Page 106 of Vervain

Before this, I ate on a strict schedule. I was always hungry, given the limited food provided—but now, I have never felt hungrier. Even when I eat, my stomach grumbles, as though the food is air.

She hands me a fruit stick, and I peel the wrapping off and take a bite. My throat closes, and it’s not until it’s chewed into mush that I can swallow it down. The black raspberry flavour is denser, but it still tastes better than the powdered soups I’ve been eating.

“How long will it take us to get there?” I ask Serun, my hand resting over his.

“A little under an hour,” he replies, lifting the paddle out of the water as the current is taking us down the narrow stream with little effort now.

“And when we get there?”

Serun removes his hand from my thigh, rests it on his knees, and slumps forward. “We are past our border now, which means there will be more settlements and compounds…and slayers. Best to stay away from any cities and towns until we reach the city of Mire.” Dark red eyes dart in my direction, then away. “Keep that mask on now more than ever.”

I touch my mask, surprised it is still in place. “If any of the slayers who were at Darkovish see me, they will know.”

Olivia looks between us. She is no fool. She knows we’re keeping things hidden from her. Still, she doesn’t question. Instead, she drinks some blood and cringes. “Slayer blood is repulsive.”

“These bloodsuckers can blanch on my blood.” The memory of Jax’s words surfaces. At the time, I thought this was just about his hatred of nightwalkers. But it seems slayer blood is literally distasteful.

“Should I change my hair colour?” I ask Serun.

“Train your glamour a little more. There might be a time when you will have to use it.” His focus lowers to the bag, then away. “I will hunt for better options than slayer blood. I’d like to wash it out of my system.”

“You can have mine,” I say, trying to sound casual.

Olivia snorts, a little blood shooting out of her nose. She turns away to fix herself, while I face Serun. Shadows drench him, rippling like waves on a disturbed seabed.

“We can share,” he replies.

Olivia grabs the edge of the boat, searching for an escape. “I feel like a child trapped in the presence of my flirting parents.”

With a slight smile, I cup my hands together, and static stirs against my fingertips. White light sparks—enough to know it’s there—but without the words, my magik seems hopeless. Still, I will practice in silence until we reach Pyra. I am determined to learn to hold my glamour for over thirty minutes.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

IRRIGATE

Saya Claymore

Serun wraps the rope between his thumb and forefinger, then hooks it down around his elbow. His muscles tense as he drags the boat onto the shore and away from the beach, hiding it in some shrubbery. It’s not concealed completely, but it’s better than nothing.

“Won’t we be using your portal thingy once we have our family?” I ask Serun, my eyes on the faded path ahead, leading away from the beach and towards the nearby city of Shepherd. Pale white glows on the horizon, revealing there is human life here, unlike the dead nightwalker cities.

“I’d rather not have someone roaming the beach see a boat washed up on the shore.” Serun slackens the rope around his forearm and tosses it into the bushes with the boat. “Better if slayers don’t suspect nightwalkers are crossing the human border other than from the outpost.”

I point to the sandy ground. “This isn’t the slayer’s border?”

Olivia arches her brow. “Where have you been all your life? Inside a feeding ground?” she snorts.

Not my whole life, but I ignore her teasing and stare expectantly at Serun.

He raises a clawed hand, and in the blink of an eye, he is next to me, those long fingers wrapping around my wrist. “Sylvar is where most of the slayers live—a place we cannot enter because they have Mother’s light radiating across the snow there. A large version of the light they have at the Prayer Sanctuaries.”

I’ve heard of Prayer Sanctuaries, but I can’t exactly picture them compared to a settlement or compound.

Olivia nods. “Humans are not allowed entry unless under special circumstances.”

“Which are?”

“Experimentation,” Serun answers, dismissive. “Let’s find somewhere to rest for the night while I figure out the best route to get to Mire.”