Dunixi’s eyes narrowed, shadows falling over the near-colorless blue. “Kindness won’t keep me from killing you.”
“I know.”
The Eritrian laughed. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?”
“Yes. Now would you like to stop questioning me and let me help?”
The boy’s attention skipped to his seconds. “Urtzi, watch his hands. Ula, you apply it. I don’t want him anywhere near my windpipe.”
Luca nearly smiled—the girl was a much bigger danger. By the time Dunixi figured that out, he might already be dead.
CHAPTER
24
BYthe time Amarande hit the trees, her eyes were closing for long periods, no matter how much she told them not to. Her grip was slack on Mira’s reins and she knew sleep would come for her soon—she was her father’s daughter, to be sure, but even the Warrior King needed rest. Ardenian tigers couldn’t stand forever.
She shook it off.
The three specks had disappeared into those trees. She was sure of this, even with her eyes failing her.
Either they would emerge on the other side, or they would break for the night. They were human and they didn’t realize they were being chased, and so she hoped for the latter.
This was her chance to see what she was up against and then plot her attack.
Amarande dismounted Mira, patting the filly on the nose before guiding her between spindly trees that grew toward the cobalt blue of a new night. This was the type of brush that provided cover but also hid the worst of what nature could provide. Things with fangs, and claws, and venom. Everything Osana had made her recall, plus the impossible black wolf and more. The sun and the Warlord and mongrels like the trio of thieves weren’t the only dangers here.
The princess and her horse walked slowly, carefully, quietly, for an hour before Amarande saw it. A flash of orange light.
She paused, unsure whether it was real or simply hope manifesting in her exhausted eyes.
When it flickered again, she knew it to be true and tangible.
Flame.
A fire.
A distance of maybe a hundred yards.
Amarande tied Mira’s reins to a nearby trunk and pressed her hand to the horse’s nose. She hoped she didn’t have to order the girl to be silent, because this close, she didn’t trust even a whisper not to carry. Mira blinked patiently and let her master go without a single neigh of protest.
The princess reached into her boot and brought out her knife, leaving her sword strapped to her back—a long sword wasn’t made for stealth, unless that was all one had. She kept her pace measured and careful, navigating underbrush that might give her away if met with the weight of a step. The ground here was soft and swallowed her steps, the earth sparkling with dew as the temperature dropped, the moisture-starved climate appeased for a moment.
The closer Amarande got, the more confident she grew that this was right. Three horses were tied up at intervals around a natural campground, brush pulled away and space for a fire in the middle of a ring of trees. Long ago, a tree near the center had fallen, and someone had cleared everything but a stump, creating a pocket among the tightly packed spindles that allowed for this kind of space. Which meant, Amarande realized, that these kidnappers had been here before.
The exhaustion she’d felt just moments earlier receded, her eyes wide open and heart pounding. She held fast to the knife, ready to act—Make the first mark—but hoping for the opportunity to take a more measured approach.
